Have you done the truth test?

Someone tells you that your closest friend has been speaking against you. At work, you hear that a colleague has spoiled your chances of a promotion. What do you do? Do you believe the person who told you, simply because you consider that person honest and dependable? Or do you pause and ask: How do I know if this is true?Shakespeare gave us a tragic answer to this question in ‘Othello’. Iago manipulates Othello by describing how his wife Desdemona’s handkerchief was with his friend Cassio, driving Othello into a jealous rage. The tragedy was not merely that Iago lied. It was that Othello failed to examine. He ended up killing Desdemona.How, then, does one ascertain truth? Is there a method by which we can distinguish what is real from what is merely reported, assumed or imagined?Interestingly, our ancestors believed in measuring everything accurately. Whether it was a piece of cloth or the jaggery needed for a pot of payasam, things had to be measured. In Tamil, there is a term, ‘Alavai iyal’ — the science of measurement. But measurement was not confined to physical objects. Indian philosophy also explored ways of measuring truth itself.These methods are called ‘pramanams’, means by which valid knowledge about what is true is obtained. Traditionally, six pramanams are described.The first is ‘pratyaksha’, or ‘kaatchi alavai’ — knowledge through direct perception using any of the senses. I smell gas and conclude there is a leak.The second is ‘anumana’, or ‘karuthal alavai’ — inference. I see smoke rising from a distance and infer that there must be a fire.The third is ‘agama pramanam’ or ‘urai alavai’ — knowledge obtained through texts.The fourth is ‘upamana pramanam’ or ‘uvamai alavai’ — knowledge through comparison. Understanding the unknown through knowledge about the known.The fifth is ‘arthapatti’ or ‘porul alavai’ — postulation from circumstances. The house is unusually quiet. We may infer that there was a big fight and now everybody is silent. It is not direct knowledge, but a conclusion drawn from circumstances.The sixth is ‘anupalabdhi’ or ‘inmai alavai’, knowledge through non-perception or absence. If someone claims to have seen a polar bear in Antarctica, the claim can be rejected because polar bears are native to the Arctic.These are not merely philosophical categories, but disciplines for the journey towards truth. Without them, our minds can easily become prisoners of assumptions and biases.Bias is perhaps our first obstacle. If someone we admire says something, we are inclined to accept it. If someone we dislike says the same thing, we may instinctively reject it. In both cases, we judge the statement by the person rather than examining its truth.The pramanas provide a framework to go beyond what our eyes can see without letting imagination outrun reason. They help us test assumptions, examine evidence and separate fact from illusion.Thiruvalluvar captures the essence of this discipline in Kural 423:Epporul yaaryaarvaai ketpinum ApporulMeipporul kaanbadhu arivu.“Wisdom is to discover the truth in whatever is heard, irrespective of who says it.”Valluvar does not ask us to accept or reject an idea based on the identity of the speaker. He asks us to examine the truth within the statement.Iago’s words were believed because of who he appeared to be. Valluvar asks us to reverse that instinct: not “Who said this?” but “Is this true?”Truth is not measured by who speaks, but by what withstands examination.