Ashtottaram 57

 

57) OṀ PĀPAVINĀŚA BHŨMYAINAMAH:

      OṀ (AUM) - PAA-PA- VI-NAA-ŚA- BHOO- MYAI- NA-- MA- HA

 

(Pāpam: means-Bad fortune, Kārmic bad credit; Vināśah: means-destruction,

absorption without return)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belief in a Supernatural Being or Power-generally called 'God' is ingrained in the human psyche. The words of a scripture and/or of the men of God, are considered as sacrosanct and hence, inviolable. Not following them or going against them has always been regarded as pāpam (a sin) resulting in grave consequences. The Hindu scriptures have designated such sins by various names pāpa, pāpman, vrujina, durita, and so on... The concept of pāpam is as old as Ṛigveda where in prayers have been offered to the deities like Āditya, Mitra and Varuṇa for redemption.

 

The question as to what causes sin and how it is committed has been discussed in the dharmaśāstrās. Some of the earliest dharmaśāstrās like those of Gautama and Yājnavalkya and the Gīta declares that Kama (lust), krodha (anger) and lobha (greed) are responsible for a person to perpetrate evil deeds, thereby accumulating sins. In course of time, the list has grown to include many more like himsa (violence), speaking untruth, neglect of prescribed duties, committing deeds declared as evil by the sāstrās. But the dharma śāstrās offer remedies to the consequences of these sins. They are: pāpanivedana (confession); paśchāttāpa (repentance), prāṇāyāma (restraint of breath); tapas (austerity); homa (sacrifice into a duly consecrated fire), japa (repetition of Vedic passages or prayers); dāna (giving gifts); upavāsa (fasting); and tīrṭhayātra (pilgrimage).

 

We are not told repeatedly that we are 'sinners' and God's son was crucified and died for our sins. We are not cursed eternal damnation. On the contrary, we are taught the opposite. In Hinduism, people worship gods and goddesses at their homes on a daily basis to get rid-off their sins and perform expiatory rituals.

 

Ultimately, it can be safely be declared that the following disciplines are the best means of overcoming or attenuating the evil effects of sin on one's life: since repentance, resolving not to repeat the sinful deeds, repetition of God's name, earnest prayer and the company of holy persons. For the welfare of humanity, without selfishness, our ancient sages and seers performed severe strict austerities and passed on their knowledge and wisdom in the form of dharmaśāstrās and vājṇmayās. For the pāpa vināśanam, they have prescribed various means and because of that we have temples, puṇya tīrṭhās, and so on. The famous place in South India is Tirumala Sri Venkateswara swami temple and nearby waterfalls known as 'pāpanāśanam' and on daily basis thousands and thousands of devotees attend these places. During auspicious days and festivals, the number of attendees are in millions. During 'Kumbhameḷa' time, 40 million people take bath in holy rivers in a given day.

 

Our land does not condemn sinners and offers expiatory rituals to amend a wrong either of commission or omission and is 'Pāpavināśa Bhūmi'.