Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD. Published on www.acadun.com The Netherlands 7th October 2014
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Essence and Honesty
Man is honest by nature, because honesty is an inherent characteristic of man, as it is the essence of life, which evolves everyone to be what he or she is. But what does honesty mean to man? Man believes that when a person is truthful, sincere, and trustworthy he is honest. But could this be honesty?
Man believes that he or she is truthful and sincere, only if standards are the same at all times. Man, however, knows that the standards are not always the same, not only to himself, but also towards others.
Similarly, man believes that he or she is trustworthy when opinions are the same at all times, and do not change. Man, however, knows that opinions keep changing not only about himself, but also about others. So how could man or woman ever be honest if standards and opinions, which man believes are the hallmarks of truth, trust and sincerity keep changing? He also believes that by talking about truthfulness, trustworthiness and sincerity man or woman can become honest.
If truthfulness, trustworthiness and sincerity can happen just by talking about them, and man has been talking about them since eons of time, why do standards and opinions still keep changing? This can only mean that truthfulness, trustworthiness and sincerity do not happen or change just by talking about them. Man is conscious of the exact moment of talking, standards and opinions that does happen with certainty only after they happen and never before they happen. What does this imply?
It implies that man or woman would not be able to change the talking, standard or opinion once they happen. He or she cannot change them because talking or an action is always happening continuously, spontaneously, uncontrollably and unpredictably, and there is neither a moment nor time available to control or change them. They may know about standards and opinions, only as knowledge before they happen, but do not know the exact moment that they would happen with certainty. This is why talking about truthfulness, trustworthiness and sincerity have not made man or woman to be honest, according to what is believed to be honesty.
This means that man or woman, as they are at every moment, are honest by nature. But it is not believed to be honesty by himself or to others. To expect a man or woman to be honest in terms of standards and opinions is impossible, because he or she is not in control of standards or opinions that happen in the moment, though they may be educated and advised to have them, be in control and maintain them at all times.
The enlightened accept everyone for who or what they are, because the enlightened realise that the essence in life manifests a man or a woman, and this by nature is who or what they are in any moment. So honesty is not measured by truthfulness, trustworthiness, sincerity, standards and opinions. Honesty cannot be measured at all. If man begins to understand that the essence in life evolves life, and that life is as it is, love and compassion for all men and women will be present, because it is who or what they are.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
Editor’s Note: We have probably all experienced those occasions when we have kicked ourselves for being ‘less than honest’. We may not have lived up to our usual standards. Of course, when this is applied to other people, the axe comes down more heavily. Understanding of the quality of honesty, so revered amongst men and women, shines through this article. A burden is lifted. Thank you, Dr Shankar.
German translator’s note: To be honest means to man to speak the truth. Relatively speaking this is obviously the case or not. But only relatively, because truth is never absolute. How can man be honest in terms of the mind? He just cannot, because truth will be always different for every mind. Man is honest because life is honest as it is every moment, not in terms of the mind of course. A deep insight in our daily life's relationships shared in this article, thank you! Marcus Stegmaier, Germany
Dutch translator’s note: The articles of Dr. Shankar show us that life puts us, time and again, on the illusory track. In general we find it obvious to have expectations of others. We express those expectations to each other and make demands to pupils, students and employees. If the expectations are met, we are pleased with that person. If the expectations are not met, we are disappointed and do not trust him anymore. Even our love is full of expectations. We need to understand that life is without expectations, while the mind does have expectations. We need to have courage to trust life. Paula Smit, the Netherlands
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