Lying is such a tricky thing, isn’t it? It starts small, almost like a game, like the time you yelled, “Maa, there’s a lizard!” just to see me jump, and then grinned, “Bundhu banaya!” I laughed, even as I rolled my eyes.
But then came the first real lie, the “I Want What I Want” kind. You had gone out to play, promising to be back by 7:30. But when the clock hit 9:30 and there was still no sign of you, I was sitting on a volcano. You returned home, casually dropping that there was a “project submission” the next day. A lie to dodge curfew and stretch your playtime. I yelled, of course. But deep down, I knew something more important was happening, you were testing your boundaries, figuring out how much truth is too much. And I had to remind myself, you were learning from me.
Keeping a cool head during those moments has been my Everest. Over time, I saw your lies change shape.
You lied to save face. You fibbed to cover for a buddy. You dodged the truth just to avoid seeing my disappointment. Some confessions came days later, tugging at my heart. Others stayed unspoken, like shadows that pass quietly in the night.
And I’ll be honest with you, I’ve lied too.
Remember when we skipped the temple visit and I blamed “bad weather” or “too much work”? The truth was, I just wanted a break. Or that time when we pretended to be busy and unavailable for a call from that distant relative, while we were actually watching our favorite show on Netflix. And you, my observant boy, ratted us out. It made us squirm, but it also made me realize something hard but bitter.
If I want you to grow up honest, I’ve got to walk the talk too.
Here’s what I’ve learned, and maybe you’ll see it too – Lies often pop up when we’re trying to escape fear, shame, or pressure—yours, and mine too. And every choice you make – even what you say when no one’s watching – shapes who you are becoming.
And I already love that person.
There’s a story from the Mahabharata you’ll grow to understand better one day. Yudhishthira, the dharma king, told a half-truth during the war. A lie that wasn’t quite a lie, but not truth either. That moment changed everything. Even in epic tales, lying comes with consequences. But also, with complexity.
So no, I don’t expect perfection. I just hope you’ll always have the courage to choose what’s right, even when it’s inconvenient. YOLO is cute for captions, but you and I know – it’s not just one life. We’re on a journey of many, and with every life, we’re inching closer to something divine. That’s why integrity matters.
Even Alexander (not going with … the Great), with all his wealth, looked small before the yogi who had nothing…but knew himself.
Let’s keep walking this path together, even if clumsily.
