Glossary · Philosophy
Satya
सत्य
What does Satya mean?
Satya shares its root with 'sat', being itself: truth is what aligns with reality. The Gita's definition of truthful speech in 17.15 is remarkably complete — it must be true, kind, useful, and non-disturbing all at once.
Truthfulness is counted among the divine qualities (16.1-3) and is a foundation of austerity of speech. In the wider tradition, satya is one of the five yamas, the ethical vows of yoga.