The title of the post, just after the previous one exploring new dimensions of honesty, might suggest that I am a true 'turncoat' by any standards. However, I defend my integrity by saying that true to the spirit of debating, the other side of the coin always needs to be explored. One can expect his horizon of knowledge to grow and expand only when he or she is receptive and tolerant to seemingly contrasting viewpoints. Moreover, this is a 'written-to-request' piece, the first of its kind in both my blogs. It was a request which I couldn't turn down and added to the fact that challenges spur and invigorate me, I decided to put the 'fingers' to the 'keyboard' and see how it finally turns out.
The 'harmful' aspect of lying is fairly understandable and needs little deliberation of the innumerable negative consequences it can lead to. Ranging from economic or monetary losses to emotional or mental trauma, the list is without an ounce of doubt very encompassing. However, 'harmless lying' is a shadier territory and demands further attention. There is a popular school of thought which believes "A lie that does well to everyone is better than the truth which has the potential to shatter someone". Medically, it has been observed that a promise of 'false hope' to terminally ill patients has often resulted in miraculous recoveries. If hope can be spread through a lie, isn't it good for all?
However, just like every domain, things are hardly just black and white. And the grey areas are the ones which interest me compared to anything else. Consider a situation where you have a friend who is facing problems in either his studies or career. Now, egging him on will definitely be considered one of the noblest things to do. But, what are the chances that making him believe something that is not true actually prevents him from realizing his true potential in another field for which he could have a natural flair. This leads me to ask a basic question: Does the person lying know the full implication of his actions?
Generally speaking, most would understand as 'harmless lies' would be things which people say with 'no intention to cause harm or loss', or rather with 'good and noble' intentions. More questions need to be asked to understand the implications of the action: 'What is the motive?', 'Who are the other stakeholders involved in the equation and how will they be affected?' and 'Is the good caused to someone coming at someone else's cost?'. Coming back to the question posed in the last paragraph, I feel almost nobody ever does understand the full implications- because it is impossible for the human mind, however powerful it might be perceived to be, to fully fathom the various scenarios that a simple choice can lead to.
Coming to my favorite topic: GOD. Is it a lie? Is it the truth? Or is it a gap-filler? I personally feel 'God' was mankind's answer to everything that he could not answer, understand or comprehend. It served a lot of good purposes. It united people under a common platform, advocated the ideal way of living in harmony by prophesizing the fear of the 'unknown' through intelligently designed concepts such as 'an afterlife', 'heaven' and 'hell'. It also provided much needed hope, a common bond that could tie people together and let them live in harmony. But what about the negative consequences that are a result of it. What about the imbalance of power it resulted in through 'intermediaries' or 'god-men'? What about the innumerable and despicable acts of violence carried out all over the world in 'God's' name? Was it originally intended? I definitely don't think so.
I would like to conclude by a quote I heard somewhere and really liked "There is no right or wrong. There are only consequences of your action". Fortunately or unfortunately, we are not capable of understanding or comprehending the consequences of our actions. It saves a lot of pain sometimes and leads to great things, but can and often does incur an equal amount of pain.
The lack of humour in this post is deeply regretted but I couldn't really figure a way to put in any!
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