Hare Krishna devotees. I again seek your kind wisdom to solve my query. Please add as many responses to help me get a clear idea.
I wanted to ask that sometimes due to natural impulses we kill a pest as if it is our natual instinct. For example if we are sitting in a room and a mosquito is trying to bite us then instead of swaying it away we kill it instantly so that it doesn't comes back to bite and moreover this seems quite reasonable as mosquitos can host various deadly parasites for us humans. Moreover if we don't directly kill pests then we have measures such as anti mosquito sprays or vapour machines like All-Out etc which is still indirect killing by us. Similarly we come across various such situations in our life where we may justify killing as a measure to protect ourselves. Now we may believe that the life of a pest is insignificant and killing one shouldn't matter much but for an ideal krishna devotee who should be kind to every living creatue and should not resolve to any sort of violence, Is this killing a grave sin.
Please illuminate on this.
Hare Krishna.
Replies
Hare Krishna,
Every act that you do in this material world even as simple as breathing in and out of air is creating some problem to the other living organism. You cannot be saved from the karma. You think you can sit still and don't perform any karma to avoid sins but.. Then also you would be doing some karma
when you inhale and exhale also you would be killing thoudands of microbes. If you walk on the street you will be killing so many ants unintentionally under you feet. Then how to save ourselves from sins??
now can you keep track of how many sins you did today? why today just this minute also. No. we cannot.
If we keep track then we cannot even breathe.
Voluntarily you may stop killing beings for satisfying ur taste buds and trying to do as much less harm to the living beings that is ur dharma. You must respect all creatures and all living non living all belong to Krishna. You own nothing in this world. Everything belongs to Krishna. So its your dharma to safegaurd all as much as possible.
If a being can be shoon away its better to do that then to kill it.
While doing daily activities that is why in vedas it is said that a grihasta accumulated " Pancha Suna" or 5 kinds of sins.
Lectures on SB 1.8.52 Los Angeles May 14, 1973:--
Our position jīva, is living entity, is pure by nature because it is part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa. So we have accumulated so much, so many material things by which we have become impure. And yajñaiḥ. This bhūta-hatyā. Bhūta-hatyā is also recognized here as sinful activities. As wine is sinful or impure—if not sinful, it is impure—bhūta-hatyā, killing of animal, is also sinful activities. So you cannot counteract by performing yajña, because in the yajña there is also another bhūta-hatyā.
So even there is no bhūta-hatyā... That is called pañca-sūnā-yajña, five kinds of imperceptible sinful activities. Just like when we are walking on the street, there are many ants and germs, they are being killed. I do not know, I do not wish to kill, but they are being killed. When you are igniting fire, in the fireplace, there are so many small ants. So as soon as you ignite, all those small ants—you cannot see—they die. Similarly, when you keep water, there are so many microbes and other living entities. So as you press on it, they die. Similarly, pestle and mortar. In India the system, they don't purchase...Those who are rigid family, they do not purchase these powdered spices. No. They bring whole spices and they smash it with mortar and pestle. That is very nice. So doing that smashing work, you kill so many animals. In breathing, you kill so many animals. In drinking water, you kill so many animals. This is bhūta-hatyā. You are killing. This is not intentional. You do not know. Therefore in a Vedic system there is prescription, pañca-sūnā-yajña. Pañca means five, and sūnā means bhūta-hatyā, or killing animals, sūnā. Striya-sūnā-pāna-dyūta (SB.17.38). Sūnā. Sūnā means violence. So we prohibit these four kinds of sinful life: killing of animals and illicit sex... Striya, sūnā, and... Pañca-sūnā. Yes... Striya-sūnā-pāna. Pāna means intoxicants, and dyūta means gambling. So these are four kinds of sinful activities. So out of that, sūnā is one. That is also divided in many divisions, at least five. Willingly, we are not going to kill anybody, but unwillingly... Therefore there is pañca-sūnā-yajña. You have to perform yajña every day to counteract the sinful reaction of your imperceptible killings of animals. That's it. This is Vedic life.
So Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja says that "It is not possible to counteract." But indirectly, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja says, that if you... He says simply the negative side, but the positive side is, in this age, simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, you become purified. That is the recommendation by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam ( CC Anta 20.12)
Even if you do not wish to kill, even if you are very pious man, still you have to kill, unconsciously or consciously. So then what to do? If the situation is like that, how to save? Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, yajñārthe karmaṇānyatra karma-bandhanaḥ. If you dedicate your life for yajña... Yajña means for Viṣṇu. Yajñārthe karma means Yajña-puruṣa is Viṣṇu. If you work for Viṣṇu, then you are safe.
Therefore in the śāstra it is said, padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadam (SB 10.14.58). Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadam. If you want to stay within this material world, then padaṁ padam—"in every step there is danger." Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadaṁ na teṣām. Na teṣām. "Not for them." Who? Samāśritā ye pada-pallavaṁ plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ: "One who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the lotus feet of Murāri," means Kṛṣṇa. Samāśritā. Samyag āśritā. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66). Samyak, fully. Sama means samyak, no reservation: "Kṛṣṇa, I do not know anything more. I simply surrender unto You. Now whatever You do, accepted. If you like to kill me, kill me. If you want to give me protection, that's all right. Anyway, I am surrendered." This is called full surrender.
"Every step there is vipadā." You cannot be excused. Because you are killing one ant unconsciously while walking, your name is noted. Your ticket is immediately there: "Oh, you have killed so many ants." The law is so nice. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi ( BG 3.27). Automatically it is recorded, automatically, and you have to suffer.
So then what to do? If the situation is like that, how to save? Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, yajñārthe karmaṇānyatra karma-bandhanaḥ. If you dedicate your life for yajña... Yajña means for Viṣṇu. Yajñārthe karma means Yajña-puruṣa is Viṣṇu. If you work for Viṣṇu, then you are safe. Otherwise you are becoming complicated. Yajñārthe. Kṛṣṇa says yajñārthe karma anyatra karma-bandhanaḥ. If you are going to office to earn your bread, very hurriedly to attend the office, and you are killing so many ants, you are becoming entangled. You think, "I am going to office to do my duty very hurriedly," but you are becoming implicated. But if you go out for receiving some help for worshiping Viṣṇu, then you are free. Then you are free. Exactly like that: soldier who is fighting in the battlefield and killing so many men and he is given gold medal, "Oh, you have killed so many. So many lives you have killed of the opposite party, enemy. You take this Victoria Cross." He becomes recognized by the government. The same man, when he comes home, if he kills somebody for his sense gratification, he will be hanged. The same man. The same soldier, when he is fighting for king's service, government service, government is supplying him food, everything—"So fight very chivalrously"—and offering him gold medal. And the same men, when he comes home, for his sense gratification if he kills a man, he will be hanged. He may say in the court, "Sir, I have killed so many men in the battlefield and I was never hanged. I was given gold medal. And now I have killed only one man and I am going to be killed? Why? What is this?" "Yes." For your sense gratification, as soon as you do anything, that is sinful, whatever you do. It may be so-called pious activities in your calculation, but in this material world there is no such thing as pious activities or impious. Everything impious.
dedicate all karma and karma fala to Krishna. Never get attached to it.
Arjuna laments who can I kill so many people. Hey Murari, you are asking me to fight and create this much blood shed. Can't you see so many innocent people will be killed in this process??
Krishna said why fear when I am here? You just do your duty and completely depend on me. I am there to see that you don't get any sins. Have complete faith on ME.
If you don't have complete faith on Krishna then all worldly karma becomes karma kanda and you will incur all sins and you keep paying for the debts and this is never ending vicious cycle .
If you have faith on Lord. Hold stead fast to Lord's feet do complete surrender. No karma or no karma fal sticks to you. You just keep doing ur duties and have no fear of any sins.
See that you doing things as per dharma. In case you can avoid sinful activity like ( shooing a small fly away) try it. If it is still pesturing you then for maintianing your body you may need to kill it.
According to strict Vedic literature, if you kill even a bug, oh, you are sinful. You cannot kill even a bug. These are mentioned in the scriptures. Now, how we can avoid? How we can avoid?
nirāśīr yata-cittātmātyakta-sarva-parigrahaḥśārīraṁ kevalaṁ karmakurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam
Kilbiṣam. Kilbiṣam means sin. We are materially so much entangled that even if we do not want to commit any sin, consciously or unconsciously we are obliged to commit some sort of sins.
That is the distinction(?). I do not like to kill, but sometimes unintentionally they are killed. Therefore, according to Vedic literature, there are five kinds of yajña performed to get oneself free from this unintentional killing of animals. Now, here Kṛṣṇa says that śārīraṁ kevalaṁ karma kurvan nāpnoti kilbiṣam. If you make your principle of life that "I have to work simply for maintaining my body and soul together." Śārīram. Śarīram means body. Because I have to execute, I have to understand, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but without this body, how can I understand or culture Kṛṣṇa consciousness? So my body must be maintained. And if I want to maintain my body, intentionally or unintentionally, I have to commit so many sins.
Hope it helps. I posted only the points told by Srila Prabhupada in regard to this types of karma.
Hare Krishna.
Thank you so much mataji. Very clear cut explanation provided by Srila Prabhupada and thank you for compiling it for me. There couldn't be a better explanation.
Jaya Srila Prabhupada 🌸
Hare Krishna 🙏.
Hare Krishna,
Jai Srila Prabhupada!!!