The ego tries to work out its likes and dislikes by various methods, one of them being the uttering of falsehood in order to escape opposition from others. The insinuating of falsehood in society is regarded as a vice. Satya or truthfulness is another virtue. Truthfulness mitigates egoism to some extent. Dishonesty is an affirmation of the ego to succeed in its ways in the world for its own good, though it may mean another s harm.
Truthfulness is correspondence to fact.
Yoga stresses the importance of the practice of truth in human life. There are dilemmas in which we are placed when we find ourselves often in a difficult situation. Sometimes truthfulness may appear to lead one to trouble and one might be tempted to utter falsehood. Scriptures give many answers to our questions on the issue. Truth that harms is considered equal to untruth.