View source for The most sinful activity, according to Vedic information - to kill a child, to kill a woman, to kill a brahmana and to kill a cow. This is very abominable. Child, brahmana, cow and woman, they are to be given protection by the laws of Vedic instruction

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{{terms|"The most sinful activity, according to Vedic information"|"to kill a child, to kill a woman, to kill a brahmana and to kill a cow. This is very abominable"|"Child, brahmana, cow and woman, they are to be given protection by the laws of Vedic instruction"}}
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[[Category:Most]]
[[Category:Sinful Activities]]
[[Category:According]]
[[Category:Vedic Information]]
[[Category:Killing Children]]
[[Category:Killing Women]]
[[Category:Killing a Brahmana]]
[[Category:Killing Cows]]
[[Category:This Is]]
[[Category:Very]]
[[Category:Abominable]]
[[Category:They Are]]
[[Category:Giving Protection]]
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:Vedic Instruction]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SHARMISTHA]]
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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
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The most sinful activity, according to Vedic information—to kill a child, to kill a woman, to kill a brāhmaṇa and to kill a cow. This is very abominable, punishful. Child, brāhmaṇa, cow and woman, they are to be given protection by the laws of Vedic instruction. They have to be protected.
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[[Vanisource:750615 - Lecture SB 06.01.07 - Honolulu|750615 - Lecture SB 06.01.07 - Honolulu]]
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Prabhupāda: No, why this is. . .? Stop it. So we are responsible. Even if we kill one mosquito, we are responsible. It is not man-made law, that "If you kill a human being, then you are punished, and if you kill another animal, you are not punished." This is man-made law according to our convenience. "We have to eat the animal; therefore there is no punishment for animal killing." But God is for everyone the same. Every living entity is part and parcel of God. So they have been given an opportunity to undergo the punishment or enjoyment. You cannot disturb him. You cannot disturb him. Just like you are living in an apartment according to your position, but if I forcibly I ask you, "Go out of this apartment," then I will be punishable by the law. I have no right to get you out from that apartment. Similarly, every living entity, by the laws of nature, all laws of nature, is imprisoned or allowed under certain apartment, either in the body of a tree or a human being or demigod or cat or dog. These are all ordained. So you cannot get out the living entity, soul, by force from that body. Then you will be punishable. The living entity is never killed, but you have no right to get him out from that body. That is sinful. If you argue that "What is the harm if I kill one animal, because it is said, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ([[Vanisource:BG 2.20 (1972)|BG 2.20]]): 'The living entity, soul, is never killed even after the annihilation of this body'?" that is all right. But you cannot force him. Just like if you get one person, by force, get out from his apartment—he is not dying, of course, but still, it is criminal because you are forcing him to go out of the apartment. So that is the law of nature. You cannot force anyone to get out of the body. Then you are punishable.

So the punishments are different. So therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī is informing, na ced ihaivāpacitiṁ yathāṁhasaḥ. You have done something, sinful activity, and if you do not atone for it before your next death, kṛtasya kuryān mana-ukta-pāṇibhiḥ, the sinful activities which you have done with your body, with your mind, with your senses, that you have to atone for it. "Otherwise," dhruvaṁ sa vai pretya narakān upaiti, dhruvam, "surely he will get the different types of hellish condition of life," ye kīrtitā me, "as I have already described," bhavatas tigma-yātanāḥ, "before you how they are suffering." This is karma-kāṇḍa vicāra, means for one sinful activities, another pious activity, counteraction. But this will be discussed in the next verse, that prāyaścittam. Prāyaścitta means atonement. That is the next verse here:

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:tasmāt puraivāśv iha pāpa-niṣkṛtau
:yateta mṛtyor avipadyatātmanā
:doṣasya dṛṣṭvā guru-lāghavaṁ yathā
:bhiṣak cikitseta rujāṁ nidānavit 
:([[Vanisource:SB 6.1.8|SB 6.1.8]])
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So according to degree of sinful activities. . . So degree. . . The most sinful activity, according to Vedic information—to kill a child, to kill a woman, to kill a brāhmaṇa and to kill a cow. This is very abominable, punishful. Child, brāhmaṇa, cow and woman, they are to be given protection by the laws of Vedic instruction. They have to be protected. So this should be very carefully done. Strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnām ([[Vanisource:SB 1.4.25|SB 1.4.25]]). Strī, they are considered either as innocent as the child or as innocent as the animal. So they should be given always protection. So here it is said that tasmāt puraiva āśu iha pāpa-niṣkṛtau. Very busy. We do not know when is, when we shall die. But we must know we have committed so many sinful activities; therefore before the next death, yateta mṛtyor avipadyatātmanā. Mṛtyu: we have to die. Before death, we have to make the atonement. "Otherwise," Parīkṣit Mahārāja. . . Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, "as I have already described the different position of hellish condition of life, one has to suffer." And how it will be done? Doṣasya dṛṣṭvā lāghu. . . guru-lāghavaṁ yathā. There are degrees. The first degree sinful activity, I have already said. There are different degrees. So as the physician. . . The example is given that bhiṣak cikitseta rujāṁ nidānavit. Bhiṣak means physician. You have got some pain, disease, ailments. He gives you. . . Suppose you are suffering, so he sees that "This suffering is not very serious. All right, you take this tablet," what is called? Anacin? "And you will be relived." But if he has got a big boil, and it has got pus and bad blood. . .

(break) . . .decided in India still there is the system. Now everything is gone practically. But still the Vedic system is there that if one has committed. . . They are always conscious, the mass of people, not the so-called educated men, that "In the śāstra it is said that this is sinful." So if he commits some sinful activity, he goes to a very expert brāhmaṇa. They are called bhaṭṭācārya. They are special. . . Just like there are physicians for treatment of the disease, there are highly learned brāhmaṇas who are called bhaṭṭācāryas. People go there: "Sir, I have committed this sin. What I have to do?" So they prescribe that "You do like this." So similarly, as we go to the physician, we have to go to consult an expert learned brāhmaṇa, that "I have committed. . ." But people used to understand that what is sinful and what is pious. Now people are so downtrodden, so dull, mandāḥ, that they do not understand what is sinful, what is pious. They are going on, doing all nonsense without any care. And there is no question of consulting physician or learned brāhmaṇa.
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