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he Hindu LegalPhilosophy
Lopez, Gino Paulo A., JD-1 Legal PhilosophyAtty. EscolinOctober
8, 2014
By
On Oriental Legal Philosophy
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A BRIEF BACKGROUND ON HINDUISM
Hindus hold that the cosmos is populated by numerous deitiesand
spiritual beings gods and goddesses, or devas who
actively influence the world and who interact with humans.
Hinduism emphasizes that everyone actually worships the sameGod,
whether one knows it or not. Just as Hindus worshipingGanesh is
seen as valid by those worshiping Vishnu, so someone
worshiping Jesus or Allah is accepted. Many foreign deities
becomeassimilated into Hinduism, and some Hindus may sometimesoffer
prayers to Jesus along with their traditional forms of GodHence,
Hindus have no difficulties in accepting other religions.
HINDU LAW, THE DEFINING FEATURE OFHINDUISM
Hindu law is the one defining what Hinduism is because of
theconcept of Dharna in Hinduism which possesses two macroforms;
first is Dharna as a duty which is perceived in a religiouscontext;
and second is Dharna as a law which is in a legal context.
HINDU LAW & LEGAL PLURALISM
Legal Pluralism is the amalgamation of different components
ofsociety, which are customs, religion, morality and the lawyers
law.Hence the result is what we call a living law. This living
lawtherefore becomes the most ideal law that can attend to
everysingle legal needs of the people.
According to Menski, Hindu Law is the most plural law in the
world, because of its inherent plural nature. Going back to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnuhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Hinduismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Hinduismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnuhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganeshhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
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Hinduism, we said that it is naturally pluralistic and since
whatdefines Hinduism is the Hindu Law, it then coincides with
itsdescription as a plural law.
HINDU LAW AS A PLURAL LEGAL SYSTEM
The above illustration shows the plural nature of Hindu
LegalSystem. All laws originate from the Macrocosmic Order in
theUniverse (composed of different realities in society) which
arethen translated into specific duties and laws (such as
ritual
purification, personal hygiene regimens, and modes of dress) and
(court procedures, contract law, inheritance, and other "legal"
issues.)
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TWO MAIN FEATURES OF HINDU LAW
1. Unlimited Diversity - Covers a large variety of different
legalsystems
2. Unlimited Flexibility- Legal decisions depend on social
realitiesand values
Hindu law takes account of the social realities and values
andrejects the distinction between the legal and the non -legal
orextra-legal. There are no more distinctions because everything
iscovered in the legal system. Hence, religion, customs and
moralityare integral parts of the Hindu law.
HINDU PLURALISM VS. POSITIVIST THEORY
CONCLUSION
It is now being realized in South Asia that reliance on
legalpositivism cannot provide meaningful justice to all people.
Justice,per se, is a situation-sensitive and culture-specific
matter. HinduLegal System, plural in nature, provides a perfect
example on howto bestow Justice, not just to a particular group of
people, but toall. (Menski, 2003)
