Day 5: Uttam Satya
The word 'satya' (truth) has been derived by the addition of the suffix 'yat' with the root 'sat' (satya) are prevalent in common use; e.g. truthful, real, genuine, honest, loyal, non-deceitful or truth speaking.
Once a Jain monk was preaching 'Dharma' to laymen. A thief who listened to the preaching requested the monk to give him a vow. The monk said, 'You leave your business of stealing. The thief said that it was the only means for his livelihood and refused
to leave it. Then the monk said, 'you take the vow of talking the Truth.' The thief agreed. One day, the thief started to steal in the palace. On the way, the guard asked him 'Who
are you and where are you going?' 'I am a thief, I am going to the palace to steal', the thief said. A person who is entering the palace to steal, how can he tell this with such courage?
He might be related to the king. Thinking in this line, the guard allowed the thief to enter the palace. The thief stole the ornaments in the palace and left it. Next day, when a
search was made to find out the thief, this very thief was caught in a forest with all the ornaments. When he told me with courage, that the ornaments belonged to the palace and he
had stolen them. Looking at the courage and the manner in which the thief told the truth, the soldiers of the palace, with a notion that he must be a relative of the palace, did not
arrest him. Looking at himself, the thief thought his escape was only due to the Truth. So, he knew the importance of the truth and afterwards, not only he left his wrong path but
also he took up to the right path and in due course became a liberated soul.
Truthfulness is the important virtue of the soul and the associated word ‘Uttam’ means the involvement of right faith, enlightenment - Samyak Darshan.
To worship this day, one should refrain from harsh words and condemnation. One should speak only the truth because it is the jewel and one becomes happy with it. If one has the impression of a person lying once, then the faith disappears.
(source: jainheritagecenters.com)
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