The four gates of truth

[Hallo Alfie]

I was hoping someone might be able to lend me a hand here.

A work colleague of mine told me about a philosopher named Patanjali and the four gates of truth. In simple terms, she outlined Patanjali suggested that they are:
- Is it true?
- Is it necessary to tell the truth?
- Is it the right time?
- Is it kind?

I have not been able to find any direct references to this on the internet, and was hoping someone might be able to lead me to some information - I am keen to get some more in depth knowledge.

Whilst we are at it, when it comes to revealing the truth (and bearing in mind the shallow description I have outlined) does anyone agree/disagree that this is a fair checklist to utlise when looking to unburden oneself?

Cheers

 

[stup_id]

Well.. I encourage any search for enlightment and truth, so is my duty to note that the first thing you might want to learn from skeptics here is to check your sources this story you are referring to.. has been clasically atributed to Aristotle when teaching philosophy in Greece, try searching under these terms and you'll probably succeed in finding meaningful information

have a nice day

 

[Hallo Alfie]

Um...
I'm not sure.

I can find the "four causes" (nothing to do with truth) and the "virtues of truth".

But these seem far removed from what I have described above.
Any other suggestions?

btw, I did double-check my source - she was very confident it was Patanjali.

Cheers

 

[leonAzul]

Well.. I encourage any search for enlightment and truth, so is my duty to note that the first thing you might want to learn from skeptics here is to check your sources this story you are referring to.. has been clasically atributed to Aristotle when teaching philosophy in Greece, try searching under these terms and you'll probably succeed in finding meaningful information

have a nice day

Um...
I'm not sure.

I can find the "four causes" (nothing to do with truth) and the "virtues of truth".

But these seem far removed from what I have described above.
Any other suggestions?

btw, I did double-check my source - she was very confident it was Patanjali.

Cheers

With all due respect, I think that the sources that stup_id was referring to would the writings themselves of Patanjali. Here is a link to one of many discussions and translations that show up from a Google search:
http://www.rainbowbody.net/HeartMind/Yogasutra.htm

This is an adage that appears in various forms and with various attributions. I suspect that even if you can find a first citation, the idea had a long oral history behind it well before it was written down.