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108 : Śramaņa, Vol 58, No. 1/January-March 2007
becomes localized and institutionalized. It is treated as group morality based on different factors as stated before. It is thus different from the universal sense of morality that is not limited to a particular community, historical and geographical limitations. And, it is that sense of morality that is emphasized in the Vedic as well as non-Vedic tradition. Dharma, in this sense, is universal and is accepted without any hesitation by a Hindu, or a Jaina or a Bauddha. That is why in due course of time and changing situations, these dharmas welcome changes and reforms and do not manifest any sense of dogmatic inflexibility.
So far as Smrti, Purāņa and other allied sources are concerned, it is interesting to note that along with bhakti there are emphasis laid upon karma and also on jñāna. Through stories and anecdotes the importance of karma (in the sense of understanding) is highlighted. It is said that Lord considers that individual to be a great devotee who instead of praying or worshiping Him constantly remains duty bound without having any moral lapse. Action that is preferable and suitable to the person concerned needs to be performed without any hesitation. Execution of one's own duty is considered to be worthy. And, to properly demarcate the good action from the bad ones, discriminative knowledge (vivekijñāna) is needed. So the role of intellect (buddhi) is not at all belittled. The Vedic maxim; tamaso mā jyotirgamaya ("Let there be move from darkness to light") is possible only through the culture of jñāna. In other words, the moral outlook need not be trans-rational. It does operate in the framework of reason. Moral reasoning has its own autonomy. It need not be brushed aside as being rooted on emotion and feeling.
One sophisticated elite is relatively in a better state to follow the implication of discriminative intellect and a laity (commoner) is mostly in a disadvantageous state to come up to that level on account of his general ignorance. He is likely to be moved by emotional appeal and may not always be able to discriminate subtle
