Truth is bully whom we all pretend to like ....

Well before anyone accuses me of plagiarism let me confess that the title of post is from famous book Shantaram. This line made me ponder to what extent is this true. Do we really pretend to like truth when it is forced on us? I heard longtime back that truth is stranger then fiction and yeah now I realize that it’s factual to large extent.

So what exactly is truth? Well I guess whatever one feels to be correct is truth for him but this might be illusions to others. So whatever according to us is correct rather whatever which can make us happy or make us feel good we name it as truth and since we always have in our psyche that following truth is ideal way of living life. But it turns out to be other way round it is not truth which makes us happy but whatever makes us happy we assigned it as truth.

But what if truth has already been defined and we don’t like it, also we don’t have guts and courage to oppose it. Now we are left with no other option but to like it or in other word make others feel that we are also enjoying the truth. There are some instances where we all unanimously agree and accept it as truth. Let me give an example. Some days back I along with my friends went to watch all time great classic Macbeth. When I was watching the play I had to concentrate really hard and though I had read this play still I must admit candidly that didn’t get even fifty percent of dialogues. One of the protagonists said a lengthy dialogue of which I could hardly get a line and to my surprise by the end of the dialogue entire crowd was applauding it. I thought may be I missed something so I tried to concentrate more but again when the crowd applauded I could hardly find any reason. I thought there are two possibilities either I am in esteem company of great intellectuals or even the audience have taken up the role of acting and are making other feel that they are also enjoying the play. Why? Well because the play was all time classic so one has to like it else he will be taken as dumb fellow. Here truth was Macbeth is a great play and you ought to like it.

My doubts were cleared when Ashish just sitting beside me bought to my notice that every time when there was applause it was initiated and directed by director of play himself. He started clapping and others followed may be not because they were enjoying it but because they have to be part of the truth. And this was confirmed when I overheard person sitting in front of me saying “is it over?” He was talking whether the play has come to end when it was only intermission and though he seemed to enjoying every act of play. May be he was no more willing to abide by the so called truth. So what was it that made all the spectators accept something as truth which was not making them happy? I guess might be their social status they all belong to some elite class and anyone showing displeasure might have met with raised eye brows and have ended with non elite tag, which he in any case was not willing to accept so he acts wisely and pretends to enjoy the so called truth along with others who are also doing same. Its fear of loosing dignity that makes everyone pretends to like the play.

I am very much sure had something of this kind shown to rickshwallas or notorious college students they might ended up throwing all kinds of things other then admiration, praise etc. So are they better judge of truth? May be they are at least they are not accepting something which is not making them happy.

Longtime back in my school days our principal always use to quote from bible “The truth shall make you free.” But is truth is making us free? No I guess its making us live in some illusory world which we don’t like but accept it since we think that others seem to accept and enjoy it.

As said by Oscar Wilde “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” It’s very complex to understand what truth is. We all have our notions and we tend to define things as per to them what seem to be true and pure to us might be fake to others. Truth to me is journey which we need to undertake and search for truth teaches us different things and not its possession. We need to come out of our dogmas.

But there is one truth which we all accept and which doesn’t bring happiness to many. It’s the ultimate truth of life and someday or other we all will face it. Yes, I am talking about death. Whether we get to know the real meaning of truth is not certain but we all will face this truth is definite. We relate truth with contentment but when death will approach us it will be most painful experience. There might be a case when we will love to have death because of agonizing life. But none of us will be able to share the experience of facing the ultimate truth. So the ultimate truth of life will bring our life to end.

So truth is not something which will make us happy or free neither it is something which everyone accepts (except death). So what is it then? or is it that there is no truth in world except one?