Choosing between Right and Right

Answer

Mahatma Gandhi explained, “Very calmly, Sage Satyavrata said, ‘My eyes have seen but they cannot speak. My mouth can speak but it cannot see. Please leave me alone, O hunter, and go on your way.’ The hunter was so impressed by the courage of this answer that he begged forgiveness and left.”

Turning to the journalist, Mahatma Gandhi concluded, “Most importantly, know that if one is asked a question, one is never obliged to give an answer.”

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Non-injury must always supersede truth-telling.

A story from the Puranas confirms this principle. A much respected sage had once blindly adhered to telling the truth, thereby causing the death of hundreds of innocent people. When he died years later, despite his vehement protests that he was a man who had always defended the truth, he was taken to hell. The angel of Death warned him, “By making truth a blind principle, you walked away from the path of compassion, and this is what brought you here.”