Isn't life according to Sanatana Dharma, the fruit of Sin and thus an endless sea of sorrow & suffering?

Question

By the doctrine of KARMA that happens to be inseparable from the Vedic Sanatana dharma, good deeds lead to good life in the next life (after rebirth) while bad deeds lead to bad life in the next birth. Evidently, by this doctrine, the BORN poor that make up the 99% of humanity and have to lead a bestial existence throughout their life were all BORN poor to sweat blood to produce all wealth & luxuries and thus keep civilisations moving and advancing as a result of SIN they committed in their earlier birth. As the 1% consisting of the BORN rich & the BORN super-rich are too insignificant to count, we can regard, in keeping with the Vedic Sanatana dharma, human life as the fruit of SIN. Am I Right? In order to get rid of the life, the Vedic Sanatana dharma has prescribed moksha, which fact also supports my view that life is, by the Vedic Sanatana dharma, an endless sea of sorrow & suffering.

Answer 1

Isn't life according to Sanatana Dharma, the fruit of Sin and thus an endless sea of sorrow & suffering?

Yes it is, according to Rama (son of Dasaratha), who presents a very pessimistic view of life in Vairagya prakaranam (Book 1) of Yoga Vasistha.

Below are only a few quotations of Rama from the Yoga Vasistha as translated by Swami Venkatesananda.

My heart begins to question: what do people call happiness and can it be had in the ever-changing objects of this world? All beings in this world take birth but to die, and they die to be born! I do not perceive any meaning in all these transient phenomena which are the roots of suffering and sin.

Sir, surely we are not bond slaves sold to a master; yet we live a life of slavery, without any freedom whatever. Ignorant of the truth, we have been aimlessly wandering in this dense forest called the world. What is this world? What comes into being, grows, and dies? How does this suffering come to an end? My heart bleeds with sorrow, though I do not shed tears, in deference to the feelings of my friends.

Man vainly seeks to extend his life-span, and thereby he earns more sorrow and extends the period of suffering. Only he lives who strives to gain self-knowledge, which alone is worth gaining in this world, thereby putting an end to future births; others exist here like donkeys.

to one who is restless, his own mind is a burden; and to one who has no self-knowledge, the body (the life-span) is a burden.

This tree which is the body is born in the forest known as samsAra (repetitive existence), the restless monkey (mind) plays on it, it is the abode of crickets (worries), it is constantly eaten by the insects (of endless suffering), it shelters the venomous serpent (of craving), and the wild crow (of anger) dwells on it. On it are the flowers (of laughter), its fruits are good and evil, it appears to be animated by the wind (of life-force), it supports the birds (of senses), it is resorted to by the traveller (lust or desire) for it provides the shade of pleasure, the formidable vulture (egotism) is seated on it, and it is hollow and empty. It is certainly not meant to promote happiness.

Even childhood, the part of life which people ignorantly regard as enjoyable and happy, is full of sorrow, O sage. Helplessness, mishaps, cravings, inability to express oneself, utter foolishness, playfulness, instability, weakness—all these characterise childhood. The child is easily offended, easily roused to anger, easily bursts into tears.

When the child goes to school, it receives punishment in the hands of its teachers; and all this adds to its unhappiness.

In his youth, man is a slave of sexual attraction. In the body which is no more than the aggregate of flesh, blood, bone, hair and skin, he perceives beauty and charm. If this’beauty’were permanent, there would be some justification to the imagination; but, alas, it does not last very long. On the contrary, very soon the very flesh that contributed to the attractiveness, the charm and the beauty of the beloved is transformed first into the shrivelled ugliness of old age, and later consumed by fire, or by worms, or by vultures. Yet, while it lasts this sexual attraction consumes the heart and the wisdom of the man. By this is the creation maintained; when this attraction cease’s, this samsara (birth-death cycle) also ceases.

When the child is dissatisfied with its childhood, youth takes over; when youth is plagued by dissatisfaction and frustration, old age overpowers it—how cruel is life. Even as wind tosses a dew-drop from a leaf, old age destroys the body. Even as a drop of poison when it enters the system soon pervades it, senility soon pervades the entire body and breaks it down, and makes it the laughing stock of other people.

All enjoyments in this world are delusion, like the lunatic’s enjoyment of the taste of fruits reflected in a mirror. All the hopes of man in this world are consistently destroyed by Time.

When Time thus dances in this universe, creating and destroying everything, what hope can we entertain?

Obviously this world is full of pain and death; how does it become a source of joy, without befuddling one’s heart?

Answer 2

This question shows a complete misunderstanding of all Hinduism philosophy and economics.

First, let's discuss economics: 99% of humanity is not poor. Poor and rich are relative terms. I am poorer than Ambanis but richer than many others. If we go by global definitions and stats, around 9.2% of people are poor as of 2021. https://www.worldvision.org/sponsorship-news-stories/global-poverty-facts This means ~91% of people are in fact not poor! (I.e. most are middle class and a few are rich.)

Second, regarding the philosophy of Hinduism, Hinduism believes in living a simple life, with only necessities and very few luxuries, and having high virtues.

And once those people with virtues start doing fewer sins and do more good deeds, they move towards Moksha, where all their sins get removed and the cycle of rebirth also ends.

There were many people (most Rishis and Brahmins) in the scriptures who were poor but still highly regarded.

Unlike other religions like Christianity, where everyone is a born sinner, Hinduism doesn't believe so.

Also, Hinduism is a pro-capitalism religion and strongly encourages everyone to work hard and earn as much as they can by good means (in a Dharmic way). It doesn't stop the poor from studying more or switching their profession to earn more.