Personal virtue, free will and suffering

• Karma


  For Hindus, the consequences of actions, but a person's destiny is not decided already. Hindus know they have free will to decide their path in life. They have a moral responsibility to make right decisions. Karma means that good and bad actions are judged by an absolute and inescapable moral law that governs the universe.
• Moksha


  Hindu concept of spiritual liberation or release from the cycle of rebirth
• Story about Hindu views of moksha


  • A Hindu holy man gives different blessings to four people - the Crown Prince, a celibate student, a butcher, and a female devotee in a temple. The holy man explains the reasoning behind each blessing based on the person's life and actions.
• The Crown Prince led a life of luxury and thoughtlessness, so it is better he lives forever to avoid suffering in the next world.
• The celibate student was performing a holy task, so it was better he died at this stage in his life before he could sin again.
• The butcher's life was hellish, killing animals and having no chance of escaping from it if he lived, and if he died he would be reborn as an animal and continue to suffer a hellish life, so it made no difference what happened to him.
• The worshipper in the temple will serve God whether she is in this life or the next one, so it makes no difference to her.