7 Beautiful Hindu Proverbs

Hindu proverbs sum up the wisdom of the subcontinent: They are thousands of years old and not only enrich the Indian world. Hindu is a culture in which mysticism and spirituality have always played a major role.

The Hindu culture is absolutely fabulous. It is a wonderful mixture of philosophical expressions and cultural characteristics that have arisen from the gathering of a large number of different peoples. For this reason it is such a rich culture, the many facets of which you can see and experience today in various cultural manifestations. Including the proverbs.

We also find Buddhist, Arabic, British and Portuguese elements in Hindu culture. Of course, there are also regional cultures that laid the foundation for Hinduism and shaped it. This is why Hindu proverbs offer such a multifaceted representation of ways to look at life. Here you will find seven Hindu proverbs in German.

What can a blind man see even with a lantern in his hand?

1. Distress and misery in Hindu proverbs

One of the most beautiful Hindu proverbs is about the adversities in life. It’s a lovely metaphor that reminds you that no one can escape adversity. It is absolutely inevitable. It reads as follows: “There is no tree in the world that the wind has not shaken.”

Bad times are like a wind shaking your branches and testing their stability. What really stands out in this message is the fact that it doesn’t matter what type of life you live, you will always be prone to adversity and adversity. But you shouldn’t think of such situations as strange or unusual, because unhappiness is only part of life.

2. A peaceful heart

All religions and philosophies know this balanced state in which you can calm down and come to a place of peace with yourself and the world. And the subject of inner peace is a central theme in Hindu proverbs as well.

A fitting Hindu saying goes: “A peaceful heart recognizes a celebration in every village.” It means that everything starts from within. When your mind is peaceful, you are looking at the outside world from a positive perspective. In the same way, internal conflicts will lead to the fact that you also see everything around you much darker than it actually is.  

3. Read and act

A Hindu saying goes about reading: “It is always good for the ignorant to read books. It is better if he keeps what he read. It’s even better if he got it. But it is best if he does all of these things and uses his hands to act. “

This time the message is about giving the same importance to learning and acting based on your knowledge . The saying goes on a scale that starts with just reading. Then it’s about understanding and internalizing what you’ve read. It finally ends with taking the necessary measures based on the knowledge gained.

4. Generosity of the soul

Most of these wisdoms take a similar point of view. They all speak of solidarity and brotherhood as the highest values. These values ​​steer us in the right direction in order to cope with the difficulties and misfortunes of life.

The following Hindu proverb fits this: “Trees do not deny their shade to anyone, not even the woodcutter.”   This is a poetic way of saying that love and help should be given even to those people who do not themselves act according to these maxims.

5. The way to happiness

There aren’t many easy ways to be happy. However, there is no doubt that one of these ways is to do good to other people. There is a Hindu saying that conveys this message: “True happiness is in making other people happy.”

The happiness of other people always plays a role in your own happiness. It is much easier to enjoy your life and the world when the people around you are happy. On the other hand, it is also true that no one who harms other people can attain a high level of happiness.

6. Harvest and sow

Everything in life is interconnected. Things happen because something is causing them to happen. But most of us tend to see all of these different happenings as isolated incidents. Yet there are so many moments in life when we do not realize that we are only reaping what we are sowing.

There is also a Hindu saying here that refers to: “The good you did yesterday will bring you happiness when you wake up.”  Behind this is the simple idea that good deeds lead to good deeds. If you are good to others, so are they to you.

7. The ocean and a drop of water

The concepts of the personal and the universal are not areas to be considered separately. They are always closely linked. They influence each other, and you cannot decouple them. Therefore, there are often many personal elements in universal things. Of course, personal affairs also have their own universe.

This is exactly what a Hindu proverb says: “God also hides in a drop of water in the ocean.”   You should not take the word “God” literally in this quote. Because what this wisdom really speaks of is a “higher power”, not a particular God.

In the end, all of these Hindu proverbs have three things in common: beauty, harmony and depth. Hindu culture shows itself in many different ways. In these fascinating statements you can see their ability to expand your mind.