Hinduism:Ethics

Jonathan Bland, Martin Contreras, Nina Yang

Organ Donation
There's no law regarding organ donation for Hindus
but for the most part, it is seen as a positive thing.
In support of organ donation:
Organ donation reinforces the concept of life after
death
Once you die, your spirit leaves and the only thing
remaining is a machine, so there's nothing wrong with
sharing the parts.
Daan (selfless giving) is very important to the Hindu
religion
Against organ donation:
Organ donation works against them, continuing the
cycle of rebirth that they strive to be liberated from.

Picture showing the benefits of organ donation.

Euthanasia and Suicide

Assisting death is a great way to bring on bad karma, and it
violates the principle of nonviolence, but again, there are many
different points of view on euthanasia.
Most believe that if a doctor helps a patient commit suicide,
their body and soul would be separated unnaturally and will
damage the the karma of both the doctor and patient. However,
some see it as helping a person by ending their painful life and
therefore a good deed.
Suicide is strongly discouraged but Prayopavesa (fasting to
death) is an acceptable way of dying. The guidelines state that
it must only be used when the time is right for you to die when
your body becomes a burden, you have no responsibilities left,
and no ambitions or desires left so it's only suitable for the
elderly. Prayopavesa must be publicly declared and done under
community regulation

Ancient picture of man dying from

Prayopavesa

Animal Ethics
Despite there being no clear proper way to treat animals,
ahimsa generally leads Hindus to treat animals well;
however, there are many continuity among the Hindu
ethics towards animals. The diet of India is strongly
connected to what is easiest to get, promoting a
dominantly vegetarian diet; however, some meats are
consumed except beef. Hindus do not eat beef for the
cows are sacred to the religions killing a cow is banned
in India. Animals are also seen in the Hindu's god such
as Ganesh, who has the head of an elephant, and
Hanuman, who can become a monkey.

Kamadhenu, the mother of all cows

Contraception
Birth control is not banned in
Hinduism. Some Hindu text give
advice on conception; many
Hindus have children during the
householder stage of life. In
India, the discussion of birth
control is mostly in due to Indias
overpopulation problem.

Crowded street, showing Indias Massive population and how birth

control could be helpful to the country

Abortions
Since Hindus generally have a non-violent view, when considering
abortions, Hindus choose the way that causes the least harm to the
mother, the father, the fetus and the society. Predominantly
(because of these beliefs) most Hindus frown upon abortions;
however, if the abortion were to save the mothers life, it is
accepted. Many classic Hindu doctrines strongly disagree with
abortions. One compares abortions to killing a priest, one
compares abortions to killing ones parents, and one states that a
woman who aborts a fetus will lose her caste. It is viewed that
when a woman has an abortion, she is breaking her civil duty to
their family and society by not producing children. In India,
abortions are practice and female feticide occur where only
females are aborted because of cultural believes. In the Hindu
belief, during the final month of child being in the womb, it
acquires a soul and can learn from its father in the womb through

Picture showing Mahabharata where the child is

learning from its father in the womb

War
Hinduism, like many other religions, teaches the
pros and cons about war in the Ahimsa and
Kshatriyas respectfully. They strongly believe in
self defense,as is evident in this quotes from the
Rig Veda 1-39:2 May your weapons be strong to
drive away the attackers, may your arms be
powerful enough to check the foes, let your army
be glorious, not the evil-doer. But, they have very
strict rules on war, and if any of them are broken, it
is said they will go to hell. The most famous
teaching of war is found in the story of Arjuna. Its
very fascinating and explains key points in the
Hindu beliefs of war. The Ahimsa, or main ideal in
the Hindu religion, shows the other side of war and
how it's evil. The underlying point that ties into
both of the ideas is Karma, or the idea that any
harm you do to others will be returned to your in
the future.

Capital Punishment
There is no specific Hindu rule that is
forbids capital punishment, but in general,
the Hindu are very gentle, non-violent
people that are opposed to killing. In their
minds,similar to Buddhism, they feel that
inhumane treatment is not the answer to
anything. This is evident when we see that
their compassion for life is greater than
most. And despite India still having the
death penalty and having over 100 people
on death row, they only use it for extremely
rare cases and it is very likely that India
will soon abolish it because many other
countries are doing so as well.

Yakub Memon, the last execution in India (July 30, 1962-July 39,
2015)

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