Dharma, the Categorial ImperativeAshok Vohra, Arvind Sharma, Mrinal Miri Each stable culture and major civilization of the world consists of a distinct material base and a distinct ideational structure and has an inherent mechanism of striking its own equilibrium between the two. In the Indian tradition dharma is the balancing force. Religion and ideology are literally treated as synonymous with the Sanskrit word dharma. But dharma differs from religion in not being exclusive, and from ideology in possessing a transcendental dimension. The papers in this volume acknowledge that neither the word religion nor dharma can be discarded while looking at the Indian reality. They address themselves to the question: To what extent does the continued use of the concept of religion in the Indian context reflect reality, and to what extent does it distort or misrepresent its dharmic reality? Given India's historical and the present existential situation these papers explore the question: "Is an alterative understanding of Indian civilization possible, independent of Western presuppositions?" The articles in the book present an in-depth study of the concept of dharma and its relation to the other purusarthas - artha, kama and moksa, as well as with society, science, religion, Ayurveda and secularism. Relying mainly on the Vedas, epics, Manusmrti and the writings of Plato, Vivekananda, Gandhi et al., these papers explore some contemporary issues relating to women (stri-dharma) and the dilemmas faced by the Indian diaspora, especially in the UK and the US. These discussions have an appeal for a general reader as well as for scholars of Philosophy, Religion, Women's Studies, Modern India and Sociology. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Dharma Its Normative Base and | 52 |
Semantics of Dharma | 74 |
Copyright | |
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according action Advaita Advaita Vedānta ancient Asian Ayurveda become Bhagavad-Gītā Brahman brāhmaṇa British Buddhist caste century Christian civilization conflict consciousness Constitution context culture Delhi dharma and mokṣa Dharmaśāstras discourse divine duties Empire ethics fiction funk Gandhi Gītā goal hermeneutics Hindu tradition Hinduism Hindutva human ideal identity imperial Indian conception individual interpretation Irigaray itihāsa jouissance Kakar Kālī kāma karma Kripal language liberation literature living London Mahābhārata Mahatma Gandhi marriage meaning medicine mind modern moral Muslim myth narrative nature one's Parliament past person philosophy plurality political postmodern practices Prakrit Press principles psychoanalytic Purāņas Ramakrishna Rāmāyaṇa Rammohun reality realization relationship religion religious Ṛgveda Ricoeur rituals role saṁnyāsa sanātana dharma Sanskrit secular sense sexual Smrti social society spiritual Śruti strī dharma subaltern Svami Vivekananda term dharma texts theory transcendent truth unconscious understanding University Upanisad Vedānta Vedas Vedic Vivekananda West Western word