Speaking the Truth, Thoughtfully:

a short take on the principles of satya and ahimsa

One recent Monday morning my first grader, Dylan, presented his sleepy self at the bottom of the stairs with droopy eyes and a strained cough. “I think I’m sick, Mommy”. A quick look at him suggested yes, he might be a bit under the weather, but sick? No. However, I recognized a certain kind of fatigue that Dylan gets when his daddy has been on the road a long time. I quickly decided it would be fine for him to stay home, acknowledged his feeling ‘sick’, and tucked him under a quilt on the couch while I got breakfast for his brothers. Later, as I reached for the phone to call Dylan’s school about his absence, I heard some small, insistent voice in my head urging me to look again. “What is the truth here?” it asked.

Satya, or truthfulness and right communication through speech, writing, gesture and action, is the second ‘yama’ outlined in the yoga sutras. The five ‘yamas’, or attitudes and behaviours (the external practices), are ahimsa (non-violence; kindness); satya; asteya, or non-covetousness and taking nothing that does not belong to us; brahmacharya or moderation and responsible behaviour; and aparigraha, or non-greediness and taking only what is necessary.

The truth of the morning was that Dylan missed his dad, which made him feel sad. The truth was I could see this. What was not truthful was Dylan saying he was ‘sick’, and me passing that information on to the school in order to justify his absence. Dylan and I had a very sweet conversation, wherein he admitted his feelings and I gave him permission to stay home with me for a quiet day of just hanging out. It was easy then to call the school with a clear conscience, and let them know I was keeping Dylan home for a ‘mental health day’.

My little moral misstep (almost supporting one person’s lie with another lie) made me think about other ways in which I might be tempted to disguise or look past the truth. And while this school-morning incident might seem almost inconsequential and elicit a ‘what’s the big deal?’ kind of response, I think it points to how easy it is to avoid being truthful. When we become adept at sliding through one situation, we can then become practiced at sliding through more, simply because it is not always convenient or timesaving to tell the truth.

What if we were to practice taking the ‘yamas’ and ‘niyamas’ (internal practices: our attitudes towards ourselves) one at a time? At the top of my current ‘to-do’ list, which sits front and center on my laptop, is a question: ‘How do I keep right-intention in my heart?’

Our yoga practices of asana (physical movements) and pranayama (expanding our energy) prepare us for sitting and observing our inner processes with a calmer, more focused eye. When we’re calm and quiet, we become more non-reactive, able to look at our lives with a ‘cooler’ eye. It is in that place that I can find what is really true for me, even if the voice is faint or the wait is long. It felt good that morning to go through a process of discovery with my son and to acknowledge the truth to each other.

Actively practice ‘satya’ for a day: move through your interactions with co-workers, friends and family with thoughtful words and actions. You may find that satya is often tempered with ahimsa, or kindness. Choose your words carefully and remember to really listen for the response. Notice how it feels to take your yoga off the mat. Remember, yoga is 1% theory, and 99% practice.