Volume-XII, Issue-II, March 2026 |
ভারতীয় সংস্কৃতিতে মানবীয় মূল্যবোধ রূপে ধর্ম: একটি পর্যালোচনা দীপা রবিদাস, গবেষক, দর্শন বিভাগ, যাদবপুর বিশ্ববিদ্যালায়, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
Received: 31.01.2026 | Accepted: 05.03.2026 | Published Online: 31.03.2026 | Page No: | ||||
DOI: 10.29032/ijhsss.vol.12.issue.02W. | |||||||
Religion as a Human Value in Indian Culture: A Review Dipa Rabidas, Research Scholar, Department of Philosophy, Jadavpur University, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
Ethics, one of the branches of philosophy, is a normative science concerned with the conduct of human beings in society. It appraises human actions in terms of concepts such as right and wrong, good and bad. From a very early period, ethical discussion has occupied a distinct and significant role in Western philosophy. In contrast, within the Indian philosophical system, ethics has not been acknowledging as an independent philosophical discipline. However, this does not mean that moral discussion has been neglected in Indian philosophy. On the contrary, from ancient times, eminent Indian thinkers have discussed with great insight the forms of conduct prescribed by the scriptures and the principles by which such conduct is determined, across religious texts, śruti, smṛti, Purāṇas, and the classical philosophical systems. In India’s spiritual and cultural tradition, the term ‘Dhārma’ has been occupied in place of the concept of ethics or morality. In this sense, Western “Morality” and Eastern “Dhārma” may be regarded as same concepts. So, in this paper, the term ‘Dhārma’ is employed exclusively in the sense of morality. With this objective, an attempt has been made to examine the characteristics of dhārma as articulated in the Indian tradition, particularly in the Vaiśeṣika and Mīmāṃsā schools of philosophy, and to analysis the concept of dhārma from the perspectives of the Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā, the Manusmṛti, and the Mahābhārata. In the Bhagavad Gītā, the Mahābhārata, and the Manusmṛti, ‘Dhārma’ primarily signifies moral or human values — an understanding that constitutes the central focus of this paper. Keywords: Dhārma, Human values, Virtue, Duty, Society Ethics, one of the branches of philosophy, is a normative science concerned with the conduct of human beings in society. It appraises human actions in terms of concepts such as right and wrong, good and bad. From a very early period, ethical discussion has occupied a distinct and significant role in Western philosophy. In contrast, within the Indian philosophical system, ethics has not been acknowledging as an independent philosophical discipline. However, this does not mean that moral discussion has been neglected in Indian philosophy. On the contrary, from ancient times, eminent Indian thinkers have discussed with great insight the forms of conduct prescribed by the scriptures and the principles by which such conduct is determined, across religious texts, śruti, smṛti, Purāṇas, and the classical philosophical systems. In India’s spiritual and cultural tradition, the term ‘Dhārma’ has been occupied in place of the concept of ethics or morality. In this sense, Western “Morality” and Eastern “Dhārma” may be regarded as same concepts. So, in this paper, the term ‘Dhārma’ is employed exclusively in the sense of morality. With this objective, an attempt has been made to examine the characteristics of dhārma as articulated in the Indian tradition, particularly in the Vaiśeṣika and Mīmāṃsā schools of philosophy, and to analysis the concept of dhārma from the perspectives of the Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā, the Manusmṛti, and the Mahābhārata. In the Bhagavad Gītā, the Mahābhārata, and the Manusmṛti, ‘Dhārma’ primarily signifies moral or human values — an understanding that constitutes the central focus of this paper. | ||
Keywords: Dhārma, Human values, Virtue, Duty, Society |