Every living entity has the right to live. We should save them and also be able to avoid problems caused by them, if any. You can fill them in a dustpan and take them out if visible in front of you. When insects are not visible, it is better to keep repellents to keep problems related to them at bay. If you pour chemicals on insects to kill them, it will be a sin, and you will have to suffer. All beings have the right to live. You have accepted your house as your own, but it belongs to God. Even a lizard or an ant has a right to it.
God Is Present In All Living Beings
Every living entity belongs to God. Yes, we might have opposing sentiments towards some. How can we live in the same room with a snake? We should not kill it; we can get rid of It without harming it. We can take measures to not hurt it but also defend ourselves. For example, if there are many ants while mopping and you are not paying attention and killing them, it will be counted as a sin. You can remove the ants with a broom first. Every living being has a soul, whether an elephant or an ant. God does forgive the sins committed unknowingly. But if you knowingly pour chemicals on insects, you will face punishment. We have to defend ourselves but not kill others.
I saw a family who took all the lizards out of their home and crushed them with bricks; they would definitely be in trouble. There is no doubt about it. If you feel that they might harm you in any way, for example, they might defecate or fall into your food, you can take them out. Why do we need to kill them? We do not have the right to kill any living being. If someone dies while we defend ourselves, it is a different story. If you keep your surroundings clean, insects will stay away, so it is better to focus on cleanliness.
Story of Sage Mandavya: Saint Got Punished For Pricking A Butterfly With A Thorn
There was a saint named Mandavya Rishi. He was chanting mantras by keeping the weight of his entire body on the thumb of his right foot. In his kingdom, some thieves committed theft at the king’s place. The royal soldiers chased them. Those thieves went to the sage’s hermitage and hid there. They thought that if we went to the hermitage, the royal soldiers would return, thinking, how can thieves hide there? But while entering the hermitage, the royal soldiers saw them. They were caught along with all the stolen goods. The royal soldiers thought that the saint was also a partner of the thieves. He keeps thieves in his hermitage and gets them to commit theft. The royal soldiers took Mandavya Rishi with them and presented him before the king. The king punished him by crucifixion.
The punishment of crucifixion was very dreadful. In it, the criminal was taken up the stairs and left on a spear-like device. The spear entered through the anus, and the criminal remained hanging in it till death. This caused a very dreadful death by writhing in pain. The executioners left the saint and went away. As soon as the spear went inside the anus, the sage’s consciousness awakened. He was a yogi; he sat in Padmasana on the stake itself.
The next day, when the executioners went to take down his body, the sage was sitting in Padmasana. They ran and informed the king. The king thought that this was a big crime, this is a sage whom we have wrongly punished. The king brought the cow and the Brahmin in front and went in front of the sage with folded hands and said I had no idea how you were brought here; please forgive me. The sage said I have nothing to do with you; first, get this spear removed. Despite a lot of efforts, the spear did not come out. On the sage’s request, the spear was cut.
The sage disappeared from there and went straight to Yamraj. He asked Dharmaraj, what sin did I commit that you punished me like this? The sage was very angry. Dharamraj told him that when he was eight years old, he caught a butterfly while playing and put a thorn in its anus and left it. Because the thorn was big, the butterfly died after long-suffering. Despite being a saint, as a result of that misdeed, a spear was put in his anus. This sage was later named Animandavya.
Conclusion
If even a saint was given such a big punishment, how can we escape the law of karma? So, if you are intentionally killing a cockroach or any other creature, then you will have to bear the punishment. So be careful. Do not do such deeds which lead to sin. Chant the holy name of the Lord. Maintain purity and cleanliness. Keep repellents in advance to prevent insects. If you see them and put insecticide on them, it is equal to murder, and you will be punished for it.
Guidance by: Pujya Shri Hit Premanand Ji Maharaj
