Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
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RELIGION AND MORALITY
Basant Kumar Dass
Most of the scientific thinkers of the world put the concepts 'Religion' and 'Morality' under two separate categories on the ground that religion is concerned with the relations between man and the God whereas morality is concerned with the relation between man and the society. But keen understanding reveals that 'religion' and 'morality' are neither antagonistic nor exclusive to each other, rather they are inseparable for smooth functioning and the integral development of the relation between the individual, society and God.
In order to establish the close relationship between religion and morality, I shall address myself to the following questions (i) what is religion? How is it different from dharma? What is morality? and different views of relation between religion and morality explicated by both western and Indian philosophy.
Religion :
The term religion signifies to a set of beliefs, certain kind of rites and rituals, to a particular institution, mode of prayer, set of prescriptions and prohibitions, concept of holy and profane and a world view. Belief in God is central to almost all religion except, Buddhism and Jainism. So religion is said to be theo-centric. Every religion owes its origin to a preceptor or profounder and has a scripture containing the sayings and divine revelation, considered as infallible and sacrosanct.
But this is very restricted meaning of religion, which may rightly be called sect: This is the reason for which most of the oriental scholars and philosophers say that such religion ought to be thrust away, from the world. Because it has a very little place in the progressive civilized world, since it very often gives rise to fanaticism which we witness at present global scenario. Indeed religion, if understood in the sense of certain hard and fast rules of conduct and ceremonial observances has very little place in the progressive world. This may be called religion in its surface meaning, which causes religions differences and conflicts.
But religion involves something more. It implies the conception and concrete realization, of the supreme being i.e. reality which is the immanent regulator of the universe of being, by the individual soul in the manner laid down by the scriptures. Its religion in true sense of the term implies a faith in, and devotion to, the Absolute Being. Thus it implies a relation between the individual soul and the Absolute Being. It implies further an element of distinction as well as one of unity. Such a conception of religion what is exactly understood by Indian terminology "Dharama". Thus religion in sense of dharma constitute its core meaning.
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