The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (994 page)

).
But for the majority of Hindus, religious life is a matter, not so much of philosophy, as of ordering one's life according to the principles and practices which will lead to a better rebirth or even to
mok
a
(release). This ‘ordering of life’ is to live it according to dharma, or, less usually, to live it according to particular vows or devotions (see
S
DHU
;
TANTRISM
). Dharma has many meanings, but in this case it means roughly ‘appropriateness’: ‘Hinduism’ as san
tana dharma is the map of how to live appropriately. It is this ‘mapping’ of the ways to live appropriately which is expressed in the divisions of labour (
varna
), and even more specifically in the
caste
-system (
j
ti
). In general, Hindus can aim legitimately for four goals (
puru
rtha
): within the bracket of controlling dharma and of mok
a, the aims of
k
ma
and
artha
are wholeheartedly endorsed.
Although the Vedas do not reveal any lively expectation of a worthwhile life after death, the concentration on
pr
a
(breath) in the period of the Br
hma
as and
ra