THIS ABOVE ALL: TO THINE OWNSELF TO BE TRUE

The world is engulfed with a sense of artificiality, cheating and pretentious facade. When we look around, often we find people misleading and betraying  others. To expect authenticity or truthfulness from majority of the people is an expectation too high. Accepted that we have this inbuilt nature of being untrue to others, but is there any way we can at least be true to our own selves? Whatever we do, we should be faithful to ourselves. If we are on a right path and strive to be honest, we will never have that feeling of being wrong and we will be what we are.

However, there are  people who engage themselves in a certain kind of work due to which they may never realize who they are leading them to a road of confusion. Thieves, murderers, terrorists, can never be true to themselves because their work itself is to cheat others. Do you think these people are satisfied with what they are doing? Do you think they will find peace in death?They always face some kind of randomness in every situation.Why to do such things that can never provide you peace and could not allow you to be true ?  I think the most important thing is to work in such a way that allows you to be true to yourself, therein finding peace.  If we have to struggle to find what kind of a person we are, that means some way or the other we are lying to ourselves and we are not at peace with our own life.

Many a times we hear saints preach that the first and foremost thing is to search ourselves and obtain an answer to the question- WHO AM I? A lot of people may find this very silly, but if we actually work to get this answer, our life will run very smoothly.   The day we get an answer to this complicated yet unavoidable question we will be completely and purely true to ourselves.Learning and accepting oneself is the most important step which therefore helps in being true to oneself. With every step if we trust and be honest with ourselves, then knowing ourselves, we will realize, is not a tough process.

Morality is a deep value of human life because of which being true and finding truth becomes important. Its possible that we cannot always be true to others, therefore the only thing we can balance and compensate for the lies is by being true to ourselves. May be this can provide us inner peace.  Anyone can be true to himself or herself if he or she is really a genuine and a just person. For example, when a student who missed his class for some fun time was asked whether he did it on purpose, answers that he missed a class for some important work, definitely means he is lying to others. However if the very next moment he realizes that he did something which he shouldn't have done and promises to himself that he will never miss his classes again, and implements on that self made promise too, shows that he is a person who will always be true to himself. Being honest to ourselves is only helpful to us and no one else. So why not help ourselves and transform ourselves into a better person? The more we’ll be true to ourselves, the more we can teach others about it, and can make everyone a truthful person, and then that time will not be far when this hatred filled world will be an ideal place to live.

  

Writing of truth, what better example than Mahatma Gandhi's 'my experiments with truth'? His satyagrah, which means quest for truth, led him on the path of victory and this even made people to address him as a mahatma. He showed people the power of truth. If we are truthful we don’t require any force to win the battle this is what his  endeavor was. In this whole journey he was true to himself because there was not a single time when he withdrew his belief despite all the problems that came his way. On the other hand there were Britishers who were absolutely untrue to themselves. People who cause harm to others can never be true to themselves. As a result, the British colonialism fell down and at the end we were the ones who came out victorious.

We also know about a person who caused great destruction to a certain mass, Hitler. His aim was to eliminate Jews from Germany which is itself  was a very inhuman and barbaric thought because he was snatching away the real rights of people.  He didn't even realize about those people whose loved ones were made to die even after having no fault or committing no crime. Was he doing a right thing? Was he TRUE to himself? No he wasn't true to himself and could have never been .He was lying to himself and other Germans because he committed suicide instead of dying which could have been a dignified death. He killed himself out of fear that he had done wrong to people and everything was just finished. 

We all know what outcome we have to suffer by being untrue. 

When you think that you are doing something wrong you should ask yourself – am I doing right? Your inner voice will give you the answer. This question can apply for the small things and important things at the same time. Any terrorist can ask this question to himself when he explodes a bomb to take away thousand lives, or any couple who runs away from their family for marriage. If they really stop themselves from doing that immoral and false task, they are fair to themselves.

You should always be YOU! You cannot blame anyone else for your own faults. We should realize the fact that in this whole world the person whom we can trust the most is WE ourselves. A lot of conflict or instability in our life is only because we are untrue to ourselves. So, by being honest to ourselves, we can learn to change conflict and instability into stability and clarity for ourselves. There is an enlightening quote stated by  GordonMacKenzie- You have a masterpiece inside you, too, you know. One unlike any that has ever been created, or ever will be. And remember: If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted. No one else can paint it. Only you.

So it's of utmost importance to awaken now and try to discover ourselves, and above all- BE TRUE TO OURSELVES.