''Satya'' (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: सत्य;

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ''satya)'' is a

word loosely translated as truth, essence.

A. A. Macdonell Arthur Anthony Macdonell, FBA (11 May 1854 – 28 December 1930) was a noted Sanskrit scholar. Biography Macdonell was born at Muzaffarpur in the Tirhut region of the state of Bihar in British India, the son of Charles Alexander Macdonell ...

, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Asian Educational Services, , pp. 330–331 It also refers to a virtue in

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

, referring to being truthful in one's thought, speech and action. In Yoga, ''satya'' is one of five

yamas The Yamas ( sa, यम, translit=Yama), and their complement, the Niyamas, represent a series of "right living" or ethical rules within Yoga philosophy. It means "reining in" or "control". These are restraints for proper conduct as given in the ...

, the virtuous restraint from falsehood and distortion of reality in one's expressions and actions.GR Garg, ''Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World'', Volume 3, , p. 733

Etymology and meaning

In the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

and later

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

s, the meaning of the word satya () evolves into an ethical concept about truthfulness and is considered an important virtue.KN Tiwari (1998), ''Classical Indian Ethical Thought'', Motilal Banarsidass, , p. 87 It means being true and consistent with reality in one's thought, speech, and action. Satya is said to have

cognates In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical eff ...

in a number of diverse

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

, including the word "sooth" and "sin" in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, "istina" ("истина") in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, "sand" - truthful in

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

/"sann" in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, and "haithya" in

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

, the

liturgical language A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Concept A sacre ...

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...

Sat

Sat ( sa, सत्) is the root of many Sanskrit words and concepts such as ''

sattva Sattva (Sanskrit: सत्त्व, meaning ''honesty'') is one of the three guṇas or "modes of existence" (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept understood by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.Jame ...

'', "pure, truthful", and satya, "truth". The

root ''sat'' has several meanings or translations:. # "

absolute truth In philosophy, universality or absolutism is the idea that universal facts exist and can be progressively discovered, as opposed to relativism, which asserts that all facts are merely relative to one's perspective. Absolutism and relativism have ...

" # "

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

" # "

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...

" (not to be confused with Brahmin) # "unchangeable" # "that which has no distortion" # "that which is beyond distinctions of time, space, and person" # "that which pervades the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

in all its constancy" ''Sat'' is a common prefix in ancient Indian literature and variously implies that which is good, true, genuine, virtuous, being, happening, real, existing, enduring, lasting, essential; for example, sat-sastra means true doctrine, sat-van means one devoted to the true. In ancient texts, fusion words based on ''Sat'', refer to "Universal Spirit, Universal Principle, Being, Soul of the World,

".Aurobindo & Basu (2002), ''The Sadhana of Plotinus, Neoplatonism and Indian Philosophy'', State University of New York Press, , pp. 153–156 The negation of ''sat'' is asat, a combination word of ''a'' and ''sat''. ''Asat'' refers to the opposite of ''sat'', that is delusion, distorted, untrue, fleeting impression that is incorrect, invalid and false.Sir Monier Monier-Williams, ''A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. 1134–1139 The concepts of ''sat'' and ''asat'' are famously expressed in the

Pavamana Mantra The Pavamana Mantra (''pavamāna'' meaning "being purified, strained", historically a name of Soma), also known as ''pavamāna abhyāroha'' (''abhyāroha'', lit. "ascending", being an Upanishadic technical term for "prayer") is an ancient Indian ...

found in the (1.3.28), : :"lead me from delusion to truth; from darkness to light; from mortality to immortality" ''Sat'' is one of the three characteristics of

as described in

sat-chit-ananda ( sa, सच्चिदानन्द, IAST: ; also Sat-cit-ananda or ) is an epithet and description for the subjective experience of the ultimate unchanging reality, called Brahman,Devadutta Kali (2005), Devimahatmyam: In Praise of the Godd ...

. This association between ''sat'', 'truth', and Brahman, ultimate reality, is also expressed in Hindu cosmology, wherein

Satyaloka Brahmaloka (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मालोक, IAST: Brahmāloka) or Satyaloka (Sanskrit: सत्यलोक) is the abode of Brahma, the creator god, a member of the Trimurti along with Vishnu and Shiva, along with his consort Saraswat ...

, the highest heaven of

Hindu cosmology Hindu cosmology is the description of the universe and its states of matter, cycles within time, physical structure, and effects on living entities according to Hindu texts. Hindu cosmology is also intertwined with the idea of a creator who allo ...

, is the abode of Brahman.

Hinduism

Vedic literature

''Satya'' is a central theme in the Vedas. It is equated with and considered necessary to the concept

Ṛta In the Vedic religion, ''Ṛta'' (; Sanskrit ' "order, rule; truth") is the principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it. In the hymns of the Vedas, ''Ṛta'' is described as ...

(Sanskrit ऋतं ṛtaṃ) – that which is properly joined, order, rule, nature, balance, harmony.Roderick Hindery (2004), Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions, Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. 51–55 Ṛta results from Satya in the Vedas, states Holdrege, as it regulates and enables the operation of the universe and everything within it. Satya (truth) is considered essential, and without it, the universe and reality falls apart, cannot function.Barbara Holdrege (2004), "Dharma", in: Mittal, S. & Thursby, G. (Eds.) ''The Hindu World'', Routledge. , p. 215 In

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...

, opposed to ''rita'' and ''satya'' are ''anrita'' and ''asatya'' (falsehood). Truth and truthfulness is considered as a form of reverence for the divine, while falsehood a form of sin. ''Satya'' includes action and speech that is factual, real, true and reverent to ''Ṛta'' in Book 1, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10 of Rigveda.

Antonio T. de Nicolás Antonio T. de Nicolas (December 21, 1930-May 3, 2022) was a Spanish scholar, poet and professor of philosophy. He was professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He received his PhD from Fordham University ...

(2003), ''Meditations Through the Rig Veda'', , pp. 162–164 However, ''Satya'' isn't merely about one's past that is in context in the Vedas, it has one's current and one's future contexts as well. De Nicolás states, that in Rigveda, "''Satya'' is the modality of acting in the world of ''

Sat The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

'', as the truth to be built, formed or established".

Upanishads

''Satya'' is a widely discussed concept in various Upanishads, including the

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' ( sa, बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्, ) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Bri ...

where ''satya'' is called the means to

, as well as Brahman (Being, true self). In hymn 1.4.14 of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, ''Satya'' (truth) is equated to

Dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

(morality, ethics, law of righteousness), as

Taittiriya Upanishad The Taittirīya Upanishad (Devanagari: तैत्तिरीय उपनिषद्) is a Vedic era Sanskrit text, embedded as three chapters (''adhyāya'') of the Yajurveda. It is a ''mukhya'' (primary, principal) Upanishad, and likely co ...

's hymn 11.11 states, "Speak the Satya (truth), conduct yourself according to the Dharma (morality, ethics, law)". Truth is sought, praised in the hymns of Upanishads, held as one that ultimately, always prevails. The Mundaka Upanishad, for example, states in Book 3, Chapter 1,E. Easwaran (2007), ''The Upanishads'', , p. 181 Sandilya Upanishad of Atharvanaveda, in Chapter 1, includes ten forbearances as virtues, in its exposition of Yoga. It defines Satya as "the speaking of the truth that conduces to the well being of creatures, through the actions of one's mind, speech or body." Deussen states that ''Satya'' is described in the major Upanishads with two layers of meanings - one as empirical truth about reality, another as abstract truth about universal principle, being and the unchanging. Both these ideas are explained in early Upanishads, composed before 500 BC, by variously breaking the word ''satya'' or ''satyam'' into two or three syllables. In later Upanishads, the ideas evolve and transcend into ''satya'' as truth (or truthfulness), and Brahman as the Being, Be-ness, real Self, the eternal.

Epics

The ''

Shanti Parva The Shanti Parva ( sa, शान्ति पर्व; IAST: ''Śānti parva''; "Book of Peace") is the twelfth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 3 parts and 365 chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)Shanti Parva ...

'' of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

states, "The righteous hold that forgiveness, truth, sincerity and compassion are the foremost (of all virtues). Truth is the essence of the Vedas." The Epic repeatedly emphasizes that ''Satya'' is a basic virtue, because everything and everyone depends on and relies on ''Satya''.

Yoga Sutras

In the

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ' ...

, it is written, “When one is firmly established in speaking truth, the fruits of action become subservient to him."Patanjali, Sutra Number 2.36, Yoga Sutras 2.30–2.45; B. Ravikanth, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, , pp. 140–150 In Yoga sutra, ''Satya'' is one of the five yamas, or virtuous restraints, along with ahimsa (restraint from violence or injury to any living being); asteya (restraint from stealing); brahmacharya (celibacy or restraint from sexually cheating on one's partner); and aparigraha (restraint from covetousness and craving). Patanjali considers ''satya'' as a restraint from falsehood in one's action (body), words (speech, writing), or feelings / thoughts (mind). In Patanjali's teachings, one may not always know the truth or the whole truth, but one knows if one is creating, sustaining or expressing falsehood, exaggeration, distortion, fabrication or deception. ''Satya'' is, in Patanjali's Yoga, the virtue of restraint from such falsehood, either through silence or through stating the truth without any form of distortion.

Jainism

Satya is one of the five vows prescribed in

Jain Agamas Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the ca ...

. Satya was also preached by

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

. According to Jainism, not to lie or speak what is not commendable. The underlying cause of falsehood is passion and therefore, it is said to cause ''hiṃsā'' (injury). According to the Jain text ''

Sarvārthasiddhi ''Sarvārthasiddhi'' is a famous Jain text authored by '' Ācārya Pujyapada''. It is the oldest extan commentary on ''Ācārya Umaswami's Tattvārthasūtra'' (another famous Jain text). Traditionally though, the oldest commentary on the Tattv� ...

'': "''that which causes pain and suffering to the living is not commendable, whether it refers to actual facts or not''". According to Jain text, ''

Puruşārthasiddhyupāya Puruşārthasiddhyupāya (Purushartha Siddhyupaya) is a major Jain text authored by Acharya Amritchandra. Acharya Amritchandra was a Digambara Acharya who lived in the tenth century (Vikram Samvat). ''Puruşārthasiddhyupāya'' deals with the co ...

'':

Buddhism

The term ''satya'' (Sanskrit; in Pali: ''sacca'') is translated in English as "reality" or "truth." In terms of the

Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones".

dhamma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ''d ...

''. 'The Four Noble Truths' (''ariya-sacca'') are the briefest synthesis of the entire teaching of Buddhism, since all those manifold doctrines of the threefold Pali canon are, without any exception, included therein. They are the truth of suffering (mundane mental and physical phenomenon), of the origin of suffering (tanha 'pali' the craving), of the extinction of suffering (Nibbana or nirvana), and of the

Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ri ...

leading to the extinction of suffering (the eight supra-mundane mind factors ).

Sikhism

Indian emblem motto

The motto of the republic of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

's emblem is

Satyameva Jayate Satyameva Jayate (, ) is a part of a ''mantra'' from the Hindu scripture '' Mundaka Upanishad''. Following the independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India on 26 January 1950, the day India became a republic. It is inscri ...

which is literally translated as 'Truth alone triumphs'.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

*http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/yogasutr.htm {{Portal bar, India, Religion, Hinduism, Philosophy Sanskrit words and phrases Jain philosophical concepts Buddhist philosophical concepts Hindu philosophical concepts Sikh philosophical concepts Buddhist ethics Jain ethics Hindu ethics Theories of truth Sikh terminology