The Truth and the Divine Teachings

While addressing the conceptual details with regard to religion we often get into a kind of inexplicable trap. One of the most striking questions posed; rather I would say one of the most difficult things that we come across is regarding judging the truth. The number of questions pop in. What truth is? What are its characteristics? How to arrive at consensus? What happens if one does not follow the truth?

Truth is something that can be genuinely experienced, there can't be an outside pressure to accept the facts. Truth does not mean only an authoritative declaration or something which has been endorsed by religious heads. Yes, no doubt, to some extent it qualifies these essentials, but truth has its enormity beyond these perceptive ideas.

Anything that appears to eye is visible similarly anything that provides a kind of solace to the heart is truth. Anything that gives a sense of self satisfaction is truth. That which is free from confusion is truth. It means every act and the principles which qualify these reasonable aspects can, unarguably, be regarded as the truth. Hence it should be free from all forms of deceptiveness.

Now in view of its definition in broader sense you can narrowed it down to day to day affairs and can easily analyze what truth is and what false is all about? We can say that the human hearts and minds have been harmonized with the true essence of truth, and anything that is up against it is automatically rejected. This very sense gives rise to the concept of universal truths. Justice, peace, covenant, promise, good words, protection of human rights, belief in God, belief in His guidance, love and tranquility, social service etc. have universal acceptance. Nobody can dare to resist these values.

Here an important aspect needs to be dealt with regard to the comprehensive definition of truth. If it is to believe that anything that provides solace to heart is truth, it implies that corruption of a corrupt person, act of stealing of a thief and heinous crime for a cruel person can be regarded as truth? Isn’t it? As all these acts satisfies a person one way or the other.

Unarguably a thief acts satisfies him, but the act of thief cannot be a reflection of truth, right? Similarly the heinous act of a cruel person can bring happiness to him but that dehumanize act cannot be termed as truth. To arrive at consensus we need a benchmark to judge what is right and what is wrong?

This aspect can be argued in two ways. Firstly even for a thief an act of stealing cannot provide solace to the heart otherwise he would have never done it secretly and repeatedly. Soon after stealing he might rejoice but the cause start diminishing in due course of time. This is the reason why he tries to do even more than what he did in his previous attempts. Similar is the case of all evil acts that provide a brief respite but the impact doesn't last longer.
Secondly, there should be a benchmark over which one can judge between truth and false. Since truth has its direct relation to the heart and human conscience, with this the spiritual aspect of humans get consolidated. which in turn provides a yardstick. Its a blessing bestowed by the Creator of human beings. That’s the reason why the values pertaining to truth and false have their own place in religious scriptures, which are nothing but the Divine Injunctions and a reliable benchmark of judgment.

The Divine Injunctions basically elaborate the conceptual details of the truth and falsehood. They deal with the human struggle which takes place from time to time.

Divine Injunctions are the words of God that exemplifies what good is and what actually mean by bad, what virtue is and what vice is?. Which is the path of Heaven and what factors lead a person to Hell?
One may argue that the admonitions of religious leader may also be considered as Divine injunctions. To understand the true spirit of the sayings of great persons one should go back to generally accepted fact about the prophecy of a person. The only source that help understand this complex issue is the religious scriptures which have been, as it’s widely believed, revealed by God. Apart from this criterion anything that falls on the either side can be termed as valuable teachings but not the Divine injunctions. Moreover the human nature reflects when one utter some words, since human nature is Godly in spirit, the words uttered - that are true to the belief in God - appears heart softening.

Another query that follows the baffling trap when we address this issue is what if one does not follow the truth and Divine injunctions? There are many things that need to be understood before addressing this issue.

1. There are innumerable blessings of God, the air the water and the food etc. These favors have been the real source of human existence on earth. The earth, the wind, the under water streams, the human energy involved systematically to utilize the blessings of God. Here one can find precise co-ordination between man’s potentials and those bounties of God. Similarly there is a perfect relationship between the Divine injunctions and the man’s nature. The prescribed behavior on earth is an attitude synchronized with this very fact.
2. One needs to understand the correlation between the truth and man’s nature? The way one perceives its idea helps recognize the agreed behavior. For instance a company to which I am not associated doesn’t entitle me to follow its rules and regulations. It’s a known fact that the values pertaining to truth are directly proportional to human concise. Therefore following truth is following one’s inner voice. Truth is man’s own nature.
3. The human history bears testimony to the fact that the human problems have been resolved on the basis of Divine Guidance. Take for instance any major religion of the world; you can witness a high relevance to this fact. Man was and is in need of Divine guidance, by virtue of which the social and collective problems can be solved.

There are many problems of individual nature, the pre-requisites of the solution to those problems are nothing but to stick to the basics and follow the values based on truth and justice.

These four reasons explicitly portray the essence of truth; it is the human need to be an epitome of the shades of truth. This adherence is not because of the external pressure, it’s an inner conscious that encourages a man to set an example of right attitude. Same as starvation persuade a person to eat. So, to follow the right path and be an embodiment of truth becomes the ultimate portrayal of human being. There should not be any compulsion, the one who follows the truth, follows for his own good self; it’s not a favor on anyone. If one acknowledges this accepted viewpoint of following the truth then nothing can prevent from following the right path and leading a life quintessence of peace and progress.

The very purpose of human beings and their existence on the earth can be exemplified, true to their essence, when the principles based on truth, justice and honesty are followed. To be very honest, the Divine injunctions are nothing but a spiritual food that every man on the earth needs.

(C) 2014 - Muhammad Abdullah Javed ( m abdullah javed)

The truth, is basically an obstinate part of human nature. No one on earth dare to deny truth nor its various shades and means. What require is a humane approach towards its realization. When the matter is perceptible and things are understandable, the desired human approach is to accept it. There can't be any external form of compulsion, either to accept or reject, all depends on the conscience of a person.