Karma Yoga Sastra -Tilak
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CHAPTER II
THE DESIRE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ACTION
(KARMA-JIJNASA) i.e., " There is no sin in speaking the untruth on the following five occasions, namely, if in joke or while speaking with women or at the time of marriage, or if your life is in danger, or for protecting your own property. "[1]. But that does not mean that one must always speak the untruth in speaking with women, and these exceptions are to be understood in the same way in the Mahabharata, as those mentioned by Prof. Sidgwick with reference to " children, or madmen or invalids ". But Western philosophers, who have shelved the metaphysical as also the next-world view of the matter, have gone further and have barefacedly permitted even merchants to tell any lies they like for their own benefit, which is a thing our lawgivers have not done! It is true that where there is a conflict between Verbal Truth, that is to Bay, truthful speech, and Practical Truth, that is to say, the benefit of humanity, they have permitted that the situation may be saved by telling a lie, if, from the practical point of view, that is unavoidable. Nevertheless, as they look upon the moral laws of Truth etc. as permanent, that is to say, immutable under all circumstances, they have considered this speaking of untruth as a sin to a certain extent, from the next- world point of view, and have prescribed relative penances. Purely materialistic philosophers will say, that these penances are mere bug-bears. But as those who prescribed these penances or those for whom these penances were prescribed, were not of the same opinion, one has got to say that both these classes look upon these exceptions to the law of Truth as the less proper course of conduct ; and the same moral has been conveyed by the relative traditional stories on this point. For instance, Yudhisthira, on a difficult occasion, half- heartedly and only once, uttered the words " naro va kunjaro va." But on that account his chariot, which till then used to move in the air about four inches above- the surface of the earth began to move in contact with the earth like the chariots of other people, and he had also to spend a few hours in hell, as has been stated in the Maha- bharata itself [2]. In the same way, as Arjuna killed Bhisma, taking shelter behind Sikhandi, though according to the laws of warfare, he had to suffer defeat later on at the hands of his son Babhruvahana,, as has been stated in the Asvamedhaparva [3] From this it will be seen that these exceptions, which have been contigently permitted, are not to he treated as the rule or as authority, and that our religious writers have drawn, the following ultimate philosophical proposition, namely :- atmahetoh pararthe va narmahasyasrayat tatha I ye mrsa na vadantiha te narah svargagaminah II that is : " those persons alone attain heaven, who never speak the untruth in this world, whether for their own benefit, or for the benefit of others, or in joke ; " as was explained by Mahadeva to Parvati. [4] The law of Truth consists in performing one's promises or vows. Sri Krsna and Bhisma both said, that the Himalaya might move from its site, or fire itself would become cold, but what they had said would not be otherwise (Ma. Bha. A 103 and U. 81. 48) ; and even Bhartrhari has described righteous- persons in the following terms :~ tejasvinah sukham asun api samtyajanti I satyavratavysanino na punah pratijnam II
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