The sin can never be cancelled by any remedy except the realization and reformation of the soul. Realization comes through knowledge and the determination and subsequent practical implementation of knowledge brings reformation of the soul.
Knowledge is always inherently related to soul. With the help of knowledge you can change the states of matter and energy easily, but with lot of difficulty only you can change the state of soul since knowledge is inherently related to soul. Knowledge with top most intensity only can change the soul. The intensity of knowledge increases as the knowledge is coming closer to the truth. The true knowledge means the knowledge that is totally identified with the truth, which can be given by the human incarnation of God only and hence Veda said that the true knowledge is the real inherent characteristic of God (Satyam Jnanam..). Except the human form of God, no other form can deliver the knowledge and this is the exceptional value of human incarnation. You may say that God can speak even through inert forms or other living beings due to His omnipotence but such exhibition of unimaginable power without real necessity indicates the brainless administration of God. When the human form is naturally available to serve the purpose, there is no meaning to use superpower through other forms for the same purpose. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was crossing the river by a boat paying one rupee to the driver. Another saint crossed the same river by walking on water to show his super power. Paramahamsa told him that the cost of his super power is just one rupee! God is not such foolish saint, but God is such wise Paramahamsa! Realization is the process of effort to change the soul and reformation is the actual change of the soul. If the soul is reformed, the proof for it is that the sin is not practically repeated. If this result is achieved, there is no need of punishment. The punishment is not for the sake of past sin, since past is past. The punishment is only to change the soul so that in future the sin is not repeated. The day you have stopped repeating the sin, you are excused by God for the past sin. This is the only way to stop the punishment of sin, which is in the form of problems of life. If you have stopped all the sins, your life will be the happiest and for this you need not pray even God. Prayer to God will not cancel even the trace of the sin. Ravana prayed Lord Shiva in several ways, but, he could not escape the punishment of his sin. If you are committing sin, you are violating the word of God and going against the will of God. God wants you not to commit any sin. His word is the ethical scripture, which says that you should not commit any sin. The sin will disturb the balance of the society since it hurts the co-living beings. Non-vegetarian food by it self is not a sin since the analysis of it shows that its contents are the same as exist in vegetarian food. The sin comes by killing a co-living being, which does not harm you at all. If you stop taking non-vegetarian food, killing of living beings is proportionally controlled. Do not say that you are not getting sin since you have not killed the living being directly. Killing is the highest sin, which gives highest pain to the living being. In the next birth, the killed living being will be born as human being, you will be born as the living being and you will be killed similarly by the human being so that your soul will realize the pain and get reformed. All the punishments are only for reformation of the soul and not for revenge. The hell is created by God not with vengeance against sinners but due to kindness to reform the souls. God is always kind to reform the souls, which are His children since the souls are created by Him. The father will never have even a trace of vengeance towards his issues. Jesus always addressed God as father and He propagated this concept by saying that all your sins will be excused by God if you are reformed. Practical knowledge, the practical realization, which is the reformation, will cancel all your previous bad deeds or sins as told in Gita (Jnanaagnih….). Except this one way, there is no other way to cancel the sins and escape from all the present problems in the world and future torture in the hell. The results of all your good actions will be separate and will not interfere with the cancellation of sins. God will give you good results for all your prayers and any prayer will not cancel even a trace of your sin. Similarly, your charity. If these good actions can reform you, then, your sins will be canceled.
At the lotus feet of Shri Dattaswami
-Durgaprasad
