THE SUSTAINING SELF BEGINS TO REVEAL ITSELF

 
There is no more ready means by which the first outlines of the inner self can be known than through complete honesty. Honesty with one's fellow beings is the beginning step; from this there cannot help but come honesty with oneself.

It is heartening to find that even the worst of one's nature is not frightening, and that the very fact of having faced the worst in oneself gives the courage to look at the challenges of life and the path. Having achieved honesty and found courage, the sustaining self begins to reveal itself.

To be honest is certainly not easy, for never before has dishonesty and hypocrisy been so rampant in the world as today. If the least hypocrisy creeps into one's thoughts, words or deeds, God, who is the innermost Self in us all, keeps Himself hidden.

Hypocrisy is a million-headed cobra. Today there are so-called saints in the world who tell people to be honest and not hypocritical, yet they themselves are deeply involved in dishonesty. If you cannot love God and cannot lead saintly lives, then at least do not make a pretense of it. The worst scoundrel is better than a hypocritical saint.

Honesty is not only a light on the inner path, it is also one of the most effective means for relief of the suffering which afflicts all — man or woman, rich or poor, great or small. Relief from all kinds of suffering is within ourselves if, in all circumstances and in every walk of life, we try to think honestly, act honestly and live honestly.

Infinite honesty is one of the aspects of God, and therefore the least hypocrisy in ourselves keeps us aloof from God.