Rays of Dharma

Author(s): Chitrabhanu
Publisher: Divine Knowledge Society

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Chapter Feeling afraid of Sin
Feeling afraid of committing sin is the sixth attribute of being religious. Since fearlessness is an essential attribute of religion, feeling or remaining afraid may seem anomalous. But fearlessness does not mean that one is free to do whatever he likes. He cannot behave crudely or unjustly, nor would he be allowed to indulge in vices. He has to observe restraint. Feeling afraid of sin exactly conveys that sense.
This attribute requires that one should hesitate to think or do anything that is against the interest of the society or against the wellbeing of his own soul. If one has never done wrong and undertakes to do it under pressure or out of some temptation, his inner self would resist. That shows the fear of committing a sin. When such fear arises naturally, it can be said that the person is imbibed with discretion to distinguish the right from the wrong. Let us take an illustration.
A beggar was hungry and was requesting the passers-by to give him something to eat. One man took pity upon him; he picked up a handful of roasted chick-peas from his pocket, gave to the beggar and went on his way. As the beggar was eating the peas, he noticed that there was a golden coin in their midst. He felt happy that he would be able to buy anything with that coin. But then the idea occurred in his mind, 'The man gave me the peas to eat, but he had
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