Do the activities of mentally ill persons give karma to them & others?
A Girl devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“What if a mentally ill person tortures his family members, specially his bhabhi – elder brother’s wife (new girl in the home). Will this karma added to his bad karma account or he will be free from this as he is mentally ill. should we suffer his behavior, considering it as our bad karma result. Please help me on this. Radhe Radhe”
REPLY:
No. Not at all.
Karma is only for the activities done willfully.
Innocent activities do not add karma. Though even some innocent acts add karma, they will be forgiven.
(PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES WHILE FIGHTING BETWEEN DEVOTION AND MATERIAL LIFE – A CASE STUDY! READ HERE!)
See, the animals, birds, insects and many other living beings are not subject to karma though they kill and eat for their livelihood.
Here, in your question, you have also mentioned as “mentally disturbed person”. Mentally disturbed persons may have stable thinking and planning capacity.
There is a medical examination that determines the stability of mind and its level of illness.
If his mental illness is beyond a certain level, his crimes will not be punished.
If his mental illness is below that specific level, he will be given moderated punishments.
They will go to the job, work and earn. But, they might have been just disturbed mentally to some extent.
These are small defects that do not affect the analytical skills of that person.
In some cases, ie, in Mentally retarded or challenged or ill persons, they can not think, plan and act accordingly.
They may act without any plans.
Some violent patients may even kill someone else in the family.
Such mentally challenged or mentally ill patients add no karma for their actions.
Not only that, those children who have not attained the age of 13 do not add karma for their acts because they do not know which is right and which is wrong. They are not punished with serious punishments.
(Will chanting by mentally challenged persons be heard by Krishna? READ HERE!)
In the case of the activities of a mentally ill person, they will not be included in his negative karma account even if he kills someone.
He is considered like a child. A child’s offenses and crimes are not punishable.
Even by the laws of governments across this world, the crimes of a child and mentally ill person is not considered as crime and he is not punished.
Karma acts only for willful activities done by normal human being.
Otherwise, all other acts – even small acts by a normal person will add karma for him.
Even killing of a cockroach by a normal person will add to his karma.
It is expected that we should catch a cockroach using a cloth and leave that somewhere else (Not in the houses of others).
Killing of poisonous snakes are forgivable, though it is also karma.
Even killing a plant for food is karmic. However, these karma for essential activities of man are forgivable.
But, killing of animal for food is unforgivable karma for normal humans.
Thus, Purpose and motive is very important in the matter of karma.
(Will devotion to Krishna correct psychological issues like Depression? How? READ HERE!)
Since mentally retarded or challenged or ill persons can not have any motives for their activities, it is wrong that the activities of mentally ill persons give karma to them & others
Next, you have asked whether it is the karma of the family to get such a mentally ill child.
Yes, it is the negative karma of that family as well as that person himself.
If a person is a cause for someone else’s mental illness in this birth, he will get mental illness in his next birth.
For example, I know a girl who loved a boy sincerely and deeply for an year. I was not aware of her love affairs.
That boy one day suddenly left for another city as his father was transferred.
He did not give any assurance of marrying that girl. Instead, he just said sorry and left with his parents to another city.
Within a few days of his going to another city, this girl got mentally ill and became a mad girl and she started to cry alone closing the room and writing his name on all the walls.
She started to laugh loudly in her room alone.
Then, one day, she committed suicide by burning herself.
Now, tell me, who is the cause for her death after mental illness?
That boy who loved her.
(Is it punishable if following devotional rules difficult due to mental disorder? READ HERE!)
Only because of his irresponsible handling of that girl by cheating her, she became mad and committed suicide.
So, that boy will become mad in his next birth.
He may take birth as a child of a parent who had been cause for the madness of someone in their previous birth(s).
Karma network beautifully classify the souls to give a certain kinds of rebirth.
If even a mobile phone network functions with this much of perfection, just imagine how perfect Krishna’s Karma network will be!
So, the family members of that mentally ill person are clearing their karma.
That mentally ill boy too has cleared his karma by taking birth as a mad person.
But, that mentally ill person will not add any new karma in this birth because, it is not true that the activities of mentally ill persons give karma to them & others. He will get good rebirth.
This is the perfect system of Karma Network.
(KEEPING GOOD MENTAL HEALTH USING KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS! READ HERE!)