How Do You View Sin?

“THERE is no sin in thee, there is no misery in thee; thou art the reservoir of omnipotent power.” The renowned Hindu philosopher Vivekananda made this statement when explaining a passage from a Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita. Citing the Vedanta, he claims: “The greatest error is to say that you are weak, that you are a sinner.”a

Is it true, though, that there is no sin in man? And what, if anything, does a person inherit at birth? Only “physical traits are determined by heredity,” says Nikhilananda, a Hindu thinker. Other characteristics are prepared by one’s “actions in previous lives.” According to Vivekananda, “you are the creator of your destiny.” Hinduism teaches nothing about inherited sin.

The concept of inherited sin is also absent among the Zoroastrians, the Shintoists, the Confucianists, and the Buddhists. Even in Judeo-Christian religions, which have traditionally taught the doctrine of inherited sin, the attitude toward sin is changing. More and more people today do not think of themselves as sinful.

“ARE we born in sin?” That question perplexed a graduate student in the United States soon after he started studying the Bible. Because of his Hindu background, the idea of inherited sin was foreign to him. But if sin is indeed inherited, he reasoned, denying or ignoring its reality would be useless. How could one find the answer to this question?

If inherited, sin must have had a starting point. Was the first man created wicked, so that he passed on evil traits to his children? Or did the defect develop later? Exactly when did sin begin? On the other hand, if sin is only an external, evil entity or principle, can we ever hope to gain freedom from it?

According to Hindu belief, suffering and evil are concomitants to creation. “Suffering [or evil],” notes a Hindu scholar, “like chronic rheumatism, only moves from one place to another but cannot be totally eradicated.” Evil certainly has been a part of the world of mankind throughout recorded history. If it predates man’s historical records, reliable answers about its origin must of necessity come from a source higher than man. The answers must come from God.—Psalm 36:9.