23 Dec 2011 - QA 8

Dear Guruji, how to be diplomatic in a corporate culture where there is no value for point blank truth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Listen, sometimes you think you are speaking the truth but many times you are being harsh. You do not have to be harsh while saying the truth.
Have you noticed, people who are very rude, they ascertaining that what they are saying is truth and it is true, that is why they are rude.
People are disliked for their rudeness and not for the truth. You can separate these two things.
There is an old Sanskrit couplet which says, ‘do not speak sweet lies and do not speak unpleasant truth.’
This is the ancient dharma.
You can be firm and sweet. You do not need to be rough, rude and agitated to be firm.
You do not need to go round and round to be sweet. That is not necessary, just talk straight and sweet.