So, a life of accepting responsibility for problem-solving entails a life of dedication to the truth, and a life of dedication to truth entails a willingness to constantly redraw one’s maps. Unwillingness to do this constitutes laziness. One may be busy, busy, busy, in one’s day to day affairs, but if there is no inclination or willingness for self-examination, to re-evaluate one’s maps to keep abreast of changing data, then he or she is lazy.

Even if the data before us does not change, we change. As we grow we acquire new wisdom, and just to put that to use, we need to look at the old data and gain new insight. The degree to which one can do this depends on two things:

1. One’s natural store of intelligence
2. One’s commitment to the truth.

Of these the latter is most important. Just one’s total commitment to the truth is enough to empower one’s intelligence in the required ways. This is one of the implications of the tesam satata yuktanam verse, Bhagavad-gita 10,10,

“To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

If you are completely committed to the truth in all circumstances, then Krishna will give you the intelligence by which you can find it.

One has to take responsibility to find the truth as well as willingly face all the other elements of problem-solving—discipline, delaying gratification, and so forth.

Quotes Applicable to This Discussion:

He who loves his friends more than truth will love those who agree with him; and in the end, love himself better than all. —Anon

Piety requires us to honor truth above our friends. —Aristotle

He is deemed the worst enemy who speaks the truth. —Plato

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. —Emerson

I do the best I know how, the very best I can; and I meant to keep on doing it to the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me will not amount to anything. If the end brings me out all wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference. —Abe Lincoln

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals. —Anon

One man with courage makes a majority. —Andrew Jackson

The man who believes he can do something is probably right, and so is the man who believes he can’t.—Anon

One is continually faced with great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems. —Anon

Better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. —Anon