Truth & Lies..and in betweens

Truth is Good & Lies is bad is a universal law.

Then there is white lies ...simple ones like your dress is lovely , the dish is awesome .....no thank you I am full...and the drawing is beautiful...things that are said to please someone or to motivate someone ...or to be polite....and so on.

Various white lies are acceptable in all our lives and teaching the fine differences between same to kids ( or even to adults) can be challenging.

The Mahabharat episode about Ashwathama dying & Yudhistir saying part of the truth loud and clear and rest in a whisper ....was that lies? white lies? truth????

There is a story of a saint who in keeping his vow to speak the truth tells the robber the location of a wealthy man who is then killed & robbed.  Was the truth worth it?

In Gita there is a reference to what is true & what is right. Knowing what is right has a many variables of past or impact on future. But truth is never changing.

One needs to understand that between Dharma's which is the higher principle. As in the case of the saint Truth or Ahimsa? As for Yudhistir, a mixed up truth to Guru versus winning the war to establish Dharma in the world.

Think about it ...

For example ... it is 10 am ...this is true for Singapore time zone but not the rest of the world.
A clock that is not working will still show the correct time 2 times every day....

We all say killing is wrong, and there are many examples like when killing is right : killing a terrorist to save many others, or killing a hijacker for similar reasons.