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106 : Śramaņa, Vol 58, No. 1/January-March 2007
philosophical foundations. But such attempts, neither logically contribute nor detract anything so far as different classically established dārśanic views are concerned. Dharma in the context of Saiva, Sākta, etc. has been used as referring to cult/sect. And from that it follows that the expressions like Hindu dharma, Bauddha dharma and Jaina dharma etc. can never mean religious cult/sect. Here dharma seems to have a wider meaning of adopting a view about life as a whole and not simply confining to religious, theological mode. In this sense, dharma is distinct from religion which includes definite sense of theo-centricism / theologism in some form or the other. It is interesting to note that the western scholars have now been able to appreciate this important point and therefore dharma is adopted as a separate word in English language since there is no equivalent term for it found in the western tradition.'
Further, while religion is distinctly faith-bound, dharma is something different. It does have a social concern within the empiric frame. It is notably secular, of course, being relevant to socio-moral foundation. It has been primarily framed to boost up and invigorate the preferable sense of harmonious an corporate living. The individual is never considered as an end in itself in the dharmic level. The sense of justice is to keep a balanced and reasonable stand between the individual and social needs and requirements. It is not simply an approach of compromise. It is viewed as remarkably moral that is never trans-empirical (sacred) but significantly profane and life-affirming. The moral sense that is boosted up in dharma is not visionary and unpractical; it is, on the contrary, firmly workable, and thus it is meant as a good specimen in the field of applied ethics. Dharma can be pursued with or without the spiritual background. There is no bar for a dharmajña to be a follower of certain spiritual path or discipline. He may feel that path as a good move for getting relaxation and comfort. But it is never viewed as indispensable or logically necessary. The
