Honesty- a direct uncorrupted movement from self to action || Acharya Prashant (2014)
Speaker: When you say ‘honesty is the best policy’ to a kid in school, you are validating honesty but more than honesty you are validating policies. You are on the side of honesty; that is obvious. You are saying ‘honesty is the best policy’; so you are advocating honesty. What we do not notice is that simultaneously we are also advocating…?
Listener 1: Policies.
Speaker: Yes and what are policies?
Listener 1: Man-made, rules and regulations.
Speaker: Policies are alternatives, policies are choices . I may do this or I may not do this. All policies are decisions and you have made honesty into a…?
Listeners (in unison) : Policy.
Speaker: Decision, and the moment you say it’s my decision to be honest, you are saying that I am bigger than honesty. I am choosing honesty and I reserve the right to…?
Listener 2: Not to choose honesty.
Speaker: Yes, not to choose honesty. So, alright honesty is big but policy is bigger and whose policy?
Listener 2: My policy.
Speaker: So, ultimately who is the biggest?
Listener 2: Me.
Speaker: Me. honesty is big, policy is bigger and I am the…?
Listener 3: Biggest.
Speaker: Biggest.
That’s the thing; ‘honesty is the best policy’, yes, right, good; but if it is my policy then I am free to change policies. Tomorrow I may say something else.
You are still in the mode of comparison . It is the best. Best, better, good, bad, worse, worst.
No, honesty is not a policy. Honesty is your uncorrupted way of living. Where there is a direct beautiful movement from the Self to the mind, from the mind to the thoughts, from thoughts to action, that is honesty. Nothing is getting corrupted at any stage. There is no leakage. There is no pilferage. It starts as pure essence and ends as pure action. It starts as pure essence and ultimately flowers as pure action. Nothing dilutes it in between. Time does nothing to it, passage does nothing to it. It’s not a policy.
Listener 2: It’s a way of life.
Speaker: It’s a way of life, yes.
Listener 4: Can we say it is dignity in life?
Speaker: Yes, it appears quite dignified when it happens. If you want to put that word to it then yes.
You see, you are realizing that. When you used the word dignity, you realized as well as I did that it is not the exact word. Isn’t it? That there is something lacking in this word. Yet, both of us knew, where we are going to. That’s the thing with words and that is why word start failing in that dimension .
Listener 4: In that space.
Speaker: Yes, words start failing. You use words but you also realize in that very moment that this word is not fully appropriate. This is just a workable thing. But it’s ok, so let’s still use it.
Let honesty not remain a policy. Let this integrity, let this seamless totality, where there is no boundary at all, become you. Take away that right from yourself where you say that today I am honest, tomorrow I may choose to be dishonest. Take away that right from yourself. You are no more privileged to do that. Become helpless, become a servant. Not a master of honesty but a servant of honesty. I do what he commands. Kabir called himself ‘*Daas Kabir*’ his entire life. I am a servant, I do His bidding. I carry out His instructions . Whatever is the demand of honesty, I am there at its service. I have no choice. I have no choice at all.
Listener 5: Evolution? This is called evolution?
Speaker: This is not evolution in fact. Because evolution means movement in time and this is remaining what you were. This is retaining your innocence.
You do not evolve to become honest. Honesty is not a movement ahead in time, in fact if you are interested in using time, just say it’s like going…
Listener 5: Inverse.
Speaker: Yes, there is a word for it – involution. Involution, like going back to the mother’s womb. Not a journey. You can use it in that sense also that it’s an evolution, but it is better expressed when you say it is not evolution. It’s like driving in the reverse gear. I have come too far ahead.
Excerpts from Samvaad session. Edited for clarity.
