Why am I NOT a SINNER? - By Dr Udaylal Pai

Sanatan Dharma or Hinduism is not a prescriptive religion. It doesn’t give you a list of Do’s and Don’ts. It gives a lot of freedom of thought to the extent that a person who said there is no God is also referred to as Saint. According to the basic principles of Hinduism, the greatest sin is to call a person a sinner. We believe the divine force is existing in all living and non-living things...so, to call a person a sinner is to deny their divinity.
                      In 2006 April, I was in San Jose, CA to attend a conference. On the sidelines of a meeting, a fellow journalist, an African-American, told me that we are all sinners.
How can it be?  
                     “I don’t think I am a sinner…” I said.
“Are you saying you are perfect?” he raised his eye brows.
                   “Yes, of course, I am perfect with all my imperfections…”
“That's ridiculous. Nobody is perfect... To not be a sinner means you’ve never broken any Law of God?”
                  “Law of God? What’s that? I didn’t know that God was a law maker”
“Yes – God makes laws. Have you ever lied, cheated, or stolen?”
                  “I don’t remember cheating or stealing. But I may have lied. Not telling truth is almost equal to lying. Hmm...may be... I am an ordinary human being – in my childhood I might have stolen sweets too”
“Then you are a sinner”
                    “Oh, really? How can you be so sure that I am a sinner?”
“God's scriptures says so”
                  So – that’s the reason -He follows some beliefs. "What does it says?"
"As a sinner, you are separated from God. But the God loves you enough to want you to be with him. Hence, the only way to have your sins forgiven is to put your trust in God and follow what god said... Otherwise, you will have to face him on your own on the Day of Judgment...So, why don’t you accept yourself as a sinner?”
                  "I don’t go by such beliefs.  I follow Sanatan Dharma, in which you don’t have to believe in any beliefs”
“Are you criticizing our trust in God as just a set of beliefs?”
                 “Not at all...Who I am to do that? I am not. I am just saying that my viewpoints are different…this is a democratic country, right? You have right to express your opinion”
By Udaylal Pai
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