What Is Evil in the Hindu Religion?

From notions of dharma and karma to the Hindu pantheon of gods, Hinduism addresses the problem of evil in a number of ways. Unlike religions such as Christianity and Judaism, which struggle to understand the presence of evil in a world guided by a supreme and all-powerful God, Hinduism presents a conception of evil that easily fits within the context of the religion's cosmology.

In the Hindu faith, evil comes from violating dharma -- the natural force of order that permeates the universe. Dharma is both universal and particular to an individual's status. For example, universal dharma includes helping people in need, while individual dharma for a child might consist of obeying his parents. According to Hinduism, if a person acts contrary to this dharma, they are creating evil in the world.

When people violate their dharma, they create negative karma, or retributive justice, that will affect them in the future. The Hindu belief in rebirth stresses that negative events in this life may be the result of an evil act in a previous one.

The notion of rebirth also addresses the problem of evil's origin. According to the Hindu faith, no aspect of reality, including the universe itself, is outside the cycle of death and rebirth. For this reason, evil has no origin, and always goes back to an earlier action. However, Hinduism does teach of the fall of man when demons destroyed the Golden Age of peace and caused humanity to fall from grace and act evilly.