In Patanjai’s yoga sutras, it is said in chapter 2 verse 36 that: satya pratisthayam kriya phala ashrayatvam. In English, the commentary is: When one does not defile one’s speech with lies, the words one says are listened to and acted upon in a positive and immediate manner. The speaker will be able to say what they mean. What one says comes true.

There is a quote that is the complete opposite of this sutra, attributed to Nazi minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels: If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and even you will come to believe it yourself. This phenomenon of the illusion of truth is also observed in the field of psychology. In this experiment, test subjects were given trivia. And the more the trivia is repeated, the more it was taken as the truth. The explanation is that the human brain takes a shortcut, so we judge the reliability of information based on how often we’ve heard it. Does it mean, then, that human rationality is doomed?

The phenomenon calls upon us, now more than ever, to pause before we repeat what we have heard. If we are unsure about whether something is true or not, we can fact-check. Let us be contributors to truth prevailing. Let us stop fake news. Let us stop the culture of spreading myths in lieu of facts. On a personal level, we can also start to examine the storylines we tell ourselves. Do we repeat belief systems that are not only untrue but also keep us in misery? What if we changed our approach and started to speak the truth about ourselves as well?

The yoga sutra and the quote by Joseph Goebbels are certainly two different perspectives. And while the latter can give us control and power, it is only through the former that we can attain ultimate freedom. As yogis, it is apparent what values we hold— freedom over oppression, kindness over control, and truth over lies. Always choose the truth.

In high school, our classes started early in the morning and ended late in the afternoon. There was a 2-hour lunch break in between and I often used this break to study for any exam that was scheduled in the afternoon. It’s almost like a routine, very predictable, that I would tell my friends “I have not studied yet. I know nothing yet.” And then I’d cram. And every single time, the test results would come out, and predictably I’d get a good grade, from 97 upwards. So one time a friend said “You always claim to know nothing and you always end up doing well” and they thought I was being the boy who cried wolf. Though the truth was that I really knew nothing at that time that I was panicking. I simply acknowledged the truth at that moment and sought to change it.

The other day, I talked to a person I met for the first time. After the exchange, she made a comment that I have a very positive aura. I thanked her and then I thought about it. The truth is, I am not exactly at the most positive phase of my life at the moment. I’m battling some internal issues, and I have been feeling a lot of anxiety and restlessness. But I’ve recently opened up to my friends and spoke the truth of what I’m going through, and it is because of admitting my truth and speaking my truth that I was able to unload, that I was able to free myself from the burden, that I was able to create a much-needed internal space.

The point that I’m making with the two examples is that the truth is the truth. Sometimes, it is not believable, or pretty, or at par with our expectations. Sometimes we hide the truth because there is an image we project and protect. We don’t want to appear weak or vulnerable. But when we discern the truth of the moment, we can examine the quality of this truth. Is this something that I can change in some way? If it is, then we don’t have to fall victim and we can acknowledge that we are in a position to change the situation. Is this something beyond my control? If it is, because the decision is not ours, or because the decision is ours and it is the right one and we need to stick by it, then we learn to accept the truth and begin the process of letting go.

As the old adage goes, the truth hurts but it shall set us free. Anything in between will keep us in limbo. Any denial will prolong the pain. Any minimizing will push our humanity down and hide it. So speak your truth to yourself and live your truth, and let go whenever it is necessary. This life is short.