Satya is a true badman.

This article is about the Sanskrit word. For other meanings see Satya (disambiguation).

Satya is a Sanskrit word that loosely translates into English as "Truth." Satya is pronounced like Libya, with two and a half or three syllables. It is a term of power due to its purity and meaning and has become the emblem of many peaceful social movements, particularly those centered on social justice, environmentalism and vegetarianism. Satya can have the following meanings: Satya, a Sanskrit word that loosely translates into English as Truth. Satya, a 1998 film Satya, is also the name of a vegetarian magazine. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम्) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ...

Philosophical Meaning

The philosophical meaning of the word 'Satya' is "unchangeable", "that which has no distortion", "that which is beyond distinctions of time, space, and person", "that which pervades the universe in all its constancy". Human life progresses through different stages -- from childhood to adolescence, from adolescence to youth, and youth to old age. It is through these changes that people progress in the manifest world. That is why human life or its receptacle, the body, is not Satya' or Truth.

Subtle Meaning

There is a more subtle meaning of the word, 'Satya', which is Citsvaru'pa (the Supreme consciousness) or Purus'a. In the field of Sa'dhana' or intuitional practice, the meaning of 'Satya' is 'Parahit'artham' va'unmanaso yatha'rthatvam' satyam i.e., Satya is the benevolent use of words and the mind for the welfare of others. This is to say that a benevolent sage must be truthful regardless of the meaning of satya. The creation of one who has not learnt to regard the blissful, unchangeable Universe as the ultimate goal of every living being is a journey away from truthfulness.

Common Interpretation

The accepted interpretation however, is "the Truth which equals love." This concept of truth is not merely a synonym of fact or correctness, but is more metaphysical, like the difference between “brain” and “mind.” This 'bigger picture' notion of truth, at least as far as the term Satya is concerned, implies a higher order, a higher principle, a higher knowledge, but not necessarily a higher being or creator. Satya is what one becomes aware of upon becoming a Bodhi (enlightened or awakened person--'Buddha' means awakened one). Thus, this topic is an aspect more akin to the sum of the rules of the universe--the 'universal reality.' This idea of a universal reality is common in Eastern philosophy. Combined with other words, Satya acts as modifier, like "ultra" or "highest," or more literally "truest," connoting purity and excellence. Examples: Satyaloka = highest heaven; Satya Yuga = the original, "golden" and best of the four cyclical cosmic ages in Hinduism. Note, in Hinduism, we are currently in the Kali Yuga, the most depraved, degraded, and corrupt of the four cycles, which began on 3102 BC and will end and be replaced by the Satya Yuga in another 427,000 years. Bodhi (Pāli and Sanskrit. ... The Satya Yuga, also called Sat Yuga, Krta Yuga and Krita Yuga in Hinduism, is the Yuga (Age or Era) of Truth, when humankind is governed by gods, and every manifestation or work is close to the purest ideal and mankind will allow intrinsic goodness to rule supreme. ... Hinduism (Sanskrit/Hindi: हिन्दु धर्म; also known as Sanātana Dharma - सनातन् धर्म, and Vaidika Dharma - वैदिक धर्म) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the Vedas, and is the direct descendant of the Vedic religion. ... Kali Yuga is also the title of a book by Roland Charles Wagner. ...

Gandhi and Satyagraha

Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma, the “Great Soul”) Gandhi coined the term "Satyagraha," literally meaning "Truth force" as the name for his movement of nonviolent resistance for self-sufficiency and the struggle to overcome powerful, daunting and often violent oppression in his native India and in South Africa by the British Raj and South African government. Gandhi said: "Satya implies love and therefore serves as a synonym for a peaceful, healing force. I thus began to call the Indian movement "Satyagraha," that is to say, the force which is born of truth, love and nonviolence, and gave up the use of the phrase ‘passive resistance’, an inaccurate description for what I have in mind." Gandhi considered his new satyagraha campaign the embodiment of the Hindu concept of ahimsa, or complete peacefulness, the central core of his beliefs and the motivation for his strict vegetarian lifestyle. He felt that nearly all conflict could be resolved through diplomatic means and that violence truly begets only more violence. To destroy your enemy through violence is to destroy that which is within you that is righteous and just. Pacifism does not equate to passivity however; Gandhi was a pragmatist and felt that taking up arms can be a virtuous act if done in the defense of the helpless or to preserve justice when not doing so would be cowardly. He was ardently opposed to the ancient and pervasive Indian caste system and to all forms of slavery and prejudice, including economic, and was determined to resist them. Gandhi espoused that in a free India (and world) movement in which he intended that the poor must enjoy the same power as the rich, who must understand that their desires above and beyond the bare necessities were to be accommodated only after the essential needs of the poor were satisfied. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी, Gujarati મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી), called Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of Indias independence from British colonial rule to world attention. ... Satyagraha is the philosophy of nonviolent resistance most famously employed by Mohandas Gandhi in forcing an end to the British Raj and also against apartheid in South Africa. ... British India (otherwise known as The British Raj) was a historical period during which most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, were under the colonial authority of the British Empire (Undivided India). ... National motto: Ex Unitate Vires (Latin: From Unity, strength} Official languages Afrikaans, English. ... Ahimsa is a religious concept which advocates non-violence and a respect for all life. ... Pacifism is opposition to war. ... Pragmatism is a school of philosophy which originated in the United States in the late 1800s. ... The word Caste is derived from the Portuguese word casta, meaning lineage, breed or race. ...

Gandhi saw truth as something that is multifaceted and unable to be grasped in its entirety by any one individual. All people carry pieces of the truth, he believed, but people need the pieces of others’ truths in order to pursue the greater truth. This led him to a belief in the inherent worth of dialogue with opponents, and a sincere wish to understand their drives and motivations. On a practical level, willingness to listen to another's point of view is largely dependent on reciprocity. In order to be heard by one's opponents, one must also be prepared to listen.

Gandhi was not a monk or religious fundamentalist as he is depicted today, he abhorred blind following and dogma. His morality consisted "not in following the beaten track but in finding the true path for ourselves and in fearlessly following it." When asked about the theological roots of his non-violent philosophy, Gandhi replied: "Satya is about freedom. It is a secular concept, though I realize it has a religious connotation. Ultimate Truth or 'Satya' is available to those who wish to know it, and no particular tradition is necessary to encounter it." Early in his manhood, Gandhi said, "Truth is my God. Non-violence is the means of realizing him." He was a highly spiritual man, and did use the word "God" often, and he embraced the teachings of many religions, both Eastern and Western, seeing them as branches of the same tree. However, he did not adopt their concepts of a personal creator “God” with attributes, motives or a will, nor in an afterlife or a "soul" as it is known in Western religions. He was highly educated, not only in the law, but in science and philosophy. He was particularly well-read, and was an avid reader of Tolstoy’s works, another famous pacifist who believed that our connection to the Infinite must be founded on reason and knowledge, not faith, intuition, or superstition. Infinity is a word carrying a number of different meanings in mathematics, philosophy, theology and everyday life. ...

Gandhi introduces his autobiography by saying, "I simply want to tell the story of my numerous experiments with Truth, and as my life consists of nothing but those experiments, it is true that the story will take the shape of an autobiography." With the pursuit of Truth as his "sole objective," Gandhi conducted these lifelong experiments within the microcosm of his own life and the macrocosm of society as a whole. Gandhi believed that when an individual comprehends the plurality of Truth, all selfish motives vanish. They are replaced by compassion, devotion to non-violence and an infinite capacity for self-sacrifice. Gandhi also believed that in the pursuit of Truth, dogmatic convictions must often be abandoned as untruths. He said, "If my views are proved to be wrong, I shall have no hesitation in rejecting them." Gandhi’s brand of pacifism and life serve as a shining example of how all can and should integrate compassion into their daily lives.

External links

• The Meaning of Satya