The Art of Lying

 Prafulla Kumar Mohanty

If I say I Interviewed God last evening, You will laugh at my 'lie'. Why can't I laugh then, when you say God exists? If God exists is a truth, anyone can see him and ask a few questions. But you will not accept the logic. You will say , God  is a hypothesis hence beyond truth or lie. an extension of the same logic would entail, faith or agnosticism or total rejection of both are all logic-begging hypotheses. We coin words with assumed meanings for our convenience like God after creating the available reality  and naming its components before resting for Sabbath- a word which He coined. But those who wrote all these, created a 'character' called God, described him as a saviour, a hero who fights hunger, sickness, pain, shows compassion, knows about your problems and in his magical way solves some of them, gives you hope, whispers words of love to give you solace in your despairing moments, promises plenty of joy luxury and immortality in the other world on condition that you must live a life of moral purity and sacrifice... and he is time, space, life, salvation and all the other words which we have minted in the long course of history,

From the beginning  of culture and civilization we have been writing in prose and rhyme about this unseen yet the most powerful, just, compassionate Being who decides everything we call life or its activities. what shall we call this: Creativity or the fine Art of Lying? If this lie keeps our faith alive, makes our life less uncertain, less painful, less helpless and empowers us to face challenges, obstacles and gives us a purpose, a strong will power to bring out the inner self  to achieve, attain, reach whatever eases his turbulence of creative energy to give shape and form to his dreams, however nightmarish, for his own self fulfilment why should we call this epical sweep of his creativity a lie? contrariwise, what can truth offer? If you know there is no God, there is nothing called romantic love- it's only craze for sex-, there is no peace, joy; life is only a mad babble before an empty Bench, no justiciary in sight; power is a myth, and life is a bundle of  misery falling apart at every step: How will man live and why? What will he  do with the truth which makes him irrelevant; cripples him with the foreknowledge of his total futility?

Man needs beauty, love power, wealth and longs for immortality, if not in terms of time, at least of fame, reputation, name. If the  truth seekers deny  all these what will man do? He is no Hercules Samson,Alexander but he aspires to launch dreamships in the  air to conquer the stars. Many scholars say Homer's Illiad is a sad poem. Yes sad/ for Troy was destroyed most great heroes died- Hector, Achilles and a host of others. But how brave they were! How beautiful was Helen! How inventive  is the human mind. When bravery fails, trickery triumphs. The Trozan Horse comes as a fatal gift. Similarly look at our own Ravan ! What a mind , what determination, what powers and what a lover! He wouldn't touch an unwilling Sita! If you say the truth is : Ravana was evil. If this be the truth, valour and creativity are all lies.

Lies create a beautiful world where the skylark is  pouring down his heart in profuse strains of  unpremeditated art. The sky is a changeful canopy holding the luminosities in playful symmetry. The earth is motherlike; feeding us in seasonal variety; changing apparel in every moment reveals beauty, harmony and poise. The air is fragrant with my loves breath flowing  beyond the Cauvery. And fire too illuminates my inner murk. We need these beautiful lies most to excite our senses. Man needs more food for his mind's senses. The five sensory body is not enough because it bogs us down with the truth of mortality. Man needs for his multisensory being a Maya Palace of illusions without discovering the intrigues, derisive jealousy laughter of great minds,- stooping low, the breakdrop of  brewing violence. Poetry is perhaps the best lie we have  created to transcend mortality.

Lie often saves life in the courtroom or a king's durbar and the lier makes a sacrifice. lie kills too as was the case when Yudhistira told Drona about ' Man or elephant  Aswathama is dead.' But as long as the illusion  lasts life is livable. When the truth behind the illusion is discovered, you give up like Arjuna, Drona and many others in history and myth,  But lie must create  beauty, rhythm, life sustaining illusion and especially love to go beyond the ephemeral and factual. Truth is also a lie which you perceive like Buddha. The lie of reality is the truth. Therefore never ask who or why. Be happy with what and its narratives.