पुण्य कर्म takes us to स्वर्ग लोक. पुण्य कर्म gives us joy. पाप कर्म takes us to नरक लोक. Suffering happens either on account of पाप कर्म done now or in the past (including past lives). Equally, for people resorting to certain kinds of prohibited कर्म, consequences will certainly be severe – whether now or later after death in नरक लोक.

रामायण is a धर्म शास्त्र. While the story may be known to all, there are diamonds within the text that remain unknown to most people since these texts are not taught in schools nor conveyed by parents to kids. And given that any society needs standards of ethics, what better way to communicate such code of ethics than to get exposed to इतिहास texts like the रामायण. While the entire text is littered with many diamonds, one small extract is given below for benefit of readers.

When भरत comes to know from कैकेयी that राम has been exiled to the forest by her, he approaches कौशल्या with tears. कौशल्या herself was in a lot of grief and in this state of mind, she admonishes भरत and makes sarcastic comments. भरत is obviously unhappy hearing such stinging words from कौशल्या. To prove to her that his mind is clear and not scheming unlike his mother, he tells कौशल्या that if he is seen as being responsible in any manner for राम’s exile, he should suffer the same outcome as various people will suffer if and when they do पाप कर्म. So भरत says that the पाप that accrues to the following people should accrue to him too if he is seen as responsible for राम’s exile to forest.

This conversation, taken from Aranya Kanda of the रामायण, is relevant to us from two perspectives – first, to get an idea as what were the moral standards which were extolled during the रामायण period and second, to check our own selves and undertake self-correction if we are indulging in any of the acts below. Trust the readers to find the extract of this conversation interesting.

भरत lists the following as acts of पाप कर्म that will accrue serious misfortune to the doer.

1. One who answers the call of nature facing the सूर्य
2. One who kicks cows while they are asleep
3. One who is a master who robs his servant of his resources after getting him to accomplish a great deed (for him)
4. One who bears enmity to a king who protects his subjects as his own offspring
5. A king who fails to protect his subjects even after collecting the land revenue in the form of one-sixth of the produce
6. One who withholds payment of यज्ञ dakshina after promising it to the tapasvis practicing tapasya and officiating at a यज्ञ
7. One who fails to observe the code of warfare followed by the virtuous on a field of battle crowded with elephants, horses and chariots and thick with weapons
8. One who forgets the शास्त्र which expounds the most esoteric truths taught with great pain by an enlightened गुरु (thereby one who learns from a good teacher but does not put this knowledge to practice is doing aपाप कर्म and will suffer its consequences)
9. One who gives away पायसम्, seasoned rice boiled with sesame seeds and Moong and goat-milk in vain (without offering them in the first instance to देवता, etc)
10. One who shows disrespect to elders (by failing to rise on their arrival and to greet them)
11. One who touches the body of cows with his feet, one who reviles his गुरुs and bears deep-rooted malice to a friend
12. One who reveals to someone else a fault of another confessed to him in private by placing reliance (that he will not divulge the secret before anyone)
13. One who is never in a position to return a service, one who remains ungrateful and shameless and one who is shunned and hated by all
14. One who consumes a savoury dish alone at his own home though surrounded by a number of children, servants and dependents
15. One who fails to secure a wife who is his equal in all aspects and remains child-less and thereby not being in a position to be able to perform शास्त्र धर्म (owing to their absence)
16. One who kills a ruler, woman, infant or aged man or one who does not take responsibility of someone dependent on him
17. One who supports his family through the sale of lacquer (the sap of the lacquer tree used as a varnish), honey and flesh, iron and poison (these are prohibited by the शास्त्र).
18. One who is addicted to alcohol, women, gambling and overpowered by lust and anger
19. One who indulges in अधर्म and who showers his wealth on the undeserving and never allows his mind to take delight in धर्म
20. One who remains asleep during the संध्या समय (morning, noon and evening time)
21. One who practices arson, who engages in physical relations with the wife of his teacher and one who cheats a friend
22. One who does not have an opportunity to do service to the देवता (in the form of पूजा, etc) and to the ancestors (in the form of shraddha कर्म, etc) or to his living parents
23. One who is devoted to the evil path and gives up service to his mother
24. One who does not fulfill the needs of people dependent on him, who look to him with expectation and who praise him
25. One who obtains delight in doing deception, is a back-biter and impure and afraid of the king all his life with his mind being given to अधर्म (a thief is usually living his whole life in a state of fear of the Law)
26. One who refuses to or ignores having union with his faithful wife who approaches him for gaining conception
27. One who interrupts पूजा being offered to a ब्राह्मण
28. One who milks a cow which has given birth to a calf less than ten days ago
29. One who cohabits with another person’s wife and forsakes his own wife and who gives up his love for धर्म
30. One who defiles or spoils the water (of a well or a tank or a river)
31. One who administers poison
32. One who disappoints a person who is oppressed with thirst by recourse to deception (in the form of giving a false report denying the presence of water) even though there is presence of water
33. One who stands on a road and witnesses a dispute with partiality for one of the disputing parties (I guess when two people are fighting, the rest of the people are meant to be objective in witnessing the fight as well as working with the parties to resolve the dispute. One should not take sides based on one’s own hidden prejudices)

He also lists situations of serious misfortune that make living difficult for the person going through such a misfortune:

1. Suffer the lot of man belonging to the lowest strata of society (and thus not having access to the good his society can offer to him)
2. Let him not live to see श्री राम of muscular arms and shoulders and possessing the splendour of the sun and the moon and be willing to accept the kingship and be installed to the throne
3. One who is killed while fleeing at a time when a battle inspiring terror into the enemies has commenced.
4. One who roams about like a madman, clad in rags and begging with bowl in hand.
5. One who is addicted to alcohol, women, gambling and overpowered by lust and anger
6. One who has accumulated possessions of every description which end up being looted away by robbers
7. One who loses his claim to live in regions inhabited by the virtuous (स्वर्ग), one who loses his reputation that attaches to good men and one who falls from the path that is taken by the righteous
8. One who become a beggar though having a family to support; one who is seized with ailments in the form of fever and suffers hardships continually
9. One who is a ब्राह्मण whose offsprings have perished (owing to lack of nourishment)

May all follow the path of धर्म

OM TAT SAT

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Source: Srimad Valmiki Ramayana by Gita Press, Gorakhpur, India

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