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Punya or Paap

 

By Mr. N. P. Jain

 

Punya is a word which is often quoted in Indian religious literature of all sects, castes and creeds. It can be even said that it is a word specific to the culture of India. Punya has several connotations and first, one should know what it really means. In brief all the good happenings which make a man satisfied mentally, physically and spiritually are because of his Punya. Similarly, the opposite of Punya is Paap (sin), when a man is not satisfied mentally, physically and spiritually, it is a result of Paap (sins or misdeeds) done by him.

 Further, a man is always held by his Karmas whether mentally, physically or vocally which create Punya Or Paap according to the nature of Karmas. Here, we are talking about Punya only, which can be acquired by following steps :

  • By doing and wishing good t all living beings through speech, thought and action.

  • Self-denial (sacrifice/discipline) for the benefit of all living Beings and your personal actions for living pious life.

  • Worshipping Almighty in such a way that you completely surrender to God, thinking that He is the Doer and you are just instrumental and consequently becoming egoless.

  • Indeed, much has been said and written in our ancient scriptures about Punya and endless chapters can be written on this subject. The above three actions followed by any individual can create positive balance of Punya for his current life or the future lives. There can always be a question that Mr. X is working so hard to get a car, for instances, but is unable to succeed and Mr. Y. without doing any special labour is enjoying the possession and facility of a car. This is a serious question but can be answered; it is due to Punya earned by Mr. Y in his previous births or this birth that he is in possession of a car which Mr. X is not able to have due to his past or present bad Karmas (sins)

  • So, the great men are always saying that the current time is, in face of Pancham Araa which will have many bad things around an individual and if he wants to have good life in future, he must earn Punya which alone can help in getting happiness.

    There can be a question that a man is quite successful and happy despite his bad actions for his own benefits. Answer to this question will be that he had accumulated so much Punya in his past life that he is able to balance all his Paap (sins) with his Punya. But he must realize that if his Punya become less or utilized to balance the Paap, unhappiness will prevail upon his life.

     At the end I will say that Punya is not meant for worldly achievements but for spiritual attainment.

     

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    Address of Author : M/s. Motilal Banarsidass
    40-UA, Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-110007, E-Mail : mlbd@vsnl.com

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    Mail to : Ahimsa Foundation
    www.jainsamaj.org
    R261208