From the karmic perspective what is the difference between ignorant wrongdoings and intentional wrongdoings?
Thank you. So if I understand the question right, you are asking that what is the difference from the scriptural perspective between say wrong actions that are done in a sense innocently, just because everybody else is doing it so we do it, and wrong actions that are done intentionally. Yes.
There is two different ways of looking at this. At one level we could say that first I am going to differentiate between innocence and ignorance. Ignorance means we don't know about certain things although we are expected to know.
So the word ignorance is more of a judgment. Somebody doesn't know a particular thing. How can you be ignorant of this? If you are knowing this, so there is an expectation of knowledge and it is not there.
So ignorance is usually used in terms of knowledge. Whereas innocence is used more in terms of intent or more in terms of emotions. So he spoke innocently, she did innocently.
That means they had no mal-intent over there. So now the word innocence is also used when somebody is proven innocent. That means that person was proven not to be a criminal.
So the word innocence is much more associated with intent whereas ignorance is associated with knowledge. Now from the point of view of law of karma, we get the consequences for the actions that we do. So now naturally if we do actions which are wrong unknowingly, then the culpability is much more.
When we do our actions but not necessarily unknowingly, then the culpability is less because the difference is that we have been given our intelligence to know what is right and what is wrong and despite having that intelligence, we still do something wrong. When Prabhupada gives the example that when a lion or a tiger eats an animal, say it catches a deer and eats a deer, but they are simply acting according to nature. They don't have that intelligence to discriminate that this is the foolish, I am killing someone and this is not the best way to live.
They are simply governed and they don't have that much free will to actually think whether it is right or wrong. We humans have the free will. So when we have the free will and we have the intelligence to know how the free will is to be used and in spite of that we abuse the free will, then that becomes a major problem.
So now how do we deal with this? The innocence on the other hand, before I go to that, innocence means that we just don't know. We just have no mal-intent and we just, out of habit or out of just being unaware, we do something. So innocence and ignorance are related but they are not the same.
So ignorance can be the cause of wrong doing but ignorance can also be the result of wrong doing. That means say somebody is born in a family of hunters. Now we could say that because their parents were hunters that's why they are also hunters.
So that's true. And in that sense, they are simply doing what everyone else around them is doing. But at the same time, we can go deeper and ask the question, why are they put in that situation? Why do they take birth in a hunter's family? That is also a result of karma.
So Krishna talks about certain, in the Bhagavad Gita, 9th chapter he talks about certain yogis as Paapayonayah. Paapayonayah means what? That means that those who have done some wrong activity in their past, they are born in those species or they are born through those wounds. That means they get that birth in that particular situation because of their past karma.
So to be put in a situation where wrong doing is almost universal, that is a result of one's past wrong doing. And of course, this is from a philosophical perspective. From a practical perspective, we can't blame someone.
We have to recognize, when we are dealing with people, we can't deal with them based on their past life perspectives, what they have done in their past life. If somebody has been robbed and they go to a king, and say, I have been robbed, and the king says, oh it is because of your past life karma you are robbed. The king is supposed to consider what is my dharma in this situation, not what is this person's past life karma.
The king has to do whatever it takes to protect the citizens, to regain the property of the citizens. So now, despite the best efforts, if the property is not restored or regained, then it is because of my past karma that I lost it. So, what I am trying to say here is that, yes, people who do something because of their intent to hurt others, when they know what they are doing is going to hurt others, and still they neglect their conscience, they neglect their intelligence, and intentionally do it, then definitely the culpability is much more.
Just like, say, animals don't get any karma for killing other animals, but we human beings do that, when we kill somebody. So, now, if somebody doesn't have any malicious intent, it's just they are doing it because that's the norm in their social culture environment, then also there is karma, because they were put in that situation by their past life karma. So, but from our perspective, we do differentiate.
If somebody has done because of malicious intention, then naturally, there has to be greater punishment. If somebody has done because of, that's the default thing in their situation, then, you know, somebody is born. Today, born in a place where everybody in the habitually eats meat, and then we start hooking around about them just because they are eating meat, and we are not giving them a chance at all to become a spiritual leader.
So, yes, with proper respectfulness, we appeal to the religions, and we explain to them what is wrong with eating meat, and then they may gradually become elevated. So, ignorance is, ignorance is a consequence of sin, and ignorance can also be a cause of sin. And whatever it is, when there is knowingly the sin is done, the consequence is far greater.
But as far as we are dealing, we needn't be judgmental with people. We try to help everyone to become elevated. But if people are intentionally doing wrong, then trying to help them may also be very difficult.
But if somebody is just unknowingly doing something, then if you inform them properly, the chances of their getting elevated is much more.