Karma, Reincarnation, Varna and Hindu Festivals

Karma and Samsara

Karma means ‘action’ in Sanskrit. In Hinduism, it refers to the moral law of cause and effect: every intentional action — physical, verbal or mental — generates consequences that shape the soul’s future existence. Good actions generate positive karma, leading towards better future lives and ultimately liberation. Bad actions generate negative karma, leading to suffering and lower rebirths. The Bhagavad Gita (2:13) describes how the soul passes from one body to the next just as a person moves from childhood to youth to old age — the soul continuing through a long chain of lives.

Samsara is the cycle of birth, death and rebirth within which all living beings are caught. The Bhagavad Gita (2:13, 2:15, 2:22) develops this teaching: just as a person casts off worn-out clothes and puts on others that are new, so the soul casts off worn-out bodies and takes on new ones. Samsara is not a punishment in itself — it is the ongoing process of the soul’s journey — but it involves suffering because of attachment to the material world. The ultimate goal is to escape samsara entirely.

Key Fact

Karma is the law of moral cause and effect. Samsara is the cycle of rebirth it drives. Moksha is liberation from samsara — the soul’s reunion with Brahman, the ultimate reality. These three concepts form the backbone of the Hindu understanding of the soul’s journey.

Varnashramadharma — The Four Varnas

Hindu society has traditionally been organised according to the concept of varna (often translated as caste). The four varnas are: Brahmin (priests and teachers), Kshatriya (warriors and rulers), Vaishya (merchants and farmers) and Shudra (labourers and servants). Beyond the four varnas are the Dalits (historically called ‘untouchables’), who were placed outside the varna system entirely and assigned the most polluting tasks.

Within each varna are many jatis — hereditary occupational sub-groups. The varna and jati system has had a profound impact on social life in South Asia: determining marriage partners, occupation, diet and social interaction. The status of Dalits was, for centuries, one of severe marginalisation and discrimination. Today, the Dalit community has fought for and won legal protections — the Indian constitution outlaws caste discrimination — but social prejudice can persist. In Hindu communities in the UK, varna distinctions are generally less rigidly observed than in parts of South Asia, though they still influence marriage patterns.

Several modern movements within Hinduism have challenged traditional caste hierarchies. ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, known as the Hare Krishna movement) teaches that all people, regardless of birth, can achieve devotion to Krishna and spiritual advancement. ISKCON accepts members of all backgrounds and nationalities, directly challenging the idea that caste is spiritually determining.

The Ramakrishna Mission, founded in the late 19th century by Swami Vivekananda, emphasised the unity of all people and the equality of all paths to God. Vivekananda taught that service to humanity was service to God (daridra narayan — God in the poor), directly challenging the view that Dalits were spiritually inferior. Both movements reflect an ongoing internal reform process within Hinduism.

The Four Ashramas

Alongside the varna system, Hinduism describes four stages of life (ashramas). The first is brahmacharya (student life) — dedicated to learning, celibacy and service to the teacher. The second is grihastha (householder) — marriage, raising children, professional work and maintaining the home. The third is vanaprastha (forest-dweller or retirement) — withdrawing from worldly duties to focus on spiritual practice. The fourth is sannyasa (renunciant) — the final stage of complete renunciation, with no home or possessions, focused solely on liberation. The ideal Hindu life moves through all four ashramas, each with its appropriate duties (dharma).

Hindu Festivals

Diwali (also spelled Divali) is often called the Festival of Lights. It is celebrated across South Asia and in Hindu communities worldwide, and lasts five days. For Vaishnavas (devotees of Vishnu), Diwali is associated particularly with the return of Rama and Sita to Ayodhya after their fourteen-year exile and Rama’s defeat of the demon king Ravana — the story told in the Ramayana. Lamps and fireworks celebrate this homecoming. Many Hindus, especially in northern and western India, associate Diwali with the goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth and prosperity, and Vishnu’s wife), who is believed to visit clean, well-lit homes. In eastern India many Hindus worship the goddess Kali on Diwali night instead. Rangoli patterns, diyas (oil lamps), fireworks and gift-giving are central practices.

Holi is a joyful spring festival, celebrated with coloured powders, water and dancing. Its origins lie in two stories. The first is the story of Holika and Prahlada: Holika was a demoness who tried to kill the young devotee Prahlada (a devoted worshipper of Vishnu), but she was destroyed while Prahlada survived, demonstrating that devotion to God protects the righteous. A bonfire (Holika dahan) the night before the main celebration remembers her destruction. The second story celebrates the divine love of Krishna and Radha — Krishna is associated with colour and playfulness, and the throwing of coloured powder is connected to his relationship with Radha and the gopis (cowgirls) of Vrindavan.

Ahimsa means non-violence or non-harm. It is one of Hinduism’s most important ethical principles, flowing from the belief that all living beings contain the atman — the divine soul. To harm any living creature is, in this sense, to harm God. Ahimsa is expressed practically through vegetarianism, which is widely practised among Hindus, particularly Brahmins and Vaishnavas. The Hare Krishna movement’s Food for Life programme distributes free vegetarian meals to those in need — embodying both ahimsa and the duty of social service.

Environmental concern also flows from ahimsa. The Chipko movement (‘tree-huggers’) began in the 1970s in northern India as villagers, many of them women, embraced trees to prevent loggers from cutting them down. Drawing on Hindu reverence for nature and the principle of ahimsa towards all life, the movement became an influential early example of environmental activism. The sacred forest at Vrindavan (associated with Krishna’s childhood) has been the subject of conservation efforts by Hindu communities who regard it as sacred land.