Quest for the truth

Recently, as I was browsing through a collection of old storybooks from my childhood, I came across an old copy of ‘Sumathi Setakam’. This book is a collection of short verses in Telugu written by a wise man. He used the pen name “Sumathi”. These poems are short, four-line verses that convey an important moral or life lesson. These poems are taught to all middle school children as part of the state government curriculum.

Anyway, coming back to my story, I found this book of poems while cleaning my room for Ugadi (Ugadi is a New Year festival for Telugu people in India). I was immediately taken back on a nostalgic journey when I started reading these poems. One poem, in particular, rings true in the present-day world. It says:

వినదగు నెవ్వరు చెప్పిన
వినినంతనె వేగపడక వివరింపదగున్
గని కల్ల నిజము దెలిసిన
మనుజుడెపో నీతిపరుడు మహిలో సుమతీ…!

In English it reads as:

Vinadagu nevvaru cheppina

Vininanthane veigapadaka vivarimpathagun

Gani kalla nijamu thelisina

Manujudepo neethiparudu mahilo Sumathi…!

This poem teaches us a life lesson about tolerance and educating oneself. The poet tells us to always listen when anyone speaks but never react in haste. He advises us to listen, analyse, and discover the truth for ourselves. Only a person who can identify the complete truth and separate it from all the hogwash is a wise soul.

To further explain the point, we must observe the various videos of influencers on social media. I am not blaming them for spreading fake news or false narratives, but they do not speak the complete truth. Let me be more specific with examples of videos about beauty tips, home remedies, DIY videos, etc. Some of these tips are not true, and some are even dangerous, but gullible viewers fall for these false ideas and believe them to be true.

As stated earlier, this poem rings true in the present-day world where propaganda, false narratives, deep fake videos, etc., are abundant. We are constantly bombarded from all sides by false information, be it regarding science, religion, politics, famous people, etc. When we claim to be believers in a particular ideology or principle, it is imperative for us to do our due diligence before reaching a firm conclusion.