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FROM IIM-AHMEDABAD TO HAPPINESS
mind, and peace of mind cannot be had till the heart is sullied with impurities associated with falsehood.
The harm caused by untruthfulness even in the material world is no less pronounced. It is easy to see that untruthfulness ultimately leads to ruin. We resort to falsehood to gain a cheap advantage through dishonest means. The taking of anything, out of passion, which has not been given by consent, is stealing. Prompting another to steal, receiving stolen goods, buying goods otherwise than by lawful and just means, using false weights and measures in order to obtain more from others and give less to them, deceiving others with imitation, or spurious goods, giving and taking bribe, and evading the payment of taxes enjoined in law, constitute but some of the dishonest behaviours. Dishonesty never flourishes in the long run, however much may be the immediate advantage to be gained thereby. If it were otherwise, all the thieves, dacoits and forgers in the world would be millionaires in no time; but happily such is not the case. The short-lived triumph, which falsehood and dishonesty secure for their votary, in some instances, is too feeble to recompense for the life-long anguish and fear which inevitably follows in their wake. The liar cannot look an honest man in the face; his features bear the stamp of wretchedness; he loses his self-confidence. Long-term prosperity, even in business, is impossible with such qualifications as these. The health of the body, depending, as it does, on mental strength and purity, suffers in consequence to moral degradation. This is not all; for all those whom the liar defrauds, become his enemies and try to hunt him down sooner or later. Are these conditions worth purchasing in consideration of some temporary gain by falsehood or deceit?
Of all the passions in the world, kāma-exciting feminine beauty is the most fatal. Physical contact is not necessary for its action; its
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