How much bad karma does one get from killing insects?

Answer 1

If you are Taoist, Buddhist, or Hindu ... then you could possibly be killing your re-incarnated deceased grand-mother.

Abrahamic religions (Jewish, Christian, & Muslim) have us under God's commandment to Adam to take care of the animals and enviroment. It would become more problematic should the insect be something somone loves and you killing it would cause greif. However, God did give permision to eat, and use animal parts for survival.

Western - psychologists will look deeper into how you feel about killing the insects and then make a diagnosis from your verbal & physical responces.

Answer 2

Clean your entire place up. Ants are looking for food and they seem to find it there. Sometimes they put food at just one place eg in fields and the mice they do not eat the whole field. It does work. Srimad Bhagavatam 7.14.9 P Ideal Family Life One who is in Krsna consciousness understands that there is no difference between the animals and the innocent children in one's home. Even in ordinary life, it is our practical experience that a household dog or cat is regarded on the same level as one's children, without any envy. Like children, the unintelligent animals are also sons of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore a Krsna conscious person, even though a householder, should not discriminate between children and poor animals. Unfortunately, modern society has devised many means for killing animals in different forms of life. For example, in the agricultural fields there may be many mice, flies and other creatures that disturb production, and sometimes they are killed by pesticides. In this verse, however, such killing is forbidden. Every living entity should be nourished by the food given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Human society should not consider itself the only enjoyer of all the properties of God; rather, men should understand that all the other animals also have a claim to God's property. In this verse even the snake is mentioned, indicating that a householder should not be envious even of a snake. If everyone is fully satisfied by eating food that is a gift from the Lord, why should there be envy between one living being and another? In modern days people are very much inclined toward communistic ideas of society, but we do not think that there can be any better communistic idea than that which is explained in this verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Even in the communistic countries the poor animals are killed without consideration, although they also should have the right to take their allotted food with which to live.

Answer 3

Probably the SIZE of the Insect one Kills!:)

Nothing more!

On second thought, it seems the bad karma YOU get killing insects that harm You & others (without their knowing) is more than killing your spouse / g/f / b/f & men & women mistresses & bed-mates!

Answer 4

It depends on your intent. If you kill them for sadistic pleasure then the fact that they're insects is unimportant- your desire to cause suffering creates the negative karma.

Answer 5

Becasue of one's Karma only,somebody is born with diseases, poverty, foolish etc...and suffers because of that. That is the reason why somebody is born with good health, richness intelligence etc... and is happy because of that.
It is the misconception people have that God puts one in that condition. The all merciful Lord who is compassionate would be showing partiality to put somebody in misery while somebody is enjoying life happily.


"I am no Hindu, but I hold the doctrine of the Hindus concerning a future state (rebirth) to be incomparably more rational, more pious, and more likely to deter men from vice than the horrid opinions inculcated by Christians on punishments without end." -Sir William Jones

Bad people may not live miserable life in a recent times. But in future the reaction will come. It is only the question of time. When one plants seeds the tree doesn't grow immediately. It takes time to grow, fructify and bear fruits. Just because we don't see the fruits in the tree immediately, we cannot say that the tree will not give fruits in the future.

Just consider following explanation from the book, "Nectar of Devotion",
by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
Founder-Acharya of ISKCON
(International Society for Krishna Consciousness).
Sinful activities are of two kinds: those which are mature and those which are not mature. The sinful activities for which we are suffering at the present moment are called mature. The many sinful activities stored within us for which we have not yet suffered are considered immature. For example, a man may have committed criminal acts, but not yet been arrested for them. Now, as soon as he is detected, arrest is awaiting him. Similarly, for some of our sinful activities we are awaiting distresses in the future, and for others, which are mature, we are suffering at the present moment.
In this way there is a chain of sinful activities and their concomitant distresses, and the conditioned soul is suffering life after life due to these sins. He is suffering in the present life the results of sinful activities from his past life, and he is meanwhile creating further sufferings for his future life. Mature sinful activities are exhibited if one is suffering from some chronic disease, if one is suffering from some legal implication, if one is born in a low and degraded family or if one is uneducated or very ugly.
There are many results of past sinful activities for which we are suffering at the present moment, and we may be suffering in the future due to our present sinful activities.

Answer 6

Depends on the intent. If you enjoy the activity, do purification practices, etc. will depend on how much bad karma you set into your karmic stream. Only you can be the ultimate judge.

_()_

Answer 7

It's proportional. Killing a man is equivalent to killing 1,000,000 ants.

Answer 8

None.

~Neeva

Answer 9

Killing is killing, no matter what it is. If you kill it will come back to you.

Answer 10

I am sooooooo screwed ;-p

I gleefully stomp any spider that crosses my path....