User:RyuiD234

Speak the TRUTH ==== Anyone called upon to give evidence in a court of law is required to take an oath “to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” The oath is necessary because half-truths can be more misleading than the whole truth. Similarly, speaking anything more than the whole truth can also lead to dire consequences. A classic example of how truth can be misrepresented is seen in the circumstances that led to the killing of Guru Dronacharya in the Mahabharata. ====

==== During the Kurukshetra war, the Pandavas realised that it would be impossible to win so long as Dronacharya was leading the Kauravas’ forces. Since Dronacharya was deeply attached to his son Ashwathama, the Pandavas felt that the only way to force Dronacharya to give up arms was to make him believe that Ashwathama had been killed. But Ashwathama was known to be an invincible warrior and no one, least of all his father, would believe that he could be killed in battle. ====

==== Krishna, the master strategist, directed Bhim to kill an elephant, also named Ashwathama, and announce his death in the battlefield. Predictably, Dronacharya refused to believe that it could be his son and sought confirmation from Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava brother, who never lied. ====

==== Krishna advised Yudhishthira to make an announcement regarding the death of Ashwathama the elephant, which was the truth and will not be doubted by Dronacharya. Yudhishthira initially refused, but persuaded by Krishna’s arguments, reluctantly agreed to the strategy. And so, keeping his conscience clear, Yudhishthira made a public announcement in the battlefield: “Ashwathama is dead—man or elephant, I’m not sure!” At that moment, Krishna and the Pandava brothers blew their conches aloud and drowned out the latter part of the sentence. As a result, Dronacharya and others could hear only the first part of the announcement that Ashwathama had been killed. Since it was Yudhishthira who declared this, no one doubted the truth of the statement. As expected, Dronacharya threw away his arms and abandoned the battle in grief and was killed while sitting in meditation. That was the turning point that ultimately resulted in the Kaurava’s defeat. ====

==== From a moral and ethical point of view, the strategy adopted by the Pandavas was questionable and, as stated in the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira had to undergo a token punishment for it before being allowed to enter swarga. But in the limited context of our discussion, the incident shows how even a wise man like Dronacharya blindly accepted Yudhishthira’s statement simply because it came from a person who had taken an oath to always speak the truth. ====

==== Today multimedia mass communication systems are our main source of information. They exercise tremendous influence over us. Add to this, active social media, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. ====

==== The Constitution of free India, not only guarantees the right to free speech but also has “Satyamev Jayate” as the national motto, “Truth Alone Triumphs”. Therefore, all of us, in whatever capacity we are working, need to abide by the truth in all circumstances. ====

==== Truth cannot be hidden forever and ultimately one will have to pay the price for withholding the truth from the people. As Emile Zola has said,” If you shut up truth and bury it under the ground, it will grow and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through, it will blow up everything in its way.” ====