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Śramana, Vol. 58, No. 1 January-March 2007
THE CONCEPT OF DHARMA :
A REAPPRAISAL
Dr. Bijayananda Kar*
In the precise sense of the term, dharma is not same as religion. While religion with its semitic root is profoundly found to be theistic, accommodating different shades of meaning without damaging its essential elements like specific dogmas, rites and rituals. Dharma, on the contrary, seems to be rather not so much theo-centric; instead it, at least so far as its exposition in different classical sources are taken into account, is predominantly ethicocentric.
The most fundamental issue with which dharma is exposed is the Vedic concept: ṛta (the moral principle). Usually ṛta is regarded as the fundamental law of the universe, inherent in the nature of things. This gives rise to the suggestion that ṛta is cosmocentric. However, it is held that later on this concept is held as dharma. It should be noted that the gradual shift from ṛta to dharma does not mean any drastic change. The sense of morality with which dharma is involved is also inherent in ṛta. The expression that the universe is regulated by law only reveals that the Vedic seer adopts a moral outlook towards everything. It indirectly suggests the autonomy of morals in all spheres. It is the moral sense that gives rise to coherence, compatibility and adjustment being based on reason. In other words, viewing the universe from the standpoint of moral reasoning is a special feature of the dharmic framework. To view everything from moral perspective does not
*Former Prof. of Philosophy Utkal University, Bhubaneswar
