paapa | पाप
Paap (Devanagari: पाप ISO15919: pāpa ) is an unrighteous action or a moral demerit that hinders a soul's journey toward spiritual upliftment. Vedas, the book of divine laws defines vidhi and nishedha . Performing those actions listed as nishedha are called paap .
Opposite of paap is punya .
While the term is often translated as "sin," its meaning within bhakti extends beyond a violation of Vedic code of conduct to include any action that keeps the jiva separated from God.
So, on the path of bhakti both papa and punya are forms of karmic bondage.
- paap leads to suffering and lower states of existence.
- punya leads to temporary happiness and higher material realms, but it still keeps the soul bound to the cycle of birth and death (saṁsāra).
In scriptures paap is also called adharma(unrighteous deed).
Redemption from sin
Performing sadhana bhakti is the only way to redeem oneself from all paap. In addition to washing away all paap, bhakti also removes the tendency to perform paap .
Still, in order to maintain the physical body one has to perform material actions. So, for speedy progress in bhakti limit the material actions to the upkeep of the body. Additionally, spend the rest of the time in doing bhakti.
Also written as papa, paapa.
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REFERENCE
Prema Rasa Madira - The Intoxicating Bliss of Divine Love, Vol. 1, Ch. 4