प्रह्लादनारदपराशरपुण्डरीकव्यासाम्बरीषशुकशौनक भीष्मदाल्भ्यान्।
रुक्माङ्गदार्जुनवशिष्ठविभीषणादीन् पुण्यानिमान् परमभागवतान् नमामि॥
Rain water that falls in craggy places loses itself, dispersed throughout the mountains.
One who pursues the truth (without focus) in different places has the effort dispersed & fruitless.
यथोदकं दुर्गे वृष्टं पर्वतेषु विधावति ।
एवं धर्मान् पृथक् पश्यंस्तानेवानुविधावति ॥ १४॥
yathodakaṃ durge vṛṣṭaṃ parvateṣu vidhāvati .
evaṃ dharmān pṛthak paśyaṃstānevānuvidhāvati .. 14..
We have drunk the Soma. We are immortal. We have attained the light & known the Gods.
What can the hatred & malice of a mere mortal do to us now?
अपा॑म॒ सोम॑म॒मृता॑ अभू॒माग॑न्म॒ ज्योति॒रवि॑दाम दे॒वान् । किं नू॒नम॒स्मान्कृ॑णव॒दरा॑ति॒: किमु॑ धू॒र्तिर॑मृत॒ मर्त्य॑स्य ॥
Truth, when questioned & debated on, will emerge with more clarity.
Untruth, when questioned, can lead to anger & violence.
How about our own views? When questioned or mocked, how does it react? For most of us, it can react with anger. For some, the angry mind can direct the body towards physical violence.
Why does the mind react that way? Does it know at some deep level that its opinion is not the truth?
Only by observing our own mind's antics can we even start to unravel the truth.
Truth will survive questioning & debates. Truth does not need human belief to exist.
Untruth will react harshly to questioning since the conclusion will wipe it out. As a survival instinct, it can come up with sophisticated societal mechanisms to prevent its questioning. It can lead to loss of life, physical pain, loss of freedom or career. Sometimes, organized society like the government will enforce the punishment through laws & judiciary. Other times, unorganized society will enforce the punishment through extra-judicial means through unexpected physical attacks to cheers by its supporters.
Any society & culture in history can be rated on how well they allowed free open debates and what happened to people with dissenting opinions.
How would you rank your current society?
