Sincerity is the virtue of one who speaks and acts truly according to his or her own feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and desires. Sincerity in the dictionary is described as freedom from deceit, hypocrisy, probity in intention or in communicating; earnestness.
The way we live and what we see around, majority appears not adhering to the principles of Sincerity. That is why we have problems in family and social life, political unrest and discomforts on other fronts.
Some simple points to describing sincerity:
1. A sincere person does not pretend to be what he/she is not. They are open to everyone and do not have to fabricate stories about anything because sincerity lies in truthful living.
2. Not biased to any situation, person or incident.
3. Has trust in others (feels God’s presence in every one) and earn every one’s trust.
4. Respects every one and earns unmindful respect from all.
4. Sincere person envoys to none and is friendly to all.
5. Does not discriminate, hence has no enemy.
6. Is not deceitful or hypocrite and is distinct.
Sir Richard Steele, Irish writer of eighteenth century writes the following about sincerity, “When we are our true selves, we tap into universal laws and forces, which come to our aid. When we are sincere the road ahead is plain, easy and simple. We do not waste any time or energy in scheming or maintaining appearances. Our contact with others is direct, strong and clear. We more easily win others’ confidence and willing support for our cause. And our sincerity gains us universal respect, even the “The happy talent of pleasing either those above or below you seems to be wholly owing to the opinion they have of your sincerity… There need be no more said in honour of it than that it is what forces the approbation of your opponents.”
“Sincerity and truth are the basis of every virtue.”
Sincerity is satisfaction of mind. An employee sincere towards his duties gets satisfaction out of his job/duty/labour. Sincerity builds families otherwise we see disharmony in relations and even broken families.Untrue persons are not sincere towards themselves, how can they be sincere towards others?
The same formulas apply in spiritual life as well. Let’s see what our Great Gurus advised in the 15th and 16th centuries, in order to be sincere to ourselves:
- The religious rites, rituals and hypocrisies which are seen, are plundered by the Messenger of Death, the ultimate tax collector.
- In the state of Nirvaanaa, sing the Kirtan of the Creator’s Praises; contemplating Him in meditation, even for an instant, one is saved.
Some people deceive others pretending to be great. To influence others, they will try to look different and apply ash to their body and what not just to pretend themselves to be spiritual ones. What Gurbani says about these people:
- You apply ashes to your body, while acting in hypocrisy.
- Attached to Maya, you will be beaten by Death’s heavy club. On the other hand people who have trust in God, trust every-one because they feel the presence of Almighty in all:
- There is none other than You, O Lord, Destroyer of fear.
- Says Nanak, I have come to Your Sanctuary, O Merciful Guru; I am so
- A sincere person is never in duality and lives truthful life:
- Falsehood has vanished, duality has been erased, and they are totally overflowing with Truth.
- They serve the Supreme Lord God, and enshrine the One Lord within their minds.
What an ideal life of a person who is jealous to none, hence has no enemy, is friendly to all, is not worried what gona happen now or in future, because of his sincerity towards God. All this is well explained in the following Sabad composed by Guru Arjan Sahib Jee:
I have totally forgotten my jealousy of others, since I found the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy. ||1||Pause||
No one is my enemy, and no one is a stranger. I get along with everyone. ||1|| Whatever God does, I accept that as good. This is the sublime wisdom I have obtained from the Holy. ||2||
The One God is pervading in all. Gazing upon Him, beholding Him, Nanak blossoms forth in happiness. ||3||8||
Sincerity is a great strength. Whatever the circumstances such a person faces all the challenges and his faith in Almighty is never shaken and lives carefree life: Disease, sorrow, pain, old age and death do not even approach the humble servant of the Lord. They remain fearless, in the Love of the One Lord; O Nanak, they have surrendered their minds to the Lord. ||2||1||
To understand Gurbani and living life according to it’s teachings changes one’s thoughts action and deeds. It changes one’s life-style, one becomes fully aware of the purpose of this human life, feels a balanced social and spiritual life. The fortunate people who attain this height can be termed as sincere to God as well as towards worldly duties.
To sum up we can say: “Sincerity and truth are the basis of every virtue.”
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