Everyone has to embark perpetually on the quest for truth (Satyanveshana). In every thought, word and action this quest must go on. Truth is not merely what appears as a fact for the moment. It is changeless and beyond time. In uttering truth one should bear in mind that it should be pleasing and wholesome. It should not cause excitement. It should not cause harm to anyone. Truth that is practised in this way will transcend barriers of caste and creed. Rooted in the spiritual, it is valid universally. How is the quest for Truth to be undertaken?
A distinction should be made between truth, untruth and apparent fact. What is apparent at one moment is liable to change at another. Moreover, what is apparent may not be the real truth, as for instance, in the case of the Sun ‘rising in the East’ and ‘setting in the West’. The sun in fact does not rise or set at all. It is the revolution of the earth round itself, which produces the apparent phenomenon of the sun rising and setting.
To cite another example, The same pair of eyes look at different persons-the mother, the wife, the child and so on. Though the eyes are the same, the feeling with which each person should be viewed has to be different. The mother should be looked with a feeling of reverence. The child should be looked at with affection. The wife should be seen with endearment. The quest for truth in this instance calls for understanding how each person should be viewed in the context of his or her specific relationship.
In looking at the world, man has to change his vision. There is nothing wrong in creation. It is man’s vision that has to be rectified. The eyes look at good and bad things, the ears listen to sweet music or harsh words. The sense organs are the same. It is the individual who has to discriminate between what is good and what is bad, in using the sense organs. The senses are misused when you look at bad things or listen to evil talk. The tongue is likewise misused when one indulges in bad speech instead of using it to chant the name of God. No one should indulge in abuse or criticism of others.
The search for truth should go on in every sphere of life. There is no need to search for God. He is everywhere. He is the In-dweller in everyone. As the Ishavasya Upanishad declares: God is immanent in the entire cosmos. (SS May ’96, pp.123-124)