Discussion of 'Sin' is a popular topic of discussion at the Gita Study group of Chinmaya Mission at Bakersfield, CA, where I have been to off and on, but enough to have gained some familiarity with the train of religious and spiritual thought indoctrinated by the Mission.
Spiritual concepts and tenets may sound very intuitive and catchy when translated from some verses and worded in phrases and lines that are very typical of this lingo.
It is another thing when these are placed against moral and philosophical dilemmas of our life events. Their intuitiveness and validity does not seem so compelling.
I will use a hypothetical situation to illustrate the intellectual diversity/contradictions that is possible when treating concepts such as sin, soul and actions considered by spiritual discourse to be associated with body, mind and intellect without recourse to the soul.
Below is the defense of a husband/lover caught or discovered by his wife in an act of infidelity/adultery. This man has interest in spirituality, some familiarity with spiritual and religious jargons and may have probably attended religious study groups.
Husband/lover: It is not my fault. I could not have done this. You know..well.. why?! we are all supposed to know that I am not the body. How can I be blamed for the actions of this body
Wife: (Assuming she wants a conversation with him instead of walking out or kicking him out): How could your body do this act on its own. Does it not have a mind that tells what is right and wrong?
Husband/lover: But dear!...Even this you must know that just as I or we are not the body, I am not the mind or intellect. The body directed by the mind and intellect which under the influence of you know what, does all this, both good and bad
Wife: Ah! those pesky Vasanaas...I should have seen this coming!!
Husband/lover: You cant say like that! The great Vasanaa-theorist Chinmayananda can’t be wrong after all. And What really are we or I but the soul which is neither the body, mind nor intellect. And that soul is there in you and me and is the same in both of us, why both! it is the same in all of us
Wife: Don’t you pull those spiritual fast-punches on me! Some nerve you have to blame vasanaas for your cheap character!
Husband/lover: Well if it is not Vasanaas, it must surely be Karma!. Are we not impelled by the sheer force of Karma from which no one can escape?.The combination of Vasanas and Karma delude us and we are not able to distinguish between actions of the body, mind and intellect and the soul on which no actions are binding. A person no less than Krishna says this. Surely Krishna cannot be a liar
Wife: Well! even if Krishna is not liar, surely he must be a lawyer and a spiritual one at that too!
Husband/lover: It may be hard to realize, but the soul is ever untainted, untouched and unaffected by the actions and the delusions of the body, mind and intellect and is only pure and unconditioned conciousness. For this sin caused by our delusion, there is surely a way out and deliverance for it.
Wife: Your lust is our delusion!!!....That is a low one from a pig like you!!
Husband/lover: No!! Instead of wrangling, Lets consult the Bhagavad Gita for this. There must be some verse in that mostly between chapters 4 and 7 that talks about any sin being washed away with devotion and yoga. If we can find a commentary on them by Chinmayananda, what an icing on the Cake that will be! Let's surrender ourselves to the guidance of the Gita and be pure till my next act of Adultery.
Thus with a flourish of spiritual jargon and tributes to the Gita and Chinmayananda, the husband rested his defense.
The moot point here is to put ourselves in the shoes of the women whose has been wronged and whose faith and trust has been voilated and impartially opine whether this voilation of ethic or deviant behavior can be considered a sin permitting of expiation
Other questions that need to be examined are:
Is deliverance from sin only meant for body, mind and intellect since soul is as per spiritual theory sinless?
In case of a sin or an immoral act, if the sinner cannot be forgiven by the sinned, what is the value of divine or other forgiveness or deliverance since there is no action which evidences that except for that of belief or scriptural testimony?
If soul is truly non-dual and is supposed to be the controller of all life and volition, why then does it have no control over the body, mind and intellect which behaves differently in different individuals?
Why should the body, mind and intellect seek or discover the soul and not the other way round?
It may well be argued that the desires which motivated and caused the act of adultery can be destroyed or ended by spiritual practices. But can the association of the person with that act in the past ever be erased from thought or memory?. It is said actions of men continue to live after them. Many actions are like arrows which once released cannot be recalled. So is the case all actions of immorality and harm.
Answers could be many and are not easy. But moral dilemmas can equally confound religion and spirituality just as they do the material world
Any rejoinders, response are most welcome
No comments:
Post a Comment