The second yama or social restraint is Satya or Truthfulness.
It is said in the yogic texts:
There is nothing more sinful than untruthfulness. Because of this, Mother Earth once said, "I can bear any heavy thing except a person who is a liar."
Srimad Bhagavatam 8:20:4
All the heavy mountains and oceans are as nothing to Mother Earth compared to the weight of a liar therefore just imagine how overburdened she must feel in this day and age when people are accustomed to speaking so many lies.
People who are habitually deceitful carry with them a dark cloud that covers the shining light of the pure soul within. On a social level when we mislead we eventually lose the trust of others creating disturbances in our personal and public relationships. Sometimes we can even start believing our own lies, thus we enter an illusory type of existence.
Truthfulness, however, should undoubtedly align with ahimsa so that there is no unnecessary violence or pain as a result of our words or actions.
