| Essence Of Hinduism |
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HINDU ETHICS |
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| Our characters and
destinies shape themselves from life to life not ac cording to the arbitrary decrees of an
external God, but according to an organic law, which is wrought into our natures. God,
according to Hinduism, does not sit in judgment on us on some future day in thunder and
lightning, but here and now in us through the ordinary moral law. Just as the law of cause and effect works in the physical world, the Law of Karma works in the moral world. For instance, whenever we put our hands into the fire we burn our fingers. Similarly, whenever a man steals, his character is affected for the worse. The more often he steals, the more thievish he becomes. On the other hand, whenever a man helps his neighbour, his character is affected for the better. The more often he helps, the more beneficent he becomes. The Law of Karma is only an extension of this invariable sequence that we see in life beyond the confines of the present life. It tells us that what we are at present is the result of-what we thought and did in the past, and that what we shall be in the future will be the result of what we think and do now. |
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| About Hindu Ethics |
