What is Truth? What do we Mean by Truth?

Hello Everyone,

I am one of the coordinators for some public J. Krishnamurti DVD Showings and Dialogues held in Vancouver. We have been hosting these dvd showings and dialogues since 2007 and they are held once a month during the Winter/Spring and Fall.

The last dvd we watched was with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Huston Smith and inquired into the question of lucidity and whether it is possible to live in total lucidity.

"Is it possible for a human being in this world to find within him/herself a clarity that is constant, that is true, in the sense, not contradictory, is it possible for a human being to find it?" Krishnamurti goes on to explain that he feels it is possible...

This led our dialogue to first explore questions such as What is Truth? What do we Mean by Truth? Is Truth Objective or Subjective?

Raymond D. Bradley, a philosopher, states that truth is objectve...it is a fact...a statement is true if things in reality are as the statement says they are. For example, it is true if snow is white if and only if snow is white.

Is this different from a belief, idea or image that is influenced by emotions or personal prejudices or something that takes place in a person's mind rather than the external world or reality?

Is it possible to look at and see truth simply as it is, as Krishnamurti states as "What Is", without attachment and projection onto what we would like that truth to be?

If we were to do this, would our actions change? Could we live with more clarity and lucidity? If we lived with more clarity and lucidity would there be less conflict, violence and suffering?

I don't know the answers to these questions and a person must explore them for him/herself. They are important questions to ask though because how we formulate and/or understand what is true has a direct impact on how and why we create beliefs, ideas and images. Beliefs, ideas and images, in turn, can cause conflict, separation and suffering.