I am sure there does not exist anyone on this earth who has not lied; sometime, some place, somewhere. In this respect, most of us begin early. As kids when faced with a difficult question from your Mother, the temptation to take the easier way out and make an innocuous excuse/lie is par for the course. When Fathers ask tough questions about studying or about our friends, again we do take some liberty with the truth. And creatively change reality to escape more difficult consequences. Bunking classes; catching a movie; trying a cigarette (or at times something stronger); continuing friendship with persons our parents feel are a bad influence : in all these, and many more similar challenging circumstances, we take the easier way out and either indulge in half truths or blatant lies. And we easily explain to our conscience that it is for the “larger good/peace/happiness” or what have you. Have we all not played along in this game?
At one extreme end is the famous white (? or black??) lie of Yudhishtir (encouraged by Krishna) who informed Drona that “Ashwatthama hato” (Ashwatthama is dead) adding sotto voce “Naro wa Kunjarova aham nahi jananti”. This lie, from a true follower of Dharma like Yudhishtir, caused Guru Drona to disarm himself in grief of having lost his son. Thus, Drona the Commander of Kaurava army, who could not be defeated, was left defense less due to Krishna’s subterfuge.That lie has become an epitome of expediency. Of means v/s ends debate. All with very large scale consequences. Least of all being the “fact” that Yudhishtir was till then so pure a follower of Dharma that his chariot reportedly ran an inch above the earth surface: but this lie made him as much a mortal as all of us and his chariot after that never flew above the earth; but traveled on the surface of earth like all others’ chariots. A classic Puranic tale which also underlies that “gods” themselves are not above lies?
In more modern times our dear Mr President Trump’s inauguration attendance created its’ own controversy and gave birth to the concept of “alternative facts”. Though most of the world later debunked this terminology and as so accurately called out on the air by NBC’s Chuck Todd “Alternative facts are not facts, they’re falsehoods!”. Nevertheless am sure the Trump brigade genuinely believed the alternate facts. And held firm their own image in their mind.
While both these examples are of epic proportions, world history gives us many many more in times of war and in times of peace. The fact remains that humans are not averse to modifying facts and reality to serve their own immediate need. The “spin doctors” whom Vance Packard way back in 1957 called the “Hidden Persuaders” are at it all the time. Creatively changing “facts” to suit their arguments the game is never fair and truthful. Always there is an axe to grind and a opinion to modify: after being subjected to interpretation and modification. Most of modern day marketing and advertising is creating impressions and hopes which may or may not be truthful. How many people do we know personally who have benefited from fairness creams? but that still is a huge market with it’s own followers.
I am frankly not too concerned with these “epic” lies and spins. As a student of human behavior, I am more interested in understanding why, and how, we everyday people also indulge in this “story telling” , and creatively altering reality and marshaling ( or hiding for that matter) facts as we live our lives, and express our opinions on a day to day basis. Do we not see the falsehood we profess? or is it so ingrained and so subtle that we do this “naturally” and without any sense of guilt?
This worries me a lot, as we cannot ever be sure whether what we are hearing or what we are being shown is “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” . Philosophically and fundamentally, the more basic issue is : is there a common reality? or is each one of us living in our own world bound by our own reality which we cannot share?
Questions, questions, questions. And I can’t even appeal to Krishna to lead me to the answer!!!!!
Yours in quandary: vikas
Vikasblog 