________________
The Concept of Dharma : A Reappraisal : 109
sense of right and wrong, good and bad. For this, he looks to the expert for counselling. While theistic temper has already been crept into the impersonal absolutism of the Vedas/Upanişads and later on through the cross-cultural contact, theistic diversifications are introduced with some sort of popular basis, the intellectuals (i.e., dharmajñas and darśanajñas) have opted for a pragmatic and practical move suggesting thereby that theistic attitude, if is already well in tune with the psyche of the people, then there is no oddity in acknowledging that trend along with the dharmic framework. In other words, neither a materialist nor a spiritualist is necessarily immoral or amoral being. Having a theistic background, he adopts a moral life. There is no impropriety in conceding to that. So also a person having no fascination for spirituality and is quite in tune with material surrounding can well adopt a moral life and can be socially respected. Hence, a person having a neutral attitude to life, without being tilted to either spiritual or material framework, can live normally by following the tract of morality more of less in flawless manner. Dharma is of primary concern in the socioempiric setup. It has been viewed throughout advocating this point quite consistently through different symbolic formulations like stories, anecdotes, poems and others.
In modern times, dharma has been found as being reviewed on account of changing situation. The move is not arbitrary; it is very much in tune with the tenet of dharma. Gandhi's call for social integrity, sacrificing therein religious differences, Vivekananda's call for social service neglecting fanatic rigidity, Tagore's appeal for human welfare as most important (service to man is service to God) are some of the few notable illustrations in which dharmic sense of moral awareness is well brought out. So also, there are number of such moves in the regional, linguistic and cultural groups. Devātmā from Punjab has in recent times launched his mission of propagating Deva Dharma, free from religious orthodoxy and advancing a naturalistic world-view. Dr. Kavoor, the
