Page 42 - Bodhayanti Parasparam Vol 8

vectors for contagious pretense are religion, dogma, and creeds. Some of the greatest minds responsible for the most advanced breakthroughs in science have been people who have accepted untested religious ideas and beliefs. Their sincerity and scepticism were only fragmentary and were fixated in their areas of expertise.
To err is human, but to invite and persist in error, through pretense, is delusion. Delusion has nothing to do with intelligence or the lack thereof. Delusion is not about making a mistake, being limited, or not knowing anything in particular as all these require no effort. However, it takes effort to alter reality in the mind with pretense, prejudice, and beliefs and, hence, to delude oneself. The motive to delude oneself is to sustain and console an ego that otherwise would be exposed. It should be obvious that we can not entertain or invoke in us delusion and sincerity at the same time. They are contradictory and we need to reject all delusions to
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