When we think of truth, most of us think about honesty — saying what is right, not hiding facts. But people react to truth differently. Which of these do you believe?
- “I speak the truth, whether people like it or not.”
- “I’m brutally honest — I don’t sugarcoat.”
- “You cannot always speak the truth… unless you’re a saint.”
So is ‘truth’ the best criteria for choosing our words and actions? Let us look at two tales that show different sides of truth — and help us understand what truth really means.
The Tale of the Missing Roti
A sage once prepared for a short journey. He baked four rotis and packed them in his cloth bundle. On the way, he met an acquaintance who decided to join him. By noon, the sage felt hungry and thought, I will give him half my food. Though he himself was hungry, he found even greater joy in sharing his food with someone.
They stopped by the side of a river. The sage placed his cloth bundle under a tree and asked the acquaintance to keep an eye on it while he washed his hands and feet.
When the sage returned, he sat down to eat and invited the traveler to join him. But when he opened the bundle, he found only three rotis. He began to wonder. He clearly remembered having cooked four rotis and packed them himself. He asked the traveler, “Did you eat one of the rotis?”
The traveler denied it. The sage said nothing. He gave the traveler two rotis and ate one himself. After lunch, they continued their journey.
The river waters were flowing fast, but the sage kept murmuring his prayers. Somehow, they managed to cross safely. On the other side lay a forest. As they walked through, they saw a tiger in the distance. But within moments, it slipped back into the woods, and they were safe again.
The sage felt deeply grateful. He turned to his companion, “The Divine has been so kind. We crossed the river, we escaped the tiger. But tell me once more—are you sure you did not eat the missing roti?”
The traveler denied it again.
As they continued to walk further ahead, they stumbled upon a cloth bag. When they opened it, it had gold coins! The sage divided them into four shares. He took one share, gave two to the traveler, and left the last in the bundle.
“This share is for the one who ate the fourth roti,” he said.
Immediately the traveler blurted out, “That person is me.”
Now his words were technically the truth — but it was a truth spoken for gain, just as his earlier words were lies spoken for convenience. Such truth is hollow. Many times we too speak truth when it benefits us, and hide it when it does not. That may be truth in words, but it is not yet truth in the heart.
The Thief from a Foreign Land
In a faraway kingdom, unrest spread because of a thief who had been robbing houses. Despite many traps, the king’s soldiers could not catch him. One day, they finally did. He was found red-handed, and stolen goods were discovered in his house. His guilt was clear.
The king ordered that he be hanged. At this, the man began to sob and cry out in his own language. No one understood him. The king called for an interpreter.
The interpreter listened closely, then told the king, “Your Highness, he is saying: those who forgive others in this life will have their own mistakes forgiven.”
The king was moved by these words. But another minister, jealous of the interpreter, interrupted: “Your Majesty, that is not true. I know this language as well. This man is cursing you for giving him death. It is not right for the king’s counsel to lie.”
All eyes turned to the king. If the minister was correct, then the interpreter had indeed lied.
The king said calmly:
“His lie is better than your truth. Your truth would take two lives. His lie asks for compassion and forgiveness. I choose the truth that upholds humanity. His words may not be exact, but they carry the truth that saves.”
The interpreter’s words were not an accurate reproduction of what was said. But they carried a deeper truth—one that perhaps saw the agony in the man’s eyes, that heard him cursing the misery of his poverty and of a world that could offer no other solution for his suffering except judgment and punishment. It was the plight of his family, living in a foreign land, who would sink even deeper into misery with the execution of this so-called ‘thief’.
In his compassion, he gave voice to a deeper truth: the truth that heals, not condemns.
The Deeper Truth
These two tales remind us of an important distinction: truth runs deep.
There is the truth that appears in words — but there is also the deeper truth that lives in the heart. Truth in words alone can be harsh, self-serving, or empty. But when truth springs from compassion, it becomes light for others.
It does not stop at being “right,” but asks: what will be helpful?
It does not rush to judge, but asks: what will restore harmony?
It does not only deliver fairness, but also delivers justice.
This truth is not concerned only with the self, but with the wellbeing of all. That is the truth that matters.
Wisdom from the Traditions
Guru Nanak calls us towards this deeper truth in his Ballad of Hope:
One knows the Truth only when Truth itself abides in the heart.
The filth of falsehood departs, and the body too is made clean.
One knows the Truth only when love is placed in the Eternal, not in passing glitter.
When one delights in the Name of the Ever-True, the door of liberation is opened.
One knows the Truth only when one learns the true way of life –
to till the soil of this body and plant the Seed of the Divine within.
One knows the Truth only when one receives the teaching of Truth –
Compassion for all beings and service to humanity.
One knows the Truth only when one dwells in the inner shrine,
abiding there under the Guru’s instruction.
Truth is the medicine for every ill, washing away corruption at its root.
Nanak offers this prayer for those who carry Truth close within.
Sources
- Jaswant Singh Parwana, Dharam ki Yatra
- Guru Nanak, Asa ki vaar, Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 468
- Image credit: Nicholas Roerich Museum, “Star of the Hero”
A question for you…
Have you seen a time when someone spoke a difficult truth with kindness?
The Sabad Project - Wisdom stories 
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