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  • Many say Hinduism is a Way of life and there are no compulsory in following any traditions.
  • As when compared with Other religions in the world they force many rules to be followed.
    MY QUESTION :
  • Why Hinduism does not force any rules like other religion and gives us the chance to decide to follow or not follow ?
  • Are there any specific reasons for not to force us ?
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    Wrong. Hinduism is not just a way of life. I am tired of listening to this. There are definitely rules. Both vidhi (must do) and nishedham (must not do). Its just that Hindus have chosen not to follow the rules because they have been brainwashed by non-Hindu religions.
    – user1195
    Mar 21, 2017 at 14:53
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    Rules are there..@@Shakti
    – Rickross
    Mar 21, 2017 at 15:02
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    In my opinion, there are rules in Hinduism. It is just that people are given the freedom to disagree and to question them.
    – TheLoneKing
    Mar 21, 2017 at 15:32
  • Actually, rules & regulations are there but not like Abrahmic religion's which solely can decide whether your next destination is heaven or hell. And rules changes according to traditions as well.
    – ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
    Mar 21, 2017 at 16:46
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    @iammilind it is a system of life that includes a political system, a social structure and associated functions, and an economic system as well as spiritual upliftment. But it is not limited to these nor is it the "way of life" that present day Hindus adopt.
    – user1195
    Jul 17, 2017 at 13:06

3 Answers 3

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Religions like Christianity and Islam threaten their followers with eternal hell if they don't obey the rules. Thus these rules are commandments. There is no fear in Hinduism. The reason is that God runs the entire show in Christianity and Islam and any wrong doing is a direct offence against God. That is not the case in Hinduism. God is a non-doer and unattached to the universe.

Resorting to Prakrti, Nature, which is My own Power, I send forth again and again this multitude of beings that are without any freedom, owing to Nature's sway over them. These activities do not in any way bind Me, because I remain detached like one unconcerned in their midst. Under My direction and control, Nature brings out this mighty universe of living and non-living beings. Thus does the wheel of this world revolve.

Gita 9.8-10

Any wrongdoing merely adds to the stock of bad karma and is not an offence against God.

Bhakti and not fear of God

The Bhakti of India is not like the western Bhakti. The central idea of ours is that there is no thought of fear. It is always, love God. There is no worship through fear, but always through love, from beginning to end.

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, V, p300-301

Even the Lord does not ask Hindus to accept His teachings blindly.

...Reflecting on this entire teaching, do as you think fit.'

Gita 18.63

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  • This answer presents rather a rose-tinted view of Hinduism. What about punishments for illicit sex such as these
    – iruvar
    Jun 8, 2020 at 21:32
  • How many Hindus accept such silly rules? These rules do not have the force of Christian 10 commandments.
    – Pradip Gangopadhyay
    Jun 9, 2020 at 12:11
  • I'm surprised you are picking on the Ten Commandments. As these things go the Ten Commandments are fairly innocuous compared to some of the Old Testament fire and brimstone stuff. And all of that pales into insignificance against the rules of the Hadiths of the religion of peace..
    – iruvar
    Jun 9, 2020 at 14:40
  • You have not understood my point. Ten Commandments are commands from God. Similarly Hadiths capture the behaviour of the Prophet and must be followed by devout Muslims.The rules in Hindu scripture are recommendations and Hindus may reject them if they don't agree with them. This is what Gita 18.63 is saying. So what I wrote is not a rosy view but simply a fact. This is also why Indian court system does not accept any defence of certain bad customs merely because these customs might have been recommended in scripture.
    – Pradip Gangopadhyay
    Jun 10, 2020 at 3:00
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There are rules in Hinduism. Vaishnavaism one of the denominations in Hinduism, the Gaudiya Vaishnavas AKA hare Krishna's have a very specific set of rules especially if you visit an ashram Like attending classes in the temple, Mangala arti and if you don't follow them you will be kicked out! Of course there are rules in every organization or community! It may seem like other faiths are all about enforcing the rules simple because they live in communities that fully embrace the faith and the culture that comes along with it.

For instance

If an entire village is populated by Muslims you can expect Sharia to be a reference point for most people since it will govern almost all the aspects of their life

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    @NanuBuria-- Welcome to HSE. You should quote sources for the answer given. This is the fundamental rule of HSE. If you quote source many readers may refer the source and get convinced that the answer js substantiated. Take this in a right spirit and start answering with relevant sources.
    – Parthasarathy Raghavan
    Jul 17, 2017 at 11:38
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The basis for this religion is Vedas. Which says belive things which you think true. It never forces you to do something which you don't belive. Beleive only if you have sufficient reasons to believe. Never blindly believe in anything just because somebody says something. But nowadays people made temple and worshping is Hinduism. But it is not. Believe in yourself that is what vedas teaches you. All other relgions teach believe in this God or that God. But vedas teach believe in yourself. You can read about this in Swami Vivekananda's complete works.

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