Nine Beliefs of Hinduism

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Nine Beliefs of Hinduism

 

Our beliefs determine our thoughts and attitudes about life, which in

turn direct our actions. By our actions, we create our destiny.

Beliefs about sacred matters--God, soul and cosmos--are essential to

one's approach to life. Hindus believe many diverse things, but there

are a few bedrock concepts on which most Hindus concur. The following

nine beliefs, though not exhaustive, offer a simple summary of Hindu

spirituality.

 

 

 

Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both

immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.

Hindus believe in the divinity of the four Vedas, the world's most

ancient scripture, and venerate the Agamas as equally revealed. These

primordial hymns are God's word and the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma,

the eternal religion.

Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of

creation, preservation and dissolution.

Hindus believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each

individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.

Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many

births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, liberation

from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be

deprived of this destiny.

Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that

temple worship, rituals, sacraments and personal devotionals create a

communion with these devas and Gods.

Hindus believe that an enlightened master, or satguru, is essential

to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good

conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry, meditation and

surrender in God.

Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and

therefore practice ahiusa, noninjury, in thought, word and deed.

Hindus believe that no religion teaches the only way to salvation

above all others, but that all genuine paths are facets of God's

Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.

 

Hinduism, the world's oldest religion, has no beginning—it precedes

recorded history. It has no human founder. It is a mystical religion,

leading the devotee to personally experience the Truth within,

finally reaching the pinnacle of consciousness where man and God are

one. Hinduism has four main denominations—Saivism, Shaktism,

Vaishnavism and Smartism.