Hinduism | Beliefs, Gods, Karma and Moksha

A colorful Hindu temple sculpture depicts the blue-skinned Vishnu with four arms, surrounded by other brightly painted figures. — Hindu religious art is often filled with brilliant colors, elaborate decoration, and joyful energy. Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, is often shown with blue skin, symbolizing his vast, infinite nature. His four arms hold sacred objects, including a conch shell and a discus.

The Ganges River swells with water every spring as snow melts in the Himalayas. The water brings life as trees and flowers bloom, and crops grow. This cycle of rebirth is a metaphor for Hinduism, the religious faith of most people in India.

The Eternal Way

Hindus call their religion Sanatana Dharma, “the eternal way.” It is not a religion in the Western sense of the word, with a founder, a single set of beliefs, or one religious authority. Instead, Hinduism is a vast collection of beliefs and traditions that developed over thousands of years, combining Aryan, Dravidian, and other Indian influences.

Dharma is the idea that everything has a place and purpose within the larger order of the universe. Living in harmony with dharma means honoring one’s responsibilities and acting in ways that support family and community. Hindus view dharma as an eternal law that humans did not create and cannot alter. The world’s oldest religion, Hinduism is practiced by about 1.2 billion people, who live almost exclusively in the region.

The Universal Spirit

Hinduism teaches that there is one universal spirit called Brahman, but Hindus seldom worship Brahman directly. They instead worship many gods and goddesses that are different forms of Brahman.

Statue of Shiva with a trident, cobra, drum, and crescent moon — Shiva is the god of destruction and re-creation. In Hindu thought, destruction is part of change. Morning must end before afternoon can begin, childhood gives way to adolescence, and every season eventually becomes another.

Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva

Brahma is the creator of the universe. Brahma is often pictured with four heads facing in different directions. Vishnu is the preserver of the universe who protects the world from evil. Hindus believe that Vishnu can take different forms called avatars to restore order to the world. Shiva is the god of destruction and re-creation. Shiva represents change, from day to night, the seasons, and the stages of life.

Karma and Rebirth

Many Hindus believe that our status in this life depends upon the karma humans accumulate in previous lives. Karma is the belief that our thoughts, words, and actions have consequences in this life and can follow us from one life to the next. A person who treats others with kindness and respect creates good karma. Likewise, a person who mistreats others creates bad karma.

Traditional Hindu teachings held that a person who followed the rules of their caste would be reborn as a higher form in the next life. Someone who neglected their duties would be reborn as a lower form of life, perhaps as an animal or insect.

Escaping the Cycle

The goal of Hinduism is to escape the cycle of rebirth by reaching moksha. Moksha means liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. A person who reaches moksha is finally free from the cycle.

Because they believe all living things have souls, many Hindus are vegetarians; they believe animals should live their natural lives and not be killed for food. Some Hindus are vegan, so they will not eat animal products, including eggs and cheese. Other Hindus will eat poultry and fish but will not eat beef. Cows are sacred to Hindus because they represent life, nourishment, and nonviolence; it is not unusual to see a cow wandering through the streets of an Indian city.

Hindu Worship

Many Hindus worship privately by performing rituals known as puja at a shrine in their homes. A Hindu may practice yoga, a system of exercise and meditation that teaches mastery of the mind, body, and emotions. There are Hindu temples (mandirs) and holy locations, but Hindu practices vary widely.

A Hindu couple performs puja at home with folded hands before a glowing oil lamp and ritual offerings. — There is no single way for Hindus to practice puja. Prayers may be offered at a mandir temple, during a public festival, or quietly at a shrine inside the home. Families may light lamps, make offerings, recite prayers, or honor a favorite deity.

A guru is a spiritual teacher who understands dharma, the spiritual laws that govern the universe. Many Hindus are loyal to their gurus because they believe this spiritual guidance can help them escape the cycle of death and rebirth.

The Sacred Ganges

Hindus believe that water is holy because water brings life, particularly if the water is flowing in a river. The holiest of rivers is the Ganges. Today, the Ganges is very polluted, but Hindus believe the water from the Himalayas will purify the souls of those who drink or bathe in its waters. Many Hindus make a pilgrimage to the Ganges. Others travel to the river at the end of their lives in hopes of reaching moksha and escaping the cycle of rebirth.

Hindu pilgrims bathing in the Ganges River at a crowded ghat in Varanasi, India. — Varanasi is one of Hinduism’s holiest cities. Its riverfront is lined with ghats, long flights of steps that give pilgrims access to the Ganges. For centuries, Hindus have traveled here to worship, perform religious ceremonies, and spend their final days in a city closely associated with Shiva and moksha.

The Aum

Aum, also written Om, is a sacred sound and symbol in Hinduism. Hindus have chanted Aum during prayer and meditation for thousands of years. The sound represents Brahman, the universal spirit, and the unity of all existence. The familiar ॐ symbol is not a picture of anything. It developed from written letters representing the sounds in Aum. Over centuries, Indian scribes combined and stylized those letters into a single symbol. Aum appears at the beginning of many Hindu prayers and sacred texts. When Hindus chant Aum, the sound may represent the universe and their connection to everything within it.

Ahimsa: Do No Harm

The people of the ancient Indus civilization were not vegetarians. Archaeologists digging through their ancient cities have uncovered piles of animal bones, some bearing marks where meat was cut from the bone. Cattle and water buffalo provided much of the meat, but people also ate sheep, goats, pigs, fish, and wild animals. Scientists have even detected animal fats soaked into their cooking pots. Over centuries, however, Indian religious thinking about killing animals began to change.

People increasingly questioned whether animals should suffer or die for human purposes. One answer was ahimsa, the principle of avoiding harm to living things. As belief in karma and rebirth developed, harming living creatures was seen as creating bad karma. Ahimsa helped make vegetarianism an important Hindu tradition.

The idea eventually reached far beyond food. More than two thousand years later, Mahatma Gandhi applied ahimsa to people, using nonviolent resistance in the struggle for Indian independence.

Joyful Festivals of Light and Color

Hinduism is rooted in epic stories, ancient wisdom, and deep devotion, but its most famous celebrations spill into the streets with unstoppable energy. Two holidays stand out for turning entire communities into living spectacles of light and color.

The first is Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Falling in autumn on the darkest night of the lunar month, it marks the ancient triumph of good over evil. To push back the darkness, families line windowsills, doorways, and rooftops with small clay lamps called diyas. As dusk falls, thousands of flickering flames transform neighborhoods into seas of gold. People wear their finest clothes, share boxes of rich sweets, and gather outside as fireworks light up the night sky.

Months later, India welcomes spring with Holi. Rooted in stories of rebirth and divine play, the holiday turns entire towns into open-air celebrations. Nobody stays clean. Crowds flood the streets armed with dry powders called gulal—pink, yellow, and green—and buckets of colored water. Music pulses, neighbors chase neighbors, and social barriers fall away under bright clouds of powder.

These holidays are active, community celebrations where history and faith are shared through food, music, lights, and bright colored powder.

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Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on India.

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