Dharma and its conflicts with other religions

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 धर्मो� रक्षि�त र�त�

KV Sarma

Agenda

• Religion and Dharma• Dharma – social aspect

– Importance in society– Effect of Samskaras

• Dharma – challenges it is facing– Obscuring social aspects of Dharma– Amplification of social fissures

• Other religions and Dharma• Conclusion - Role of Hindutva

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Religion and Dharma

• Dharma is beyond religion. It is not only about religiosity but also extends to society and its existence

• Dharma sustains society. It binds individual to society• Ex: Pancha Yajna system.• Abrahamic religions do not have any term equivalent to

Dharma• Thus their stand on issues like patriotism, nation etc remain

fuzzy and thus are used as per situation and convenience• Ex: Refusal of Abrahamic religions in accepting Vandemataram

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Dharma – Social Aspect- Importance in Society

• Vedas – accumulated or otherwise i.e., pourusheya or apourusheya remain the strongest source of knowledge and therefore systems

• All shastras have been extracted from Vedas. Therefore they all are means to follow Dharma

• Ex: Vastu Shastra, Paka Shastra/Supa Shastra (visible), Vyakarana Shastra/Chandas Shastra (undercurrent)

• Patriotism and respect for rajya part of life• Direct alignment between raja and praja through Dharma• Ex: “swargadapi gariyasi”, Poonthanam’s Jnanappana

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Dharma – Social Aspect- Effect of Samskaras

• Samskaras form basis of social activity in Hindu culture• Shastras align every step in a common Hindu’s life with

society. Even something as common as “naming ceremony” is given its due importance with complete vedic asirvachanam and annadanam

• Even Bouddha and Jaina traditions adopted samskaras• Individual to society alignment clear and evolving• Dharma asserts duties and aligns them directly• Yogakshema doesn’t mean welfare state. If Gandhian

socialism asserts this (as stated in popular discourse), then Gandhian socialism doesn’t talk of Rama Rajya

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Dharma – Challenges it is facing- Obscuring social aspects of Dharma

• Marxist scholarship obscure the intricate and very detailed aspects of Dharma as Brahminism.

• Impact of this is visible in electoral politics• Ex: Reservations and special treatment for *some* sections• Part of this process also is visible in relationship of individual

with state• Ex: Mr X is a very religious person but would have no problem

cheating people or engaging in fraudulent activities• Deletion of social aspects (through constitution by looking at

Dharma as only religion and not as system as a whole) is a problem and has to be addressed

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Dharma – Challenges it is facing- Amplification of Social Fissures

• Marxist scholarship also creates and amplifies social fissures• This is clearly visible when it comes to treatment of Shudras in

ancient India according to Marxist scholarship• Today, even as these social fissures are blurring out, Marxist

scholarship continues to point out these fissures prominently• Such amplification impacts electoral politics too• Ex: Reservations for Muslims• Marxist scholarship also blurred differences between Varna

and Kula/Gotra, which is another dimension to the problem

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Dharma and other religions

• Other religions use the challenges posed by Marxist scholarship as an opportunity

• Ex: Conversions, taking un-due advantage of electoral equations to get benefits from state

• Social aspect of Dharma can influence religiosity of Hinduism. This was seen through changes in Hindu society post Boudha and Jaina rise

• This did happen with Islam and Christianity too, but the change now poses a direct threat to Dharma itself

• Ex: “Astikatvamu” book published by TTD rang first alarm bell in 1969. Republished in 1983. So far, zero impact

• This is a serious threat and has to be dealt with carefully02/12/2012 Southern Region-Patriotic Tweeples

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Conclusion – Role of Hindutva

• Hindutva can resist and answer the challenges Dharma is facing necessarily because of its assertive political angle

• Instilling patriotism in early stages of human life will ensure that some of the seeds of Dharma are sown in children

• Use patriotism as a means to instil Dharma• Ex: Use patriotism to propagate importance of Pancha Yajna

system• Institutions continue to be weak-links in Hindutva’s role in

India• But what about Socio-economic aspect?

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Conclusion – Dharma and Integral Humanism

• Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s Integral Humanism as a theory grew from Hindutva but was able to incorporate Dharma in a very lucid way

• Ekatma-Manava as role model – as proposed by Panditji. Serious academic research needed in this angle

• Bring back importance of Purushartha - Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. Re-assert that religiosity doesn’t define Purushartha

• Reaffirm importance of Purushartha for individual as well as society

• Dharma is not a choice, it’s a necessity

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satyam vadadharmam chara

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