Posted on: 19 May 2023
1. What are the sins that cause mental health problems?
[Mr. Talin Rowe asked: Namaskaram Shri Datta, I am very sorry for any offenses I have made against You. May all of Your devotee’s love be showered at Your feet. Thank You sincerely, Talin Rowe. I have a few questions related to Sin. What are the sins that cause mental health problems?]
Swami replied:- Worldly thinking must be avoided as far as possible allowing the mind only to think about very basic essential matters only. Thinking about God is very good for mental health since the miraculous power of God is involved to protect the damage of the mind due to thinking about God to any extent.
2. What is the punishment for the sin of Gluttony?
Swami replied:- He will be born with extreme poverty and nobody will donate anything to him.
3. What are the sins that lead to Hell?
[The three major gates to Hell as You’ve described are Illegal Sex, Violence by Anger, and Greed and Corrupt Acquisition of Wealth. Are there other Sins that lead to Hell?]
Swami replied:- If these three are controlled fully, other sins are very small that need only oral warnings from God.
4. Are we responsible for our accidental actions leading to others suffering?
[If we say something or do an action and it accidentally causes someone else to suffer, or causes them to make a decision and they suffer by circumstance, are we responsible for this suffering?]
Swami replied:- We are not responsible for the sin if there is no such intention in us. If others suffer, it is the punishment of their sins only.
5. Are we responsible for the sin done by the organizations we work for?
[If we are a part of an organization that commits sins, say a grocery store that sells meat or a gas station that sells cigarettes, or a media organization that tells lies, but our job is our livelihood, are we responsible for the sin generated at these organizations?]
Swami replied:- Since the sin is in the organization not run by us and since our livelihood is involved, we get no sin.
6. How did Krishna enjoy both misery and happiness equally but disliked injustice?
[A quote of the day on the Universal Spirituality Website states how Krishna enjoyed both misery and happiness equally. However, God also dislikes injustice immensely. How can these two concepts be unified?]
Swami replied:- Happiness and misery come as fruits of our past good and bad actions and Yoga means to enjoy both equally. Once realization comes, we oppose sins in which injustice is the substance. While opposing injustice at present, one can enjoy the fruits of both good and bad actions done previously. The present gives a bright future in which there will be no misery.
7. A question gotten from an Online Reddit Forum: Is physical attraction always lust?
Swami replied:- Yes. Lust means the physical attraction generated due to hormonal activity.
8. Is it possible to be physically attracted to someone you don’t know without it being lust?
Swami replied:- If you kill somebody without knowing that it is murder, will it not be a sin to be punished?
9. Is it ever acceptable to admire a woman’s physical beauty?
[I’ve been thinking about the passage “Matthew 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery’ but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” as I have a tendency towards lust and want to stop sinning like this. However, as a single man, I find it nearly impossible to not admire a woman’s beauty. Is there a healthy medium in regard to this? Is it ever acceptable to admire a woman’s physical beauty?]
Swami replied:- Admiring the physical beauty of a woman will certainly generate lust in the next step. Only a person, who is not completely attracted to God will admire the physical beauty of a woman. If one develops bad thoughts in the mind, but, controls the bad actions, such a theoretical sinner is warned orally in the hell, but, will not be punished practically. A theoretical sinner has every probability to commit sin practically. It is best to control in the causal state itself because causal state has every chance to extend to practical state.