Happened
to read Devdutt Pattanaik explaining it so nicely that I thought all of us
should read him:
Devdutt
Pattanaik:
The
word 'paap' is commonly translated as sin. But the word sin has no antonym in
English: you either follow word of God or you sin. The word sin is even used by
in secular contexts strangely. Paap has an opposite: punya, a word that cannot
be translated in English. If you translate punya as virtue or merit, then paap
becomes vice or demerit, not sin.
Sin
comes from a worldview where there are absolute rules from an unquestionable
authority. Paap and punya come from a worldview where actions are deemed good
or bad depending on the other person's point of view.
The
modern legal system is based on the concept of 'sin', not 'paap-punya'. Indian
society, however, thinks in terms of 'paap-punya' where accumulated merits can
be used to negotiate against a demerit. Since we reject 'paap-punya' as myth
and assume 'sin' and 'law' to be truth (both are myths/beliefs/assumptions), we
end up creating conflict between people's beliefs and intellectual's
ideologies, resulting in the mess that is now India.
4 comments:
Good one.
Taking Vedanta classes and learnt about this some days ago. Good post.
You mean there is some teacher who is explaining the concepts to you? Are you based outside India or somewhere in India? Because I didn't know of any classes like these...
Will provide you with a link...but it might not be possible due to time difference. Yes finally found a COMPLETE authority on Sanskrit and Vedanta and my heart cannot sing enough glories about this awesome teacher. Took 20 years. Though her level is very high, I am ready for it because of 20 yr practice (I suppose). Love it. But you gotta start somewhere...so will send link. Love the use of technology and lessons without going out of home!!!
Sounds very interesting! Please do post the link!
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