Inspiration Bytes: Value of Truth

Value of Truth

Truth means the identity of mind and speech .God has endowed man with the power of speech only to speak out what is in the mind. Bad thoughts arise in a man’s mind. He expresses them exactly through the speech. That will not be truth. Truth does not mean a mere identity of mind and speech. Good thoughts arising in a good mind, when expressed, become truth.

There was a great devotee of Goddess by name Abhirama Bhattar in Thirukkadavur in Tamil Nadu. Most of the time he was deeply engrossed in meditation on the Goddess Abhirami and was in state of ecstasy .Some people were jealous of him and told the king that Abhirama Bhattar was a drunkard and he pretended to be a devotee. The king Sarabhoji wanted to verify this allegation. One day when the king came there to have a darshan of Goddess at the temple he saw the devotee Bhattar there and asked him,’ what is the lunar day today?’ Bhattar was in a state of full joy .That day was a new moon day. The sky was pitch dark. But Bhattar was deeply meditating on the Goddess and was ecstatic. There was brightness inside him. He answered ‘Today is full moon day!’ The King thought what others told him about Bhattar was true. He told him derisively ‘Oh! Is that so? Has the moon appeared in the sky, let us see’, saying thus he looked at the sky.

At that time the full moon actually appeared in the sky. Since Abhirama Bhattar was firmly established in the truth when by mistake he spoke what was not true, The Goddess herself took off her ear ornament and threw it in the skies and made it shine like a full moon. The reason why the blessings or curses uttered by great holy men come true is that power of the truth. Whatever they say will happen. This is an incidental benefit of being truthful. But one should not practise truth with the expectation that whatever he says should happen. Only when truth is practised without such expectation the power will accrue on its own.