A FEW THOUGHTS ON SIN

A FEW THOUGHTS ON SIN

Christianity speaks about the first disobedience of man and the loss of paradise on account of his original sin. Milton glorified this through his epic poem ‘ Paradise Lost’ and later described in 'Paradise Regained’ man's redemption through Jesus! God created Adam and the Garden of Eden exclusively for his happiness.Adam created Eve the first woman from one of his ribs and they lived a happy life of bliss till Satan came into their life. Aggrieved and angry with God for throwing him down to Hell as he rebelled against him, Satan wanted to avenge God and as he could not approach God, decided to spoil the happiness of the original man, Adam! That was how he wanted to avenge God. He sneaked into the Garden of Eden,hoodwinking the guardian Angel. He entered into the carcase of a snake and approaching Eve praised her celestial beauty.He argued that she is fit for heaven and that Adam does not want her to ascend to heaven because of selfishness!  He persuaded her, by his wiles,to taste the forbidden fruit and Eve, in a moment of weakness, plucked the fruit and ate it to the dismay and shock of Adam! Thus man lost his pardise as shame and guilt overtook him! Naked until then, they covered themselves!

“ There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable” according to Mark Twain the renowned novelist.The desire to disobey is prominent when something is forbidden.Is there any person without sin? It is doubtful. Mae West says “ To err is human--but it feels divine!” The only sin is the sin of being born in the words of Samuel Beckett. When people wanted to stone a sinner, it was Jesus who remarked “ Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone!” In short, it is rather impossible for man to lead a sinless life.

According to Swami Vivekananda, “ The Vedanta recognizes no sin. It recognizes error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta, is to say that you are weak, that you are a sinner, a miserable creature and that you have no power and you cannot do this and that.” What is Sin? It is a sin “when the glory of God is not honored: when His holiness is not revered: when His greatness is not admired: when the Truth of God Is not sought: when the wisdom of God is not esteemed: when the commandments of God are not obeyed: when the wrath of God is not feared: when the grace of God is not cherished and when the person of God is not loved! (John Piper) These   sum up, in essence, the general way in which sins are committed.

While these acts are considered as individual sins, there are a few for which society is responsible! These are called social sins. They are: wealth without work: pleasure without conscience: knowledge without character: commerce without morality: science without humanity:worship without sacrifice: and politics without principles! Present day society is definitely guilty of all the sins stated above! People earn money without any work and indulge in pleasures without any conscientious scruples! Knowledgeable people have no character. Morality is significantly absent in modern commerce and trade. Humanity is endangered by the tremendous advancement of science and technology and nuclear devices that may go off at any time! Worship too has become more commercial and there is no sacrifice at all.

Pride, arrogance and indulging in lies are denounced as sins. According to John Maxwell,  “There are two kinds of pride both good and bad. Good pride represents our dignity and self respect. Bad pride is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit, and ignorance.”Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all! says Edmund Burke!The inner enemies of man compel him to commit sin. It is a formidable task to withstand their pressure.We find many in the world who live comfortably and thrive on their sin! “ Some rise by sin and some by virtue fall” says Shakespeare! But eventually it is the sinner who comes to nothing.The rise of the sinner may be meteoric but he has to fall and meet his doom finally! Let us be aware of the pitfalls of sin and avoid them as far as possible!