Are you telling a lie?

Lies have ingrained so much in our lives that German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche got tempted to quote

"He who cannot lie does not know what the truth is”

. All of us, almost with no exception are found telling lies almost everyday. It has become too omnipresent to be considered a sin, people no longer abstain from telling a lie due to moral or ethical reasons.

Papa instructs Bunty "Verma Uncle aaye to bolna ki papa ghar par nahi hai, lekin sharma uncle aaye to mujhe bula lena."

Teacher asks the student " when the Principal comes to class, tell him all the syllabus is covered, I will teach you half and you will need to study only half for exams".

Most of us would agree these incidents are not uncommon in today's life.And when parents are lying, they can't teach their children to be truthful. So, right from home, children learn lying. Ya, I said learn because lying is an art, and it needs precision and planning like a science. So, no small deal.... just like a game, an apt lier needs to practise it several times a day, may be almost all the time. But, then many people only lie for a purpose, sinister or benign is another question. But, there are habitual purposeless liers, people who have just got into this habit and these people lie even when they do not need to. And, at times, they make it very obvious for the listener to figure out that he is listening to a lie, and when the talker realises that he has been caught, he makes a wasteful attempt of saving himself from the ignominy by saying that "Ohh, you silly fellow, you took it seriously, I was just joking"...next time, remember there is difference between a lie and a joke and your listener knows it.