Acharya Mahaprajna
To be true to others constitutes honesty, but this definition of honesty has never appealed to me much. The definition of honesty which appeals to me is: 'To be true to oneself." He who sees evil in wishing ill to others, can escape from it. He alone can be absolutely authentic. When a man's truthfulness is grounded on conduct, he appears to be true in other people's sight. That is, he is concerned with appearing to be true when he is in the limelight. The truth which one accedes to; when alone and unknown, can only be grounded upon oneself.
Some people embrace truthfulness for the sake of the nation; others for their own good. The seed of truth lies dormant in every man, and given the right occasion it sprouts. He who is inspired by an inner urge, is not influenced by circumstances. That he will not be affected by circumstances cannot be said of a man who seeks inspiration for his growth from outside, nevertheless, irrespective of the motive, which inspires it, honesty remains the pride of democracy.
Consciousness should be so developed as to uplift a man, not to degrade him. The first characteristic of an uplifting consciousness is honest behaviour. The conduct, which proceeds from the awakening of moral consciousness, is bound to be authentic. Morality is related to more than one person, whereas spirituality is concerned with one individual alone. Morality is dual-dependent upon two. For a solitary person, the questialityor immorality does not arise at all. How to conduct oneself, becomes relevant only in the presence of two or more persons. A moral person will not indulge in dishonest behaviour. His conduct will always be upright.
