What is sin? Defining sin has become quite difficult in today’s world. A human being has two natures — one good and one bad. Does a person with a good nature never commit sin? And is it only the one with a bad nature who commits sin?
If we look at the world closely, the definition of sin will keep changing. Everyone knows who has a bad nature, but even such a person must have some goodness within. And the one who is good also has some traces of bad nature inside. So, if we think deeply, how can we truly define what sin is and who is actually committing it? Knowing this itself is a great challenge.
“The only sin in the entire world is stealing. Apart from that, nothing else is a sin.”
Is it true that there is no other sin in this world except stealing? Yes, it is true — according to the scriptures, stealing is considered the greatest sin. There is no sin greater than this. If there is any supreme sin, it is stealing. Apart from stealing, there is no other sin. We must understand why there is no sin other than stealing.
What is stealing?
Before moving forward, it is very important for us to be clear about one thing — is stealing really the greatest sin or not? Yes, stealing is indeed the greatest sin.
If you deceive someone, you steal their fundamental or inherent rights. If you kill someone, you have stolen their life. If you betray someone, you steal the root of their trust — their ability to trust. Whatever you do in life that feels wrong to you, or makes your heart feel bad, you will sense that you are stealing something; that is sin. A person who deceives another may know it is a sin, yet fail to feel it. When someone breaks another’s trust, they steal that person’s capacity to trust, and once that trust is stolen, the person may be unable to trust anyone again. That is stealing.
If there is any definition of sin, we can still call it stealing. Looking at it from another perspective, another definition of sin is this — whatever a person does, they always know deep inside what they are doing. They may lie to others, but they can never lie to themselves. That’s why it is said: before doing anything, if your heart truly feels that it is right, then go ahead without fear. The voice of the heart always knows what is true and what is false, no matter how much one tries to justify it. You can present a lie as truth before others, but your inner self always knows it is a lie. Therefore, always listen to your heart — do only what feels truly right to you.
Stealing is considered a sin because, if you think calmly, whenever you do something wrong, you’ll realize that in some way or another, you are stealing something. Whenever you commit a wrong act, you already know it’s wrong — and when you know that, think about what you are stealing from the other person through that wrong intention. The definition of stealing is not just taking someone’s money, gold, or jewellery. The true meaning of stealing is that whenever you do something wrong, you take away something from another person — it could be their peace, their trust, their happiness, or their right. That’s why there is no sin greater than stealing.
If we look at it, mistakes do happen — knowingly or unknowingly. As long as we are human, mistakes will continue to happen. But a mistake is not something that happens unknowingly; a real mistake is when you knowingly do something wrong and then make excuses when it’s time to face it. If you make a mistake, learn to accept it. When a person admits their mistake, it is no longer a sin. But if you try to hide your mistake and keep lying to cover it up, that becomes a sin.
