Chernobyl's number 4 nuclear reactor was completely destroyed on 26 April 1986 by explosions that blew the roof off the reactor building and released large amounts of radioactive material into the environment. It was the most serious nuclear accident in history. The nuclear ``cloud'' included the dangerous radioactive isotopes of iodine and cesium, that can be deadly to humans and the environment. The iodine isotopes delivered harmful radiation to children who had inhaled it or ingested it via contaminated milk. At first, the world outside the Soviet Union knew more about what was happening than the resident victims. On April 28 a Swedish monitoring station noticed rising levels of radioactivity. Further analysis revealed a very strange brew of extremely rare isotopes, a combination normally produced only by an atomic explosion or a major nuclear reactor meltdown. One of the isotopes found was ruthenium, which melts at an extremely high temperature of more than 2250 degrees centigrade--a temperature normally found only in places such as the sun, a melting nuclear reactor, or a nuclear bomb! Sweden announced the findings and made diplomatic inquiries to Moscow, but at first the latter admitted to nothing. Only later did Moscow concede the occurrence of a small and insignificant accident--a quick and minor release of radioactivity. Is such behavior--reminiscent of many bungled ``cover-ups'' in other countries--consistent with commitment to truth, freedom of expression and freedom to investigate independently? No. Indeed, until the Chernobyl disaster, the Soviet Union had been secretive. Few journalists were allowed in the country except under controlled circumstances and the Soviet media, controlled by the government, usually did not admit to any weakness or error. The Soviet press was used to extol the superiority of Soviet progress and technology. Truth had become less important than ideology. One may be tempted to wonder whether such degenerate values indirectly precipitated the impending collapse of the Soviet Union. When commitment to truth fades, false ideas and theories--bankrupt and pernicious--can begin to take root in individuals and institutions. Frustration and failure inevitably follow when truth is neglected or not properly valued. There is little doubt that commitment to truth must become a core principle animating efforts towards a nonviolent civilization. Hence, it is instructive to take a closer look at the nature of truth.
Abstract reasoning and self-reflective intelligence distinguish the human mind from those of our animal cousins. Humans have an instinctual urge to seek out truth. Indeed, so strong is our drive to learn new things and grow in understanding that we sometimes willingly submit to suffering in order to transcend our limits. A seemingly unquenchable thirst for discovery, adventure, intellectual curiosity, experimentation, and philosophical enquiry is a fundamental characteristic of the searching mind. Search is a prerequisite to discovery.
To find truth, we need to have some idea of what it is we really seek. What exactly is truth? There are a number of ways to think about this matter. In traditional logic, true and false propositions are considered to be opposites. Neither is considered more fundamental than the other. A different approach is suggested by the Upanishads:[1] truth is that which cannot be shown to be false. A related conception of truth may be inferred from Plato's metaphor of the cave in The Republic, his classical philosophical work on the nature of justice: truth relates to the hidden, ``ideal'' order that underlies and sustains the world in which we live.[2] Truth pertains to the timeless, ideal Reality that generates everything in our world. This human world is merely a ``shadow'' of the true reality. We can turn to the philosophy of science for other perspectives. Many physicists, for example, identify the quest for truth with the search for the universal laws of Nature that govern the processes that generate and sustain everything known in the universe. In a related atheist view, a ``God'' did not directly create the universe, but rather the laws of Nature are the true generating principles that ``created'' the universe. There are many other interesting ways of thinking about truth.[2]
How best to seek truth, assuming one already knows its definition? Again, there are a number of approaches to this question. The scientific method represents one attempted answer. In this view, experiment and observation are the touchstones that distinguish truth from error. Scientists often ``test'' a hypothesis by comparing its predictions with those of a ``null hypothesis.'' Science works because it introduces ``objective'' criteria for ascertaining what is true and what is not. Hence, two or more hypotheses can be tested against experimental data. This reliance of science on objectivity makes it extremely difficult to apply the scientific method to phenomena that are intrinsically subjective in nature, such as highly personal, mystical, or spiritual experiences. This is one major cause of the traditional reluctance of science to venture into matters of religion and spirituality. Science is only now starting seriously and systematically to study subjective phenomena.
Notwithstanding, from time immemorial it has been possible to apply a rational approach to seeking truth in our daily lives. Every human being can ``test'' the truth of an idea against ``evidence'' drawn from personal experience. (In this light, it is interesting to note that Gandhi named his autobiography My Experiments with Truth.) It may be true that a single person cannot be as objective as a community of many highly trained individuals, but if it were not possible for individuals to seek out truth with some degree of objectivity, then it would also not be possible to think independently! Indeed, it is very much within an individual's power to attempt to think without bias and prejudice. The will to undertake dispassionate analysis--with humility, free from bias, and without emotional attachment--is a key to success in recognizing truth when we stumble upon it.
The teachings of Gandhi and of the Bahá'í Faith both stress the need to be committed to the pursuit of truth. This chapter examines what they each say about truth and how to seek it.