Travelling The Path Of Satya In The Professional World

सत्यं परं परँꣳ सत्यँꣳ सत्येन न

सुवर्गाल्लोकाच्च्यवन्ते कदाचन

सताँꣳ हि सत्यं तस्मात्सत्ये रमन्ते ॥ १॥

(Mahanarayan Upanishad, 78^th Anuvaak 1^st Shlok)

Truthfulness is excellent. What is excellent is truthfulness only. By truthfulness those who have attained to the state of blissfulness never fall from there. What belongs to Sat, namely good people  that is indeed satyam {truthfulness}. For this reason seekers of the highest good find delight in truthfulness

Image Credit - Google Images

Throughout our scriptures, we will find repeated emphasis on Satya, or truth. This theme is repeated and re-iterated in many sources, and constantly emphasized. But this above verse from Mahanarayanopanishad  is one that has struck the deepest in my heart – a verse that is so down to earth; so clear and precise; so touchingly heart-warming. Reading this verse brought me back to my old question –why is it so hard to be completely truthful in the real world – personal or professional? Please note the added emphasis on the qualifying adjective “completely”.  Here, in this rather small write-up, I propose to question why cant be we totally truth-based – personally as well as professionally.

Even a small white lie, meant to avoid hurting others, is a lie. A half-truth or lie, even if it is meant to conceal business secrets, is still a lie. There are other, decidedly better ways to achieve the same objectives without resorting to such underhanded tactics. Yet, we insist on abandoning the path of satya, or truth. Further, the full import of the word “Satya” in spiritual terms is actually far deeper, with deep behavioural, belief and other connotations & parameters  – but unless we cross the first hurdle – complete and total  truth in all speech, that level is unattainable.

There are clear, defined advantages to be had from insisting on being total truthful. As it is not as easy path to tread, you will have to upskill & upgrade personally and professionally if you are to successfully clear the hurdles that appear, for remember -  the people around you are not as truthful as you are trying to be. {Yes-  trying; it is a long path, and you will certainly  fail along it many times}. People will take the easy way out; but you, having consciously chosen the path of Satya, will have to upgrade in your profession to be better than them {in terms of skills & knowledge}, in order to compete. And therein lies the greatest advantage – the sheer pressure  of the need of survival will ensure deep growth in your skill sets, as your struggles, combined with your complete inability to abandon Satya, will ensure that you are driven towards learning and upskilling in professional terms.

More than that, the results you achieve will be more sustainable, more solid and will  have greater depth, as you have not taken a short-cut. The beauty of this path is that you just cannot take the choice of self-interest; so deeply involved is satya with dharm, that your automatic realization of your dharm will propel you to abandon self-interest, repeatedly so.  Furthermore, this path also will throw  up frustration & anger – as you begin to question why aren’t others also on satya? Traversing this phase requires a new paradigm of self-development : acceptance, self-control and ego abandonment. This is the most dangerous : you will have a feeling of superiority. Unless you tackle this, crush it – you will certainly lose the path you are on…  

In simple terms, it is not possible to be on Satya professionally unless you are personally committed and dedicated to the concept of Satya. It is a hard path to be on; there is no easy day month or year in the initial phases. That is why few people sucacessfully follow it all their lives. But, as the Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta also says, initially though it may seem like poison, but eventually, as your skills and abilities grow – you fill slowly find  peace of mind, achievement and relaxation – whether or not you find the elusive material success you are looking for. 

And that is the last path, the homestretch – the day the concept of success itself loses its allure, you are close to getting there… as you are now fully committed to the method, and are actively  upgrading yourself…  the only thing that remains is maintaining yourself in this phase for the rest of your life. That is another story… for another day – to be penned when I myself have achieved something on those lines….