Dichotomy: Truth vs Happiness

Today I stumbled upon an interesting article written by Raj Ragunathan PhD in Psychology Today. The article begins with a recollection of the movie The Matrix. At the turning point of the movie, Morpheus asks Neo which pill he would like – the blue pill which will return him to his normal life thinking what he has experienced was all just a dream, or the red pill where he stays in Wonderland and sees how deep the rabbit hole is. All Morpheus is offering is the Truth, nothing more.

We all have a vested interest in knowing the truth. But what if the choice given was between knowing the truth and being happy? Dr Ragnauthan and Yaacov Trope conducted a series of studies testing whether happy or sad participants would be more willing to process negative information about caffeine.

The test results revealed that participants in a negative mood were more likely to process positive information about caffeine thereby "repairing" their mood (i.e., becoming more "happy") whereas participants in a positive mood were more likely to process negative effects about caffeine being more receptive to the "truth" (in this case, about the effects of caffeine consumption).

This particular research suggests a hierarchy to the order in which people seek Happiness vs. Truth. Only when happiness is at a “critical level” is the appetite for truth achieved. And lastly, the article asks: “Is there a similar inverse correlation between knowing the Truth and being Happy? Specifically, are those who know the Truth likely to be less happy?”

Very interestingly this scientific essay ends with this thought: “Not according to most of the world's religious and spiritual traditions. Hinduism, and the Advaita philosophy in particular, explicitly suggests that one's true nature is bliss, as does Buddhism. Christianity too, in stating that the "Kingdom of God is within you," appears to suggest that knowing the Truth is tantamount to experiencing eternal bliss."

I would add, In Islam, the entire theological framework is referenced as The Truth. A beautiful quote from the Qur'an teaches us the lesson very clearly and in fact commands that all Muslims speak the truth: "O you who believe! Fear God, and be with those who are true (in word and deeds)." (Quran 9:119)

If the truth brings happiness and conversely happiness brings the truth, why are people so afraid of telling the truth? Where does this fear stem from? If we share our faults, we become vulnerable to criticism which puts us in a position of risk. Then there is the question of “what if” the people we love, respect and trust revoke love, respect and trust because of what we did? What it comes down to in a very singular sense is we are afraid to suffer the loss of love.

In order to propel ourselves toward telling the truth, we have to trust those important people enough to share the truth and know they won't revoke their respect but that telling the truth will have the opposite effect – increasing love and respect for telling the truth.

If we choose “dirty lies” to avoid the vulnerability and risk of “coming clean”, we add dirt to our character. One lie will provoke another and it becomes a build up of dirt. 

"Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. In addition, a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to wickedness and evil-doing, and wickedness leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before God, as a liar". (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

When we put our heart into salat, and we ask Allah for forgiveness, we are admitting the truth about our living, our character and our soul. Allah is Ar-raman Al-raheem. We are safe, protected, loved and forgiven. We should take this safe loving feeling and apply it to our everyday dealings with our friends, family and strangers we meet.

"Honesty descended from the Heavens and settled in the roots of the hearts of men (faithful believers), and then the Quran was revealed and the people read the Quran, (and learnt it from it) and also learnt from the sayings and traditions. Both the Quran and the traditions strengthened their honesty. (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)