20 Dec 2011 - QA 20

Guruji, I know that the path of truth is supreme. However, one has to lie a little bit in business.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes! In business, one can speak lies to some extent, as much as there is salt in the food. If you speak too many lies, you are likely to get into trouble. And if you do not add any salt, you will not be able to eat the food. So if lies exceed a certain limit, things can go seriously wrong.
While selling a product, knowing well that it is a second grade product, you pass it off as first grade or high quality product even though you have no idea whether it is or not, is okay. It has been said that for a religious person, a Guru, a Saint and a teacher, speaking lies is absolutely prohibited; it doesn't happen anyway! For a king, a little bit of lies is acceptable, and for a trader, a little bit more lies is okay.
So a trader can speak that same amount of lies as there is salt in the food.