Hinduism
There is no Sanskrit equivalent to the word “guilt.” Hindus accept karma, the universal principle of cause and effect that governs all life. Not to be mistaken for fate, for humans act with free will creating their own destinies, it is the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determine our future.
As elsewhere, the concept of natural or divine law has, throughout the history of Indian civilization, governed ideas about the proper conduct of living. The Sanskrit term dharma signifies the underlying order in nature and life (human or other) and all are expected to act in accordance with that order.
Wrongdoing, adharma, is acting against this natural order and is viewed as an unfortunate result of avidya, darkness of ignorance. This ignorance is not lack of erudition but about the nature of “Being,” a limitation natural to humans. Likened to a deeply rooted tree with four thick branches – ego, desire, denial and fear – avidya obscures the truth and is the root cause of all suffering, keeping humanity captive in samsara. Only jnana, knowledge, i.e. awareness free of conceptual encumbrances, can dispel avidya. And when this happens there can be no wrongdoing.
Wrongdoing not only generates negative consequences but also a residue, “sin,” papa, which is likened to a sticky, astral substance and must be dissolved through penance (prayashchitta), austerity (tapas) and good deeds (sukritya). Papa is also accrued through unknowing or unintentional transgressions of dharma, as in the term aparadha (offence, fault and mistake).
Hindu and Guilt