Prayashchit Karm (प्रायश्चित कर्म)
Prayashchit Karma refers to scripturally prescribed acts of atonement performed to reduce or neutralize the consequences of certain sins.
Prayashchit Karm (प्रायश्चित कर्म | prāyaścita karma) refers to scripturally prescribed acts of atonement performed to reduce or neutralize the consequences of certain sinful actions (paap).
Meaning
- prāyaścita — atonement, expiation, repentance
- karma — action
Together, Prayashchit Karma refers to actions undertaken to atone for wrongdoing.
What It Means
The Vedas and Smritis prescribe various forms of prayashchit for specific sinful actions.
Examples of sins for which atonement may be prescribed include:
- violence toward living beings
- theft
- dishonesty
- violation of scriptural injunctions
- other sinful actions described in Dharma Shastras
The purpose of prayashchit is to reduce or neutralize the karmic consequences associated with a particular offense.
Numerous forms of atonement are described, including:
- fasting
- charity
- austerities
- pilgrimages
- ritual observances
- other scripturally prescribed disciplines
Important Limitation
Shri Maharaj Ji explains that prayashchit can reduce or remove certain sins, but it cannot purify the mind by itself.
A specific offense may be atoned for.
However, the desire, attachment, or tendency that produced the offense may still remain.
As a result, a person may again commit similar actions and again require atonement.
For this reason, prayashchit addresses particular karmic consequences, but it does not purify the mind or solve the deeper problem of bondage to Maya.
Further Reading
🔍 Go Deeper
Reference: Prem Ras Siddhant, Ch. 6
