Ethics are standards of conduct and moral judgment prevalent in a society. While laws are imposed by governments by external force, ethics are self-imposed by individuals through their inner or moral strength (Greek ithikos or moral) and make up the character (or ethos, the Greek term for character) of the members of that society. Ethical conduct or dharma, and not dogma or creed is the core of Hinduism, as reflected in the Hindu name for religion, dharma or righteous conduct. Manu says aachaarah parmo dharmah – righteous conduct is the highest dharma. Righteous conduct or samanya dharma sustains the outer world order while yoga, ishwar stuti, prathana, and upaasna sustain order in the inner world. Dharma is what distinguishes us from animals and a person without dharma is like an animal. (dharmen heenah pashubhih samaanah)

If ethical conduct is the essence of Hinduism, we as Hindus need to study how ideal conduct has been defined in Hinduism. Is it the mere following of prevalent customs and habits (as more, the Latin root of moral, would word indicates), or doing whatever anything useful that serves some purpose (as gut, the German root of the word good, would suggest) for us and our children, or to act by certain prescribed standard of right or wrong that sets us apart as Hindus (as rectus, the Latin root of the word right, would suggest)? Is Hindu dharma synonymous with humanism or merely a pragmatic way of life, a common cliché of middle class Hindus, or are there distinctive behavioral or ethical guidelines that guide us as Hindus?

Swami Dayananda defined dharma as the just and righteous way of living as taught by the Vedas and smritis. Vedas and Upanishads state the overarching principles of virtuous behavior; the smritis such as the dharma shastras of Manu and Yajvalkya operationalize these principles into a detailed code of conduct. Vidur Niti and Shanti Parva of Mahabharata, the tenth and twelfth chapter of Bhagavad Gita, and the Niti Sholkas also describe virtuous behavior in detail. Ramayana, too, has advice about righteous conduct at many places. However, discussion of all these books is beyond the scope of this article and the following discussion will be based upon a famous shloka that lists ten signs of dharma.

Patience, forgiveness, restraint, non-stealing, keeping body and mind clean, controlling the senses, acquiring knowledge and wisdom, truthfulness, and not being angry are the ten signs of dharma.

Satyam or truthfulness is considered to be the king of virtues in Hinduism. In our daily prayers we pray to God to lead us from falsehood to truth. (asato ma sadgamaya) Satyam iva jaayte (Only truth is victorious) is enshrined in the national emblem of India. Guru Nanak equated truth with God. Despite its top rank in the list of Hindu virtues, satya is often not upheld in our daily conduct. In fact it was difficult to uphold absolute truth even for Lord Krishna who lied about the death of Ashwathama in Mahabharata. Telling a lie to save an innocent life is condoned in Hinduism. The parable of a monk who lied to a band of robbers to save a farmer’s life is well known. Bhagawana Krishna lied to defeat the forces of evil in Mahabharata. But these well intentioned lies should not be used to rationalize the common lies that are rife in our lives. Economic or political expediency, fear, and lack of straightforwardness are a few reasons for telling lies. Many people tell lies to the taxman; businessmen tell lies to flaunt their products, politicians tell lies to get elected or to promote their point of view. Many well-intentioned people lie to their loved ones instead of giving a bad news to them. In our community we do not tell our parents or children if they or we have a fatal disease. We even avoid telling the truth to our friends for fear of offending them. People tell lies about their wealth to avoid an evil eye. However, Bhagawana Krishna considers arjava or straightforwardness to be a virtue dear to him. Swami Dayananda also recommends that we should call a spade a spade, although gently. If we do not give proper feedback to our friends just for fear of offending them, they will be in dark and will not be able to rectify their mistake thus losing in the long run. The Vedas want us to be fearless, Abhayam mitrad abhyam amitrad abhyam gyatad abhyam puo nah. Even in the matter of a fatal disease the person who is sick will sense that something or wrong but stay in dark and fantasize. Thus the only time Hinduism condones a lie is if telling the truth will jeopardize the life of an innocent person. Rest should be considered moral relativism and hypocrisy.

Patience or dhritih is the ability to wait patiently for results of our karma. All endeavors require effort and take time to fruition. Ramayana says that samay paye taruvar khile ketic seencho neer- a tree takes time to grow even if you water it continuously. A farmer has to wait for winter or his crops to mature; a student waits for the whole year before he knows the results of his studies. Many a crime are committed by people who want to make a quick buck. Modern psychology considers the ability to delay gratification an important executive function of the brain that we acquire as we develop from infancy to adulthood. Impatience is a key feature of the common condition of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A Christian prayer says, "O Lord! Be thou the guide that we with patience may run the race which is set before us." Obsession or raga with results destroys the karma phal according to Gita. Fear of not achieving our goals causes anxiety, stress, and depression and is counterproductive. The virtue of santosh or contentment is closely related to dhriti because one who is content and at peace with his current state is unlikely to be anxious or impatient. So let us do our assigned duty or niyatam karma for duty’s sake, and not be obsessed with results. Let us be content without being complacent or stagnant.

Forgiveness or kshama has a high rank in the Hindu book of virtues. By forgiving our friends and family for their mistakes or misdemeanors, we can avoid ruminating over the hurt they caused and go on with our lives. Lack of forgiveness festers like a sore eating up the peace of our mind. Forgiveness liberates us from anger and dvesha. Many wars could be avoided if only the nations could forgive other nations for their past mistakes. The vicious cycle of revenge that is ravaging the Middle East and the whole world can only be broken if one party forgives the other. Lord Rama showed us the way in Ramayana when he forgave his step mother Kaikaeyi for banishing him to the jungle. Swami Dayananda not only forgave his killer but gave him money to escape. Lord Krishna says that a virtuous person is similar to friend and foe, same in honor and dishonor (samah shatrau cha mitre, maan apmaanayoh), is free from hatred for any creature (adveshta sarva bhutanaam), and is friendly and compassionate (maitrah karun ava cha). Let us all understand friends and strangers and be forgiving. (sam gyanam, nah savaebhi, sam gyanam arnebhi). Let the noise of wanton slaughter not rise amongst us. (Maa ghosa ut sthu bahule vianirhate) Atharveda (VII.54.1-2)

Damah mean self control or restraint. The meaning of the word religion is restraint; therefore, restraint is the very essence of religion. According to Sigmund Freud, the great psychologist, we are born with id or innate drives of aggression and sexuality. As we grow we develop the ability to rein in these drives by building our conscience or superego. The process of control over one’s senses; or indriya nigrah is a component of this virtue of damah. We are supposed to exercise self control in pursuit of sensual pleasures (brhamcharya), in amassing wealth (aparigrah), and in expressing joy and sorrow (samata). Lord Krishna considers austerity (tapah) as an essential character of a devotee dear to him. Vedas call upon men and women to be hard-working and formidable (ugram) in confronting and overcoming difficulties and challenges. Fasting (upvaasa) and practice of silence (maunam) were used by devout Hindus to acquire self control or damah. This constant exercise of restraint distinguishes us from the western cultural ethic of exuberance, extravagance, and wanton consumerism.

Non-stealing or asteyam is self-explanatory but stealing can be overt or covert. Corruption is a form of stealing from the rightful, stealing from the employer, stealing by cheating in the stores, stealing from the taxman. In fact, we should be willing to give up personal possessions for others (tyaag and daanam) in need.

Shaucham as cleanliness of the body is self evident, but the cleanliness of the thoughts, or manner of speaking, and of the soul is subtle and difficult to attain. Cleanliness of the thought includes freedom form envy, jealousy, and judgment. Envy and jealously are a cardinal sin in Christianity. In Athraveda the mind of the jealous is said to be more lifeless than the earth and a dead person (yatha bhumih mritmanah mritaat mritmanah tara. Yatha ut mamrushah manah aiva irshyo mrtiam mananh). (VI.18.2.3) and the devotee prays to God to relinquish jealously as heat is relinquished by the bellows. (tatah te irshyam munchaami nih ushmanam driteh iva) Unless we clean our mind of these evil tendencies (duritani paraasuava) we cannot accomplish the goal of shaucham. Cleanliness of the vaani or speech is in talking sweetly and gently. (vaacaum nah svadatu). Cleanliness of the body is done through asanas and pranayama and cleanliness of the soul though meditation. The latter takes practice or abhyasa of a lifetime and one needs dhritih or patience to accomplish, just as a dirty pot takes a lot of effort to clean.

Absence of anger or akrodhah,is a high virtue in Hinduism. Bhagwan Krishna says in Gita that anger causes loss of memory and loss of memory, in turn, leads to loss of intelligence. He wants calmness of the mind (Shamah) in persons who are dear to him. If we are broadminded (Brihta) and have the right attitude (Ritam), as recommended in Atharveda, we will not be angry. Everyone is fallible and can make a mistake. Anger occurs when we fail to forgive others (kshama) for their transgressions. If we have cultivate compassion (karuna) and friendliness (maitri) for all we will not be angry. Krodh is actually a form of violence. Thus anger (krodh) and nonviolence (Ahimsa) are mutually exclusive. However, Hinduism allows one to have rightful wrath or manyu when one sees injustice. We pray to the Lord to give us a powerful personality (tejah) that can fight injustice, but without arrogance (dambha) and false pride (mad).

Acquiring knowledge and wisdom (vidya and dhi) are considered to be high virtues in Hinduism. Swami Dayananda made it an article of faith of Arya Samaj. According to him, most of the problems of the world would be solved if we remove ignorance, acquire knowledge and than act according to what we leaned to be true. According to Taittiriya Upanishad, aptitude for learning (Brahman), self study (Svadhyaya), and listening to religious discourse (Pravachana) are essential for every true seeker. However, according to swami Dayananda, mere knowledge without discernment is the payload of a donkey. And that is the take home message of this article. Practice what you learn. Do manan after shravan and then do grihan. Let us hope that once we acquire the above virtues (tada bhadram tanna aasuva), we will become arya or noble.