Is Lottery A Sin?

[m4ndy]

In a way people are gambling for higher stakes because I know many Sikhs who put the lottery on each week.

[DustOfTheSaintsFeet]

Sikhi believes in living a householder life and working off the sweat of your brow, one must always attend to their wordly duties and should live simply.

Read this story:

Guru Nanak Dev Ji left Sultanpur accompanied by Bhai Mardana and spent some time on his mission visiting Hindus and Muslims in West Panjab. At Saidpur, now called Emnabad, the Guru stayed at the house Bhai Lalo, an honest man who earned his bread with hard work. Lalo welcomed the Guru with great humility and reverence.

It happened that Malik Bhago, a rich landlord of Kshatriya caste and an official of the local Pathan Nawab, was giving a feast. He had invited all religious and holy men to join in the feast. When he came to know that a saint was staying at the house of Lalo, Malik Bhago sent a servant to invite Guru Nanak to join in the feast. The Guru declined the invitation, but when Malik Bhago sent his man repeatedly requesting the Guru to come, the Guru finally went to his house.

Malik Bhago asked the Guru, "Why do you refuse my bread and eat at the house of a low-caste Hindu, though you are a holy man of high-caste?" The Guru replied, "I have no caste, for me all men are equal." "Then why did you decline to join my feast?" asked Malik Bhago. Answered the Guru, "Do you really want to know?" Bhago said, "Yes, I want to know why you preferred Lalo's simple bread to my food." The Guru asked Bhago to bring some of his food, and asked Lalo to do the same. When the food was brought by both, Guru Saheb took a piece from Lalo's food in one hand, and a piece from Bhago's food in the other. When he squeezed his hands, from Lalo's food oozed out drops of milk, and from Bhago's food, drops of blood.

The Guru said, "Now you see why I declined to join your feast; your food is blood stained because you have accumulated your wealth by exploiting the poor, while Lalo earns his bread by the sweat of his brow, and shares his earnings with the needy." Malik Bhago was much ashamed at this and became speechless. He fell at the Guru's feet and prayed for mercy. All the people gathered there, bowed in humility before the Guru. The Guru looked at them with a loving glance and said, "That which belongs to another is unlawful, and as dirty as eating the flesh of the dead. A Guru showers his grace on those who re-frain from eating the dead. The flesh of the dead does not become lawful by breath-ing God's Name over it. Nor do we attain salvation by merely reciting the holy verses."

Not only should we work off the sweat of our brow, guru ji also makes it clear that we do not gain salvation by merely doing paath. Bhagti(loving devotion through naam simran, good deeds and controlling the 5 thieves) gets us to that place.

[Jonny101]

To me it is not a sin. If I win the lottery I will take out the Daswand for the Khalsa panth and rest I will keep for myself and share with my family.

[Artmental]

I thinks it's okay but as it's full of people's hope and dreams and people who hope to win and get out of poverty it should not be spent on yourself at all

Should be used to feed the poor

My humble opinion