Condemnation: To Bear the Burden of Others’ Deeds Upon Oneself
Introduction: Speaking ill of someone has become a common thing these days. People make a mountain out of a molehill of a hearsay because such is the phase of time. Lies and evil spread very fast. Whereas few people praise someone’s virtue or good work. People propagate lies with great relish. This is called backbiting.
Table of Contents
A Sinful Act
Actually, no one knows how terrible this act done by the tongue can be. In other words, it is also called ‘washing someone’s sins. It is clear that the one who speaks ill of someone has taken the burden of the sins of the person being spoken ill of.
Teachings of Saints
Saints explain a lot about this sinful act. They strongly discourage people from committing sinful acts like backbiting. But those are very lucky who listen to them & act accordingly. Our holy Vedas, scriptures and religious texts also teach us to stay away from this sinful act because it is difficult to avoid the consequences of this sinful act done by the tongue.
Fruit of Backbiting
How the consequences of this sinful act fall on one’s head can also be understood through this story.
There was a king who was a very religious. He used to respect scholars and learned persons a lot. One day 10-12 scholars came to him. The king extended them great respect and arranged a royal feast for them. One dish after another was being prepared. During that time, it was a twist of Nature that an eagle came flying in the open sky where the dishes were being prepared. The eagle had caught a snake. The snake was trying to free itself from its claws. Meanwhile, some drops of the snake’s poison fell on the dish being prepared below. When this poisoned food was served, the 10-12 scholars died. The king felt very sad and regretted this tragic happening, because the sin had been committed.
It is said that when those souls reached Yamlok (The Abode of Yama), their accounts started being settled there. The Yamdoots (Messengers of Yama) said that the king should be blamed for this act, because the dishes were prepared on his orders. Dharamraj said, ‘No! What is his fault? ‘Then they said that it was the cook’s fault. But he was not found to be at fault either. After discussion, it was said that the eagle was at fault. But Dharamraj said that the eagle or the snake are also innocent. After much deliberation, Dharamraj said that this is a sinful act, but all these people are innocent in this case. Let us wait a little to see who will bear the fruit of this deed.
A few months had passed since this incident. People still had the same love and respect for the king. Scholars from far and wide used to come to the king. Similarly, a learned and wise man came to the city. He asked a woman the way to the king’s palace. The woman was a slanderer. The woman said, “Don’t go to the king. He is not a right kind of person. He has made himself a virtuous man.” The scholar said, “No, the king is a very gentle man. He is a good-hearted person. He respects scholars a lot and keeps his subjects happy too.” The woman got more annoyed at this and said, “You are right.
He throws big feasts. But anyone like you who entered the palace even once, has never returned alive. Just a few days ago, 10-12 scholars had come, they did not return alive. You will also be in the same situation.” The woman just had to say this much, as it is said that in the Abode Above, every living being’s every moment’s account is kept. So, the woman spoke ill of the king.
As soon as she spoke ill, Dharamraj immediately put the blame of that sinful act on the woman. Dharamraj said that this woman spoke ill of that noble king, while he was innocent. And now this woman will have to bear the consequences of this sinful act. In this way, that woman had to bear the burden of the sins on her head due to the bad habit of backbiting. Therefore, backbiting is a terrible act.
Revered Spiritual Saint Dr. MSG repeatedly explains to avoid this bad habit of backbiting. By following the holy words of the Revered Guru Ji, one can get rid of this evil. Therefore, one should think a hundred times before speaking ill of anyone. One must keep control over the tongue & avoid speaking ill of anyone.
