Sincerity means being without deceit, pretense or hypocrisy. I practice it by being genuine and honest and refraining from making statements I don’t really believe in. The opposite is insincerity.§
Comparing the actions of one who is sincere to one who is insincere§ |
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|---|---|---|
Situation§ |
Sincerity§ |
Insincerity§ |
Your best friend just won a minor-league writing award, so you…§ |
congratulate her appropriately for her achievement.§ |
exaggerate the accomplishment, pretending the prize is more important than it really is.§ |
Your sister notes that her boss is being too pushy, and you…§ |
tell her this is a trait you yourself are working on.§ |
criticise him, knowing inside you have the same issues to overcome.§ |
At a community town hall, everyone is asked to give a Christian prayer aloud, and you…§ |
keep silent as the group prays to Jesus.§ |
join the chorus, all the while feeling like a fool for giving in to peer pressure.§ |
Gurudeva explained: “It takes great sincerity in life to control the mind. And the power to be sincere is based on honesty. Honesty, arjava, gives a great boon to you. It gives you stability. It makes you strong. It makes every atom in your being vibrate with an inner power. It gives you perspective; it gives you the eye to justice. But you must first be honest with yourself.”§
“The word insincere describes the person who doesn’t fulfill what he knows he should fulfill, but pretends that he does. We call him insincere. That insincerity doesn’t hurt anybody but himself, because you can’t send out anything out into the world but that it comes back.”§
ASSIGNMENT: During these two weeks, regularly reflect on your words and actions in the light of sincerity.§
Date you began this assignment ____________________§
MY THOUGHTS ON THE BENEFITS OF SINCERITY: 
§
