Tattva-viveka

Sincerity and Desire

Gauravani Dasa - December 9, 2004 12:23 am

Dandavat pranams.

I read somewhere that to become sincere, one must associate with others who are sincere. So what is the symptom and practical application of sincerity?

Personally, it seems like when one recognizes those tendencies of the mind or potential external situations that are not conducive to spiritual life, one will make some proper adjustment, refining one’s approach so that the desired results are experienced. This requires some intelligence cultivated by scriptural study under the guidance of Sri Guru.

Otherwise, it seems like there is the tendency to dismiss one’s conditioning and anarthas as “just my impurities” and avoid any real effort to overcome them. (Well, its my tendency anyway.)

Are these ideas correct?

What about those days when our determination is not so steady, and our sincerity (especially in japa) is overcome by indifference? Are these the days we need to make special time for introspection and prayer?

When there is indifference, practically no spiritual desire is manifest (at least in my case). Is the idea to find that association and practical application to yield that desire?

Obviously, I am having trouble developing and maintaining steady desire. Anyone else have some thoughts or realizations on this matter?

Humbly,

Fred

NrsinghaDas - December 9, 2004 2:49 pm

Your post exactly describes my own thoughts and feelings. It is like something directly from my mind .

Here is something from a letter I just rceived from Swami dealing with this same subject.

At your stage enthusiasm will
come and go. What is important is to ride out the lows and not to

be misled by the highs while keeping up with one's practice.

Vrindaranya Dasi - December 9, 2004 4:22 pm

Dandavats,

Sincerity is to keep applying yourself until you are successful. Fall seven times, stand up eight. Think of Olympic athletes or famous people who kept at it, constantly making adjustments to their course to keep on track, and didn’t give up.

To keep your enthusiasm for the long haul, you need to act according to your standing in Krsna consciousness and find a balance between pushing yourself too hard and not applying yourself enough. If you have difficulty finding this balance, or if you don’t have confidence in your assessment, then your Guru can tell you what is appropriate until you are able to confidently discern the perfect balance.

When you find this appropriate balance, you will feel enlivened. In one sense, this is how you know that you are appropriately applying yourself—you check whether you are enlivened. If you are making unrealistic expectations of yourself for your current standing, you will constantly feel discouraged. If you aren’t pushing yourself, you will start feeling lethargic.

When you are in the company of other people who are sincerely applying themselves, and particularly in the company of people who are more advanced, you are able to come up to a level that you wouldn’t be able to achieve on your own. It gives you more spiritual desire, which leads to better practice and thus advancement.

Ys,

Vrindaranya

Swami - December 10, 2004 3:21 am

Sri Krsna says

na hi kalyana-krt kascid

durgatim tata gacchati

"Sincerity is invincible."

Sincereity is honesty. Another word for devotee is satam (honest). To ask "Am I sincere?" is a sign of sincerity. We all have some of this, and sincerity begets sincerity.