- Reverence for Our Revealed Scriptures
Hindus believe in the divinity of the 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 which has neither beginning nor end.
- All-Pervasive Divinity
Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.
- Three Worlds and Cycles of Creation
Hindus believe there are three worlds of existence–physical, astral and causal–and that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.
- The Laws of Karma and Dharma
Hindus believe in karma–the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds–and in dharma, righteous living.
- Reincarnation and Liberation
Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha–spiritual knowledge and liberation from the cycle of rebirth–is attained. Not a single soul will be eternally deprived of this destiny.
- Temples and the Inner Worlds
Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments as well as personal devotionals create a communion with these devas and Gods.
- Yoga Guided by a Satguru
Hindus believe that a spiritually awakened master, or satguru, is essential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry and meditation.
- Compassion and Noninjury
Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa, “noninjury.”
- Genuine Respect for Other Faiths
Hindus believe that no particular religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine religious paths are facets of God’s Pure Love and Light, deserving tolerance and understanding