07 Jan Search for the Ultimate Truth

From time immemorial, mankind has been searching for the ultimate Truth in life. As early as 800 BC the sages prayed in the Upanishad, ‘Asathoma Sadd Gamaya’ which means ‘lead me from untruth to Truth’. About 2000 years ago, Pilate, the Roman governor asked “What is truth?”. After Buddha got enlightenment, his disciple came and told him, “Master, tell us now what is truth”. Gandhiji wrote a book entitled, ‘My Experiments with Truth’.

Buddha admitted that still he could not find the truth. Gandhiji’s book deals with his autobiography and not truth. John Keats, an English poet, says ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty’. Hitler says that if you tell a lie a hundred times it becomes truth. In Indian philosophy we have the concept: ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ which means whatever is truth is Shashvatam (eternal) and whatever is eternal is beautiful. For a communist whatever one does to further communism is truth. J Krishnamurthy, our Indian philosopher, says that “Truth is a pathless ground”. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, says that “It is impossible to know the Ultimate Truth”. Socrates’ motto was that everyone should know the truth. The motto of the Harvard University is: ‘Veritus’-truth. We also have the concept, ‘Satya meva Jayathe’-Truth will win. The concepts about truth reveal that man’s search for truth is a vital search and some of the concepts are very difficult to grasp and apply in personal life.

In human history Jesus Christ is the only person Who claimed Himself absolutely and categorically to be the Truth. In Jn 14:6 Jesus declared, “I am the truth …”

C S Lewis was an eminent English professor in Cambridge University in the 20th century. In literature there are many allusions from the Bible. While looking for an allusion from the Bible, C S Lewis came upon Jesus’ claim that ‘He is the Truth’. Prof Lewis was gripped by the claim. He wanted to verify whether the claim of Jesus Christ was true, reliable and authentic. He undertook deep research on the claim. After his long research he came out with the following conclusions: when a person claims to be the truth there can be four possibilities: either he is a liar, or he is a pretender, or he is a lunatic or he is really God. Lewis analysed each of the above issues. Was Jesus a liar at any time? No. Never. He has been the epitome of all that is fair and genuine. He was the best and flawless person the world has ever seen. He never preached anything which He himself did not practice. There was no contradiction between his lips and life. On the other hand, He exposed and condemned the hypocrisies of the religious leaders of His time. Even His own enemies admitted that this man had done nothing wrong, His blood was innocent. He fed the hungry and healed the sick, cared for the poor and downtrodden. In fact the world has received the finest moral teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Gandhiji was a great admirer of the Sermon on the Mount. Can a liar, a pretender or a lunatic do and teach what Jesus did? Impossible. So, Jesus was neither a liar, nor a pretender, nor a lunatic. Then who really was Jesus? He was God. This was the conclusion reached by C S Lewis. He was an atheist. He became a believer and follower of Christ after he discovered the truth about Jesus.

Jesus Christ is truly man and truly God. Jesus is the eternal WORD (Gk LOGOS) Who became a man 2000 years ago, Jn 1:14. Jesus claimed that to know Him was to know God, to love Him was to love God, to worship Him was to worship God, to honour Him was to honour God, to hate Him was to hate God. He was sinless; He forgave the sins of the people. He had power over death. He rose again from the dead, Rom1:4. He stilled the sea and walked on water. Because He was God, He claimed to be the Truth. He made Himself equal with God, Jn 5:18.

Truth is not just an idea or thought but it is an unchanging attribute of God like love, holiness, all powerful etc. Truth is a person and that person is Jesus Christ. Only God can claim to be the absolute truth. Personal knowledge of the Truth can impart freedom. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free”, Jn 8:32.

Generally, people have a wrong idea about freedom. By freedom they mean: say what you like, do what you like, go where you like etc. Once an old lady was walking in the middle of the road and when questioned she said, “I have freedom now”. Then she was told that if you have freedom to walk in the middle of the road, a car driver also has the freedom to drive over you. Freedom is a revolutionary idea. It was the motto of the French Revolution. “Swaraj is my birth right” said Bal Gangathar Tilak. “Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains,” said Karl Marx. We must remember that freedom works best with rules. Imagine playing a football match without rules and goal posts! When boundaries and rules are ignored, there will be utter chaos. Freedom without fences is risky. The freedom of a kite is meaningful only when it is controlled by a string. Someone has said that freedom is not the right to say and do what you like but the liberty to do what you ought. Nelson Mandela said, ”To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains but to live in a way that respects and embraces the freedom of others”. According to Charles Kingsley there are two types of freedom: where a person is free to do what he likes and where a person is free to do what he ought!

There are different types of freedom – social, political, economic etc. Jesus was talking about another kind of freedom when He said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”. He further emphasized that His freedom was unique and special – the freedom given by only Himself – “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”, Jn 8:36. This freedom cannot be found anywhere else. Only He can give this freedom. It is a freedom from the penalty and power of sin. Jesus came to set mankind free from the burden and tyranny of sin. The Bible says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned,” Rom 5:12. The freedom Jesus gives liberates mankind from the curse and condemnation brought by our first parents – Adam and Eve. Jesus’ freedom can liberate one from the guilt of the past, burden of the present and fear of the future. Jesus came to set us free from eternal condemnation to eternal life. Jesus Who is the Truth can set one free from the fear of death. Jesus redeems one from the curse of the law and sin. Jesus invites people to come and know Him as the eternal Truth and trust Him as one’s personal Lord and Liberator and get liberated from the curse of sin and eternal death. Jesus invites people who are weary and burdened to come to Him to enjoy freedom from the guilt, power and curse of sin and receive rest and eternal life. Only the Son of God, Jesus alone, can impart this kind of freedom. Jesus is also the ultimate Truth. Know Jesus personally and know this unique freedom He offers!

A J Varghese is a retired teacher living in Goa. Along with his family he is associated with the EU and EGF work in Goa.