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Morality, Authority and Society : The Problem of Dharmaprāmānja
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theory of moial knowledge which bases itselt on sanctioned texts has to face the problem of the conflict of the sources. One could in the past never bypass all the texts and work out a criterion of the knowledge of values independent of all the texts. Extreme rextual morality however has never worked. Pressures of social change, weight of experience and observation, changes of moral sensibility and claims of public opinion have always threatened textual absolutism in the spliere of moral knowledge. There is always a tension between revealed moi ality and naturally evolving social morality. The texts are to be bypassed in the interest of social context
V Tre Conflict betacen Varnāšra va Dharma and Sādbārana Dharma
Two categories of Hindu ethics are fundamental-Vainasrama Dharnia and Sadhārana Dharma (i. e. general moral qualities virtues and values)
Both types of Dharma derive their legitimacy, justification or pramanya from Sruti, Sinrti and Sadacāra
The socialization process analysed by psychologists involve the internalization of values and norms of behaviour. Thus it can be inferred legitimately that values and norms of varnäsrana and sādhärna dharma are internalized during the socialization process of a Hindu child in the traditional context. The internalized sanctious and prohibitions constitute the positive and negative aspects of the conscience of an individual.
The Hindu conscience comprises two types of values i. e. values associated with caste-duties and values associated with duties and moral qualities as human being qua human being.
When there two components of Hundu conscience come into conflict, there is a inoral crisis. It is not a conflict between good and evil, it is a conflict between two types of values.
The concept of Dharina not only includes what is generally known as moral values but it also includes legal as well social rules along with detailed rules and procedures regarding lunan behaviour in social and non-social contexts.
The Gita illustrates the conflict between Vatna-dharma and Sadhāinadharma According to Dasgupta, Gitā treats caste-duties as having a greater force in cases of such conflicts. 15
In the literature on moral counselling in the Epics, we find that individual historical agents experience crisis, guilt-feelings, anxiety and depression because they are objectively required to follow varna dla ma
