Approaching the West — Page 100
A pproaching the West—100 Hinduism, humanity is divided into various castes, some higher than the others, and as such their sins are also perceived differently, having high or low levels of gravity! Historically, almost all of the intricate moral and religious principles of behavior (called Shastras—books of do’s and don’ts) were enforced by Brahmans, the highest caste in Hinduism. They had made separate sets of rules for each caste and its subcategories. For example, in the Hindu state of Nepal, up till 1963, a Brahman was exempt from death penalty because killing of a Brahman was prohibited in the Hindu Scriptures, and it was thought to be a sin to give capital punishment to him. Similarly, punishment prescribed for adultery committed by a Brahman with a woman of a lower caste was significantly less than for a man who belonged to a lower caste than that of the woman. If sin is an act of body opposing the spirit, then greater the resistance to the cosmic Law of dharma which holds all things together, the bigger is the sin. Soul needs to be saved and liberated at all costs. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, “Triple is the gate of hell, destructive of the soul: namely, Kama (sensuality/lust), Krodha (hate/anger), and Lobha (covetousness). Therefore, one should forsake these three major sins, and work for the good of his soul and reach the supreme state. ” This supreme state is called mokasha in Hindu dharma— that is, liberation from the endless cycle of birth and rebirth. In a religion which is usually silent about God, such as Buddhism, sin is not defined as an offense against established instructions of a God or gods, or a broken