The teachings of Hindu philosophy are given to us in the Upanishads which are our wealth of knowledge. The ethics and tenets are obtained from them through the six Dharsanas and various later schools of philosophers. The glory of Hindu philosophy is seen in the teachings of Hindu dharma, the theory of karma and rebirth, the six dharsanas, and the four yogas or spiritual disciplines. They not only create the questions in our mind to think but also give us the answers to the problems. Dharma means "that which holds" the people of this world and the whole creation. It is the eternal Divine law of God. That which brings well being to man and supports the world with prosperity is dharma. It is the absolute Truth and laws of righteous living. The four Vedas are the authority of Dharma. The truth about dharma can not be realized through any other knowledge and one's own reasoning through any analysis alone can not be that authority.

Purushartha are the four kinds of human aspirations, which are dharma, artha, kaama and moksha. Among these, dharma is the foremost and is the gateway to moksha or immortality and eternal bliss. Practice of proper Dharma gives an experience of peace, joy, strength and tranquillity within ones-self and life becomes thoroughly disciplined. It is classified as [ i ] Samanya dharma or the general and Universal Dharma and [ ii ] Visesha dharma or specific personal dharma. Samanya dharma includes contentment, forgiveness, self-restraint, spiritual knowledge, absence of anger, non-greediness, non-stealing, truthfulness, purity, non-violence, control of senses and desire, discrimination between right and wrong and between real and unreal. Visesha or specific dharma includes duties due to one's birth, age and family and duties to society and family, due to one's career and job and spiritual life. They also include the specific dharmas for the four ashramas and four varnas. These are the regular duties including the rituals and services to the family, community, ancestors and God that every one is expected to perform. We have separate Dharma for each of the four Yugas or time periods.

The Vedas give different rules of Dharma for people of different age-groups, different family traits and different periods of time. The ashrama dharma gives the standards of living for different age groups of individuals. The varna dharma is one that is most misinterpreted and misused. If properly interpreted and understood, it is the most efficient sociological system of the nation. It is indeed a splendid theory with a flawless rule. But, the defect came from somewhere else. Various dharma sasthras, or smrithis, written by Rishis like Manu, Parasara, and Yaagñavalkya, have varied for different periods of time according to varying social and emotional surroundings of the Hindu society [Yuga-Dharma]. The Hindus often follow the teachings of various Dharma sasthras for the philosophical guidance for daily living.

Karma means not only just action or work but also the result of such action. Any deed or any thought that causes an effect is called karma. The law of karma is one of the fundamental doctrines of Hinduism and all eastern philosophy. One following the proper karma and one's dharma, according to Hindu teachings, attains moksha or liberation from the cycle of rebirth of soul and reaches the eternal soul of the divine. People following the Bhakthi pathway of Hindu concepts visualize this as reaching svarga or the heavenly abode of the celestial souls and the divine home of "Narayana". No one born in this world can escape and go without doing their karma and without the dharma according to their birth. However such action often becomes improper and leaves an effect on the soul. This is due to the Purusharthas of artha and kaama, affected by desires of pleasure, lust, greed and motives for profit. One should perform the karma according to the dharma of one's birth, education, personal ability, the need of the community and the proper dharma of the period of Yuga, without any greed or attachment to the fruits or results of such action. This is the proper Karma as in karma yoga and it helps one to attain liberation or moksha or svarga.