Posted on: 20 Sep 2021
[Smt. Chhanda Chandra asked: Pādanamaskāram Swami. My mother (Smt. Anjali Chandra) is going through a book with the name Shri Raamakrishna Aur Shri Maa in Hindi by Swami Apuurvaananda from Raamakrishna Mission. In one of its page it is written that a person, who always thinks himself/herself as a sinner, becomes really a sinner. Instead of that people should have firm increasing faith in the God and in this way the sin gets vanished. We were trying to discuss this point. Our confusion is that why cannot we think of ourselves as sinner as many times unknowingly also we commit so many sins in life. By thinking myself as a sinner, at least I can have a realisation and stop myself from doing such sins in future. If I don’t think myself in that line then how my realisation and repentance will come for our own purification. Though I know, chanting the name of the Supreme divinity will purify me but still we need to accept our wrongdoings. Is it not? What can be the real way out in this regard? Please enlighten us with Your grace.]
Swami Replied:- Anything extreme is not correct. Thinking oneself as sinner assuming that one might be committing sins unknowingly is not correct. When a sin is done, your consciousness will always be hinting about it to you. In such case, repentance and non-repetition of the sin will help you. There must be solid reason for your thinking. Thinking shall not be developed based on assumptions. Constant thinking based on false assumptions lowers the required confidence due to which activity in the life gets diminished.