India is the sacred land which has given birth to countless sages, Rishis, Yogins, saints and prophets. India is the land that has produced many Acharyas or spiritual preceptors like Sri Sankara and Sri Ramanuja; many saints like Kabir, Ramdas, Tukaram and Gauranga Mahaprabhu; many Yogins like Jnana Dev, Dattatreya and Sadasiva Brahman; and many prophets like Buddha and Nanak. Buddha is our flesh and blood.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hinduism: The Spiritual Soil Of India

Hinduism is neither asceticism nor illusionism, neither polytheism nor pantheism. It is the synthesis of all types of religious experiences. It is a whole and complete view of life. It is characterised by wide toleration, deep humanity and high spiritual purpose. It is free from fanaticism. That is the reason why it has survived the attacks of the followers of some of the other great religions of the world.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Religion: Reasons For Survival Of The Hindu Religion

Hinduism is the religion of the Hindus, a name given to the Universal Religion which hailed supreme in India. It is the oldest of all living religions. This is not founded by any prophet. Buddhism, Christianity and Mohammedanism owe their origin to the prophets. Their dates are fixed. But no such date can be fixed for Hinduism. Hinduism is not born of the teachings of particular prophets. It is not based on a set of dogmas preached by a particular set of teachers. It is free from religious fanaticism.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hinduism: Hindu Religion Ð All About Hinduism

By doing wrong actions, you taint your character. By doing virtuous actions, you develop a noble character. Without character, man falls down to the level of a brute. A man of character is honoured, trusted and adored everywhere. Therefore, develop a good character when you are young.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Yogic Gardening

Man is threefold in his nature. He consists of Ichha (desire, feeling), Jnana (knowing) and Kriya (willing). These three fashion his Karma.

Behind the action, there are desire and thought. A desire for an object arises in the mind. Then you think how to get it. Then you exert to possess it. Desire, thought and action always go together. They are the three threads, as it were, that are twisted into the cord of Karma. Desire produces Karma

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Karma: How Karma Is Fashioned

The Law of Karma is one of the fundamental doctrines not only in Hinduism, but also in Buddhism, and in Jainism. As a man sows, so he shall reap. This is the Law of Karma. If you do an evil action, you must suffer for it. If you do a good action, you must get happiness. There is no power on this earth which can stop the actions from yielding their fruits. Every thought, every word, every deed is, as it were, weighed in the scales of eternal, divine Justice. The Law of Karma is inexorable.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Karma: The Working Of The Law of Karma

Thought moulds your character. If you entertain noble thoughts, you will develop a noble character; and if you entertain evil thoughts, you will develop a base character. This is the immutable Law of Nature. Therefore, you can deliberately shape your character by cultivating sublime thoughts. Thought materialises and becomes an action. If you allow the mind to dwell on good, elevating thoughts, you will do naturally good and laudable actions.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Karma: Action, Habit, Character and Destiny

Karma is of three kinds, viz., Sanchita (accumulated works), Prarabdha (fructifying works) and Kriyamana or Agami (current works). Sanchita is all the accumulated Karmas of the past. Part of it is seen in the character of man, in his tendencies and aptitudes, capacities, inclinations and desires, etc. Tendencies come from this. Prarabdha is that portion of the past Karma which is responsible for the present body. That portion of the Sanchita Karma which influences human life in the present incarnation is called Prarabdha.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Karma: The Three Kinds Of Karma - Sanchita, Prarabdha and Agami

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Free Will: The Supremacy Of Free-Will

The doctrine of rebirth is a corollary to the Law of Karma. The differences of disposition that are found between one individual and another must be due to their respective past actions. Past action implies past birth. Further, all your Karmas cannot certainly bear fruit in this life. Therefore, there must be another birth for enjoying the remaining actions. Each soul has a series of births and deaths. Births and deaths will continue till you attain Knowledge of the Imperishable.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Karma: Karma And Rebirth

A new-born child manifests marks of joy, fear and grief. This is inexplicable unless we suppose that the child, perceiving certain things in this life, remembers the corresponding things of the past life. The things which used to excite joy, fear and grief in the past life, continue to do so in this life. The memory of the past proves the previous birth, as well as the existence of the soul.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Previous Births: Proofs For The Existence Of Previous Births

The soul migrates with the astral body, or Sukshma-Sarira or Linga-Deha. This astral body is made up of nineteen Tattvas or principles, viz., five organs of action, five organs of knowledge, five Pranas, mind, intellect, Chitta (the subconscious), and Ahankara or egoism.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Karma: Passage Of The Soul Between Death And Rebirth

Morality or ethics is the science of conduct. Ethics is the study of what is right or good in conduct. Ethical science shows the way in which human beings should behave towards one another, as well as towards other creatures. It contains systematised principles on which a man should act. Ethics is right conduct or Sadachara.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Ethics Or The Science Of Conduct

Without ethics, you cannot have progress in the spiritual path. Ethics is the foundation of Yoga. Ethics is the corner-stone of Vedanta. Ethics is the strong pillar on which the edifice of Bhakti Yoga rests. Ethics is the gateway to God-realisation.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Ethics, Spirituality And Religion

Morality is the gateway to religion. He who leads a moral or virtuous life attains freedom, perfection or Moksha.

Practice of ethics will help you to live in harmony with your neighbours, friends, your own family members, fellow-beings and other people. It will confer on you lasting happiness and Moksha.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Benefits Of The Practice Of Ethics

Hinduism lays great emphasis on ethical discipline. Yama (self-restraint) and Niyama (religious observances or canons) are the foundations of Yoga and Vedanta.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Ethical Codes In Hinduism

The ethics of the Hindus is subtle, sublime and profound. All religions have taught ethical precepts such as:

- Do not kill, do not injure others, love your neighbour as your self, - but they have not given the reason. The basis of Hindu ethics is this:

- There is one all-pervading Atman. It is the innermost soul of all beings. This is the common, pure consciousness. If you injure your neighbour, you really injure yourself. If you injure any other creature, you really injure yourself, because the whole world is nothing but your own Self. -

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: The Foundational Principles Of Hindu Ethics

Dharma depends upon time, circumstances, age, degree of evolution and the community to which one belongs. The Dharma of this century is different from that of the tenth century.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Service As Worship

The very root and core of all moral discipline is mental purification through refraining from all evil action and the active practice of virtue. Do good at all times. Ahimsa, Satya and Brahmacharya symbolise the three processes of avoiding sin, sticking to virtue and Self-purification.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Ethical Culture Or The Process Of Purification

Everybody speaks: - This is right, that is wrong; you are right, he is wrong; - but he cannot tell you exactly what he means by right and wrong.

What is the criterion by which we judge an action to be right or wrong, and good or bad? - Right and wrong - and - good and bad - are relative terms. Right and wrong refer to the moral standard, as law. Good and bad refer to it, as end. You will have to adjust your conduct according to this moral standard. That which is in accordance with a rule is right. That which is worthy of achievement is good.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Ethics: Philosophy Of Right And Wrong

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Karma: The Devayana And The Pitriyana

The chains that tie you to this wheel of Samsara or Bhava-Chakra or round of births and deaths, are your desires. So long as you desire objects of this world, you must come back to this world in order to possess and enjoy them. But, when all your desires for the mundane objects cease, then the chains are broken and you are free. You need not take any more births. You attain Moksha or the final emancipation.

You wander in this Samsara as you think that you are different from the Lord. If you unite yourself with Him through meditation and Yoga, you will obtain immortality and eternal bliss. Cut the bonds of Karma through Knowledge of the Eternal and enjoy the Supreme Peace of the Atman, thy innermost Self and Inner Ruler. You will be freed from the round of births and deaths. Freed from sin, freed from passion, you will become a Jivanmukta or liberated sage. You will see the Self in the self and see the Self as all.

Read more here: » Samsara: How To Break The Bond Of Samsara