Moral consciousness is an undeniable fact of human experience. The moral sensibility is something essential for the peaceful society and the work. Down through the centuries, many religious teachers, and philosophers were interested in the rational ground of morality. Ethics as a speculative science is based on the foundations of the moral behavior of man, but a substantial portion of the moral codes are based on religious beliefs, social customs and traditions. When we take the Indian ethics too the morality is very much based on certain beliefs, customs and traditions of Indian religions.
It is true that the foundations of Indian ethics can be sought in the metaphysical and the theological beliefs in the form of worship, prayers and in the form of ideals and principles that directed man’s life in the society. When we speak of Indian ethics, we cannot deny the intimate relationship that prevails between ethics and Hindu or any other religion. Ethics and religion are so closely related and whatever may be the religion, it contains within itself some system of morality for the guidance of its followers. And thus Indian ethics is the indispensable part of Hindu religion and other religions of Indian origin. Indian ethical ideals and principles are very much found in the Vedas and in other Indian literatures and in other teachings of the Indian religions.

Ethical concepts of Hindu tradition

• Doctrine of Karma- Karma simply means action. And this Karma must remind us that what is called the consequence of an action is really not a separate thing but it is a part of the action and it cannot be divided from it. The consequence is the part of the action, which belongs to the future but yet the part is done in the present. Karma is of four categories:
  • Sanchita Karma, which means the accumulated past actions
  • Prarabdha Karma, which means the part of Sanchita Karma, this results in the present birth itself. This is also called predestination
  • Kriyamana Karma, which means present willful actions or freewill
  • Agami Karma, which means the immediate results caused by our present actions.
• Transmigration of Soul- The doctrine of Karma and transmigration of soul are so closely bound up together. According to this theory, the soul though pure and blessed in itself, gets entangled in the Samsara (cycle of birth and rebirth). It is because of the Karma it passes through innumerable births (transmigration) before it regains its original state.
• Supreme Goals (Purusharthas)- The dominant interest of the Indian thought is in the highest value of human life. There are four values, which give meaning to human life. They are called Purusharthas. They are as following 1) Dharma 2) Artha 3) Kama 4)moksa.
  • Dharma is usually distinguished into sadharana dharma and varnashrama dharma. sadharana dharma refers to the duties of the universal scope and validity. There are ten cardinal virtues known as sadharana dharma according to Manu, endurance, patience, self-control, integrity, purity, and restraint of senses, wisdom, learning, and truth, absence of anger or non-violence. The varnasrama dharma refers to the duties of persons according to the castes and the stages of life. Thus ‘dharma’ is considered to be a means value for attaining personality integration in the spiritual level or liberation.
  • The term ‘artha’ generally indicates the attainment of riches and worldly prosperity, advantage, profit and wealth
  • Kama is a comprehensive term, which includes all desires 
  • moksa- Purusharthas are treated as the instrumental values, which directly or indirectly promote the Parama Purusharthas - the highest values of human life namely moksa. moksa is also known as by other names such as mukti, apavarya, kaivalya and nirvana. This liberation is intimately bound up with the Karma samsara, the doctrine of transmigration.
• Svadharma- By this term we mean each individual has to grow to his best according to his own dharma, that is to say the principle of individual growth is called Svadharma. Svadharma is in relation to an individual’s temperament and stage and duties in life, based on varna and asrama. It is made in terms of three gunas, the sattva (purity), rajas (virility), and ‘tamas’ (darknesss).
• Varnadharma- In Hindu ethics, we find varnasrama dharma as a social stratification, based on above said gunas, profession and birth. Although theoretically it is justified to have such a classification of people in the name of their propensity and quality they posses in terms of their attitude, caste system in Indian ethics remains an issue.
• Stages of Life (Ashrama Dharma)- According to Hindu thought the life was divided into four stages or Ashramas: that of the Brahmacari (Studenthood), the student who is bound to celibacy. The second stage is Grihasthah (the householder), and the third is Vanaprastha (the forest dweller) and the last is the Sannyasin (the mendicant). 
• Hindu Rites - Samskaras- Sacrifices form the central theme of the Brahmanical religion and philosophy.The most important Samskaras are 1) Garbhadhanam or conception, Pumsavanam: (Ensuring a male offspring), Simanthonnayanam (Parting of the hair), Jata-Karmam (Birth-Ceremony), Namakaranam or naming ceremony, Nishkramanam: taking the child out of the house so that it may see the sun, Annaprasnam: the first feeding of the child with solid food (rice) in the sixth month, Chudakaranam: the rite of tonsure ceremony, Karnavedham: Piercing of earlobes, Vidhyarambam (beginning of knowledge), Upanayanam (Initiation by a teacher), Samavarthanam, Vivaha (Marriage), Antyesti or Funeral Rights.

Overall, Morality means conscious living within the frame of certain principles of conduct laid down by those regarded as authorities. So in general morality as an institution of life consists in the awareness of an important distinction between what is and what ought to be. Since the ancestors of Hindus in India were spiritual in nature they fixed their attention on a life beyond death. They regarded the human soul (inner being) as an eternal entity co-existing with the Supreme Being. They believed that every human soul goes to the round of births, rebirths and reaps the fruits of actions.  Any man ultimately looks for happiness which is the fruit of Karma and so he should necessarily know what is good and what is bad. Every law giver and every thinker of India in ancient period felt, the supreme necessity of framing certain rules of conduct and of presenting the ultimate end to which all the life of a human being is to be directed.