Fundamental Beliefs    

A fundamental Hindu belief, as is the case with practically all religions, is that there is one Supreme Being who is ‘the beginning, the middle, and the end of all living beings’.[1] The Supreme Being himself has no beginning and no end (anādi, anant); He represents the totality of the cosmos. The concept of Supreme Being instils a sense of humility that as human beings we are limited; only the Supreme Being is unlimited.

This humility is reinforced by the tradition that a Hindu is expected to dedicate to the Supreme Being all that he does through his body, speech, senses, mind or intellect.[2] The tradition thus obliges a Hindu to always act with the noblest of thoughts and the purest of means, laying a firm foundation for his ethics. 

It should not be construed that, because of their belief in one Supreme Being, Hindus are monotheistic in the same way that the Christians and Muslims are. They worship many Gods who are considered the varied manifestations of the Supreme Being. The tradition is that a Hindu is free and ought to select his own God (iştadevata), a tradition that continues even today.

A second fundamental belief of the Hindus is that the Supreme Being is both immanent and transcendent. He lives in the heart of each and every living being, including the humans, the animals and the plant life.[3] Each living being has thus its own individuality and is equally precious to the Supreme Being.[4] The ultimate purpose of human life in the Hindu tradition is to realise this Truth and finally merge with the Supreme Being. This pursuit is strictly individual.

Bhagavadgītā says: “Man should lift himself by himself, he should not lower himself. Man is his own best friend; he is his own worst enemy.”[5] Manusmŗti says that man should engage in the good conduct appropriate to his own innate nature. He should take pains to avoid any activity under another’s control. Everything under another person’s control is unhappiness, and everything under one’s own control is happiness.[6]

A Hindu’s pursuit of religion is thus individualistic. Such regimentation as has emerged in recent times, with some social and political repercussions, is more a reaction to the practices adopted in Islam and Christianity.

A third fundamental belief is the immortality of the ‘soul’ (the Supreme Being within each living being) and its trans-migratory existence. On the death of a living being, the soul within does not perish but migrates to another body and reborn according to some cosmic design.[7] Along with such transmigration, the merits and demerits of one’s conduct and actions in this life are also carried forward. Thus, the new life invariably starts with ‘opening balance’ (to use the accounting terminology) that could be either a credit balance or a debit balance. This belief, again, is a powerful basis for the ethics of human beings. (An unfortunate consequence of this belief is the frequent lapse into fatalism or determinism, to which we shall revert later.)   

As a corollary to these fundamental beliefs the Hindus believe that all living beings belong to one family (vasudhaiva kutumbakam). “Each living being in the universe is a manifestation of the Divine Being. Each form is a self-projection, each movement a self-casting of the Lord. Whatever their stages of development or the levels of manifestation they occupy, all are equally divine in their essential truth and are so regarded by the Divine and should be so regarded and felt by one who aspires to embody the Divine Consciousness. Before the Divine there are no high and low; no chosen or rejected, all are equal formulations of the One, each striving to manifest one ray of the multiple splendour,” says ŖgVeda.[8]

Īşā Upanişad says that the whole world is but the abode of the Supreme Being and there is little sense in craving for each other’s possessions.[9]

Gandhiji derived his philosophy of trusteeship (of the wealth that one accumulates) from this particular verse. The Upanişad goes on to say that “he who sees all beings in the very Self, and the Self in all beings, feels no hatred by virtue of that realization.”[10]

Bŗhadāraņyaka Upanişad says that the wife is dear to a man not for the sake of the wife but for the sake of the Self (within him and her); likewise, all the living beings are dear to him not for their sake but for the sake of the Self (within him and them).[11]

Bhagavadgītā exhorts that man should bear no ill will to any being but be friendly and compassionate to all beings. He should wish well of all living beings.[12] In the words of Radhakrishnan, “the individual should grow in his freedom and uniqueness and he should recognize the dignity of every man, even the most insignificant. Man has not only to ascend to the world of spirit but also to descend to the world of creatures (pasyed brahmamayam jagat).”[13] Mahābhārata says: “whatever pleases the people most is the truth since truthfulness, which means love of humanity, is the only unconditional end.”[14] Also, it is said that Yudhiştira desired to enter into all the suffering hearts and take all their suffering on himself.

The Hindus normally end their prayers with a concluding prayer: “Let all living beings be happy, let none suffer from any affliction; let everyone perceive good things and let no one be grief-stricken.”[15] 

Puruşārdhas

The affirmative attitude of the Hindus towards life is emphasized by the recognition of four basic human goals called puruşārdhas, “the great controllers of the world and the four immortal guardians of our ambitions.”[16] The four puruşārdhas are: dharma or righteous conduct, artha or pursuit of wealth, kāma or fulfilment of desires, and mokşa or seeking freedom through communion with the Supreme Being. The first three called the trivarga pave the way for mokşa.

Dharma or righteous conduct is as much an instrument as it is a goal. Observing dharma in one’s life is an end in itself. At the same time, it is also a means for achieving the other three goals.[17] The goal of kāma or seeking fulfilment of desires is legitimate and indeed divine so long as it does not conflict with dharma.[18]  The suppression of legitimate desires often leads to an unhealthy state of body and mind, and delays the attainment of mokşa or liberation. Enjoyment of life, if rooted in dharma, can be transformed into spiritual experience.

The scriptures are quite clear that the four puruşārdhas are equally important.[19] Indeed, they should be pursued sequentially. Man should divide his time equally among dharma, artha and kāma.[20] Man should also deploy his wealth equally on dharma, artha and kāma.[21]

Other worldiness     

The belief in the Supreme Being or the pursuit of the ultimate goal of mokşa should not lead to undue preoccupation with the ‘other world’.[22] As Vivekananda said, preoccupation with the ‘other world’ led to the decline of the Indian society in the past.[23] Arthaşāstra denounces ‘other-worldliness’ as an obstacle to accumulation of wealth.[24]