One day Akbar asked the courtier if they could tell him the difference between truth and falsehood in three words or less. The courtiers looked at one another in bewilderment. “ What about you, Birbal?” asked the Emperor. “ I am surprised that you too are silent.”

“ I am silent because that you too are silent.”

“ I am silent because I want to give others a chance to speak,” said Birbal.

“ Nobody else has the answer, “ said the Emperor. “So go ahead and tell me what the difference truth and falsehood is, in three words or less.”

Birbal’s Solution

“Four fingers”, said Birbal.

“ Four fingers?” asked the Emperor, perplexed.

“That’s the difference between truth and falsehood, Your Majesty,” said Birbal.

“That which you see with your own eyes is the truth. That which you have only heard about might not be true. . More often than not, it’s likely to be false.”

“ That is right,” said Akbar. “ But what did you mean by saying the difference is four fingures?”

“ That distance between one’s eye and one’s ears is the width of four fingures, Your majesty,” said Birbal, grinning.

Moral

There is a clear distinction between the truth revealed by the observation and hearsay. Observation should also be continuous observation and not the interpreted observation.

For example a person should not be judged by the appearance. A manager will commit a serious error if he/she is unable to distinguish reality and what looks like a reality.

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