Satyamev Jayate ! Really ?

I am posting this blog on the occasion of the Children’s Day. The children who are innocent, clean-heart, trusting and like raw-clay which can be given any shape through correct / incorrect treatment. The fortunate children who get proper care, nurture and guidance; develop into the desirable citizens of a nation and ideal members of a society. And those unfortunate ones who do not, either end up as the perennial sufferers or the law-breakers distrusting and hating the society and its laws.

Our national symbol contains the slogan ‘Satyamev Jayate’ engraved below the Ashok Chakra. This phrase – ‘Satyamev Jayate’ has been taken from a Shloka (Sanskrit couplet) of the Mundak Upanishad whose complete version is – ‘Satyamev Jayate Nanrutam’ and the break-up of this composite phase is – Satyam+Ev+Jayate+Na+Anrutam, namely, let truth always win and not untruth. Well, I disagree only to one piece of this phrase which is Ev or always. Truth wins but not always. The bitter and extremely painful reality of the things prevailing (at least in India as I do not know about the world outside India) is that truth wins on a minority of the total occasions and loses out to untruth on a majority of them.I am citing another phrase from the sacred book from our ancient times – Chauranaam Anrutam Balam, namely, the strength of the thieves is untruth. Very correct. And that’s why thieves are ruling the roost in India riding on the strength of their untruth. They lie freely and go scot-free for each and every wrongdoing of theirs. The various fights are not won by truth and justice but they are won by whosoever is mightier at the decisive moment. Truth wins sometimes when the odds are in its favour but on most of the occasions, it is bound to lose because the odds remain in favour of untruth. Justice is costly in India. Very costly indeed ! And hence the resourceful only can purchase it, not the underdog. It is not given, it is sold. Yes, it is sold !The children whom this day of 14th November is dedicated to (being the birthday of the first Indian premier, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru who loved children very much and was fondly called ‘Chacha Nehru’ by them) learn whatever is taught to them. I also learned in my studenthood whatever was taught to me by the books, the teachers, the elders etc. I learned to stand by and fight for truth and justice. However right from the very early years of myself, I started realizing that those who used to teach (and preach) to be on the side of truth and justice themselves used to do the contrary. Incidents happened when despite being truthful, I was termed as liar. Still I kept my faith in the power of truth and firmly believed that sooner or later, justice only prevails.

Years passed. I grew from a young kid to a somewhat elder one, then to an adolescent, then to a youth, then to a mature person. The child in me kept on getting hit by the dark and stark truths and realities of life. Trusting and then getting betrayed by all and sundry became a habit for me. Since the innocent child in me survived for decades (it is still alive), I kept on suffering and suffering like anything. This chain continues till date.

Due to these consecutive negative experiences, I lost only my belief in the power of truth, justice and moral values but not my sensitivity. I am empathetic and sensitive to others and especially to the children. Time and again, I feel that there must be millions of children like me in the country who might have learned to believe in truth, justice and moral values. What would have happened to their tender hearts upon facing the painful realities prevailing in the world and surrounding them ? How painfully each and every negative experience might have created a throbbing wound in the tender heart of such an innocent one !

My painfully negative experiences of life have strengthened my motto – ‘Never break a heart’. I never break anybody’s heart especially when it is of a child. Breaking a child’s trust is perhaps the biggest sin to me. I appeal to all the elders to at least stay away from telling lies to their children and breaking their trust in them. If you can’t fulfill a promise being made to a child, better not make that promise itself. Tell the child that it’s not possible. The day a child finds a promise turning out to be a false one, he / she loses trust in the words of the elders. If you want your child to be truthful and honest, first you be truthful and honest towards him / her. Satyamev Jayate is the biggest untruth of today’s India but let the truth coming out of your mouth for your child win ultimately.

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