One of the key dharma in Hinduism is to be Truthful always.

There are many interpretations to this.

As a kid we are told that we should tell only truth, and nothing but the truth always. 1/n

As we grow older, there is a doubt as to how we can tell the truth always.

Some truths hurt people. Then is it wise to tell truth? 2/n

My Brother in Laws Mother is 90 now.

Since both her sons were abroad in 1990s, I used to visit her and mama frequently, do odd jobs for them, take them to Hospital, and even stayed with them a lot in Coimbatore 3/n

She made it a point to tell bluntly on the face what she thinks about them. Most were uncomfortable with this habit of hers.

If a newly married couple visits her, she will look at the boy and tell him

"Ivalodu Azhagukku nee porathu" ( You are not a match for her beauty) 4/n

Or she will tell both "Height matche illai. Nee rombal tall. Ivalo kuttai" (There is a height mismatch. You are tall but she is very short)

But I never had a problem with her. I was from the same stable. 5/n

The beauty of her character was that this lady never minded if unpleasant truths about her were told to her.

I, who was much younger to her, often used to tell her "Mami, your cooking is trash today" (Most of the time it used to be). 6/n

She would admit it is & promise to cook better next time

She started learning Carnatic Music at 60 with a voice that was more like a rock scraping a metal. But she enjoyed singing and once when I was about to depart, she gave me a cassette to play on the Car Radio 7/n

"Kettittu opinion sollu" (Give me your opinion after listening

It was a devotional song and well one couldnt sing it more atrociously. I almost hit a truck when the song first came up. 8/n

I told her next time I met her

"Mami. You need to pour some oil down your throat".

Mami had a hearty laugh and took the comment with aplomb. 9/n

I met her a couple of years back after a long time. She was 88 then, and was extremely glad to see me.

She remembered many of my comments and laughed loud. She even remembered me correcting the ragam of one of her song as Dharmavathi (this after 30 years). 10/n

She was as feisty as ever and unloaded all her complaints about my Sister on me, in front of her, which made my sister squirm and me pleased as a punch 11/n

The problem Mami and me face is that others just did not want go hear the truth.

It made them uncomfortable.

I used to be brutally frank with my students and used to give blunt feedbacks. 12/n

My logic was that students should be aware of their limitations, and my feedback should spur them to correct themselves.

But the flip side was my students never wanted to know the truth about them 13/n

Maybe one needs to refrain oneself from telling truth all the time but use truth judiciously. If not telling the truth will result in a benefit for others/or telling the truth hurts others, it makes sense to keep quiet. 14/n

One need not tell untruth, but can avoid telling the truth for a broader cause maybe n/n

Even Dharmaputran, the epitome of truthful living was forced to tell a half lie, "Aswathama hatha kunjaraha", by Srikrishnan during Kurukshetra as telling that would end the mayhem caused by Dronacharya, and ultimately leading to the triumph of good over evil.

In the same Kurukshetra, Srikrishnan was prepared to break his vow of not taking arms during the war for a greater good.

Thus the interpretation of 'Sathyam vadaa' means lead a life of truthfulness, but dont blurt out all truths, use truth judiciously, ensure that revealing truth do not hurt others and is for the benefit of the society and mankind.

What is not acceptable is telling untruth for personal benefit.

Satyameva Jayathe!