There have always been two tendencies: one of sincerity, and the other of insincerity and falsehood. They constantly work together. The false and the true have always existed side by side in life and nature. Where there is real gold there is false; where there is a real diamond there is an imitation diamond, where there are sincere people there are insincere ones; and in every aspect of life - in a life of spirituality, in the acquisition of learning, in art or science - we can see both sincerity and insincerity. And the only way to recognize real spiritual development is by understanding the extent of selflessness; because however much a person pretends to spirituality and wishes to be godly or pious or good, nothing can hide his true nature. For there is the constant tendency of that ego to leap out; it will leap out from his control, and if he is insincere he cannot hide it. Just as the imitation diamond, however bright, is dull compared with the real one, and when tested and examined will prove to be an imitation, so real spiritual progress must be proved in the personality of a soul. It is the personality that proves whether a man has touched that larger realm where self does not exist.