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THE INTERNATIONAL
JOURNALOFETHICS
OCTOBER, 1922
THE HINDU DHARMA.
S. RADHAKRISHNAN.
FROM the time the history of the Aryans^ in India com-
menced up till to-day, it has been the privilege or the
misfortuneof India to be faced with serious^ racial^ and reli-
gious crises. In a special sense, India has been a small
edition of the world, serving as a laboratory where experi-
ments of racial and religioussyntheses relevant^ to the prob-
lems of the world are^ undertakenand worked^ out.^ If it be
true that every people has its own distinctive note and
bringsout one particularaspect of the divine^ manifestation,
India seems to have been^ selected,^ in the economy^ of things,
for the purpose of offeringsolutions^ for racial and religious
conflicts.
In the long history of the Hindu religionwith all its cross
currents and backwaters,^ with the windings of the stream
and the barren^ expanses^ of sand, it is possible^ to discern^ a
generaltendency, a spiritual^ direction^ which^ has continued
the same in spite of varying expressions. The central
principlesof the ancient Hindu dharma^ are not dead^ shells,
but living powersfull of strength and^ suggestiveness. Even
if it be not so, it is not altogether without interest to under-
stand the principlesof the Hindu^ faith which^ has morethan
two hundredmillion^ followersto-day.
The term "^ dharma"^ is one of complex significance.^ It
stands for all those ideals and purposes,influencesand^ insti-
tutions that shape the character of man both as an indi-
Vol. XXXIII-No. 1.
2 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.
vidual and as a member of society. It is the law of right living, the observance of which secures the double object of happiness on earth and salvation.' It is ethics and religion combined. The life of a Hindu is regulated, to a very de- tailed extent, by the laws of dharma. His fasts and feasts, his social and family ties, his personal habits and tastes are all considered by it. Moksha or spiritual freedom is the aim of all human life. It is the destiny of man to reach the summits of spirit and attain immortality. We are the children of God, Amritasya putrdh. The eternal dream of the human heart, the aspira-' tion of the soul to come to its own is the basis of the Hindu dharma. It assumes that the fundamental reality is the soul of man. All desires of the heart, all discussions of logic presuppose the reality of the Atman. It is something unprovable by reason, though no proof is possible without. it. Nor is it a mere matter of faith, since it is the faith which underlies all reason. If the self of man is open to doubt, then nothing on earth is free from it. If anything can be, then the soul is. It is the ultimate truth which is above all change, the unseen reality which is the basis of all life and logic. It is the mystery which silently affirms itself.. What our minds think is not of much importance beside the truth that we are. The fears of man are due to the im- perfections which shut him from his destiny, the darkness. which hides the light within. If we take refuge in the self, the only fixed point of our being, we shall know that we are not alone in the apparently endless road of life or sdamnsara. and that we can overcome the world and defy death. "Greater is he that is within you than he that is in the world." While the spiritual perfection of man is the aim of all. endeavor, the Hindu dharma^ does not insist on any religious belief or form of worship. The utmost latitude is allowed. in the matter of addressing and approaching the supreme. The Hindu thinkers were good students of philosophy and
1Abhyudayaand Nihgreyasa. (^2) I, John, V, 21.
4 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.
of it. They believe that if the (^) mind is enlightened the truth will be spontaneously perceived. Every religion is an expression of the mental and social evolution of the peo- ple who adopt it. It is therefore mischievous to attempt any sudden supplanting of existing beliefs by new ones. The cruder conceptions (^) will give way before the rising rational reflection and the true reformer tries to improve the mental and moral nature of men. Truth is not so much the result of theological faith as the experience of a deeper moral life.^ So the Hindu thinkers pay more atten- tion to the discipline than to the doctrine. The religion of the Hindus is not a theology as a scheme of life. Whether one is an orthodox Hindu or not depends, not on whether one believes this or that view of God, but on whether one accepts or rejects the dharma. The highest life enjoined by the dharma is what follows naturally from vital faith in the reality of God. If the in- dwelling of God in man is the highest truth, conduct which translates it into practice is ideal conduct. The several virtues are forms of the truth, satyakdras.5 Truth, beauty and goodness are a part of the life stuff of the ideal man. He will be an embodiment of the (^) virtues of self-denial, humility, fraternal love and purity. By the mastery of soul over sense, clouds of hate and mists of passion dissolve and he will be filled with santi or serenity and will remain abso- lutely calm in moments of great peril, personal loss or public calamity. With tranquility of soul, a steady pulse and a clear eye he will do the right thing at the right moment. He does not belong to this country or that, but is in a true sense the citizen of the world. The quality of sattva with its ideals of joy and love predominates over those of rajas with its craving for power and pride and tamas, with its dul- ness and inertia. For the perfect men, the dharma is an inspiration from within; for others it is an external com- mand, what custom and public opinion demand. The ideal which requires us to refrain from anger and
4See Manu II, 11. (^6) See Mahabharata. Anusasana parva 162 and Santi parva 33.
THE HINDU DHARMA. 5
covetousness, to be pure and loving in thought, word and deed is much too high for those passing through the storm and stress of a life of sin and suffering. It seems to demand of life what it possibly cannot give. It kills all the constitu- ent conditions of life. If renunciation of all were necessary for salvation, many may not care to be saved. The world is so organized that those who practice the Divine rule do not have much chance of success or survival. We are familiar with the way in which the Sermon on the Mount is dismissed as impossible idealism. We cannot be turning cheeks to smiters to receive blows when it is so tempting to give blows on both the cheeks. It may be divine to rejoice in suffering, but the flesh is weak for all that. Christendom consoles itself in the belief that even Jesus nodded once or twice. "0, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Those who pride themselves on their practical spirit reduce the ideals to the level of ordinary human nature, subject to the temptations of power and profit, the flesh and the devil. The modern wordly reformer says, " Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, 'Thou shalt not kill,' but I say unto you, 'Thou shalt not kill except animals for food, birds for sport and men in battle.' It hath been said, 'Thou shalt not covet.' But I say unto you, 'Thou^ shalt not covet except on a large scale as in trade and imperialism.' Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, 'Thou shalt not hate,' but I say unto you, 'Thou shalt not hate except the backward races, the enemy nations and the weak of the world."' Alarmed at the sacrifices exacted by a religious life which tells us that happiness does not depend on power or wealth but on love and peace, our advanced reformers make so many reservations to the divifne law that they completely destroy the force of the latter and justify our modern prac- tice that violence, abundance of possessions and armaments are the final end of man's life. They conveniently forget the story of that friend of ours who planned to build great storehouses to provide an abundance for many years but
THE HINDU DHARMA. 7
has to move. All life is set to the music of this ideal. All
men are equal in that they are born of God. They are
equal since they are to rise to the same divine destiny. But
men differ with regard to their actual equipment for the
ideal. They have varying amounts of darknessand evil to
eliminate and have to put forth varying efforts to illumine
their life with light and love. The education of the indi-
vidual spirit is arrangedthrough the scheme of dsramasor
stages of life and varnasor classes of men. It takes into
account the different sides of human nature. The life of
man is rooted in desires or kdma. Man is a bundle of de-
sires. Manu says, "It is not good that the soul should be
enslaved by desire,yet nowhereis to be found desirelessness
(akamata).?' 6 Since our activities are impelled by our
desires, the right regulation of our desires is also a part of
dharma. So kdma or enjoyment is recognized as a valid
pursuit. It is not mere satisfaction of animal impulses but
is the expressionof the freedomof the self. This is not pos-
sible, until we escape from the tyranny of the senses. The
life of man is not a mere succession of sensations but is the
manifestation of an eternal idea developing itself through
temporaryforms. The desires of men are directedinto the
channels of family life and public duty. The emotional or
artistic life of man is also a part of life's integral good.
But art cannot flourishin an atmosphereof asceticism. We
must have wealth or artha. The economic needs of the
community should be satisfied, if the creative impulses of
men are to be liberated for the higher cultural life. Rules
are laid down regardingthe interests of the community in
the matter of the wealth earned by individual members.
The liberty of each is restricted by the needs of all. Self-
denial is the only way to gain wealth and enjoyment.
Dharma or duty controls the-pursuit of both pleasure and
profit, kdmaand artha. Those in whom dharmapredomi-
nates are of sattviknature, while the seekers of wealth are
mere rdjasik and those of pleasure tamasik.7 The mdi-
(^6) II, 2-3. (^7) Manu. XII, 38.
8 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.
vidual who observes the laws of dharma automatically attains moksha, and so is it said that, dharma, artha, kdma and moksha form the ends of life. Whoever may have made the world or not, whatever be the truth about the origin of life and the universe, the supremacy of the moral end is admitted by all. In Hindu thought, man is said to come into being for a divine purpose. The unextinguished passions of our vanished lives bring about our birth on earth. It is through suffering that our weakness can be converted into strength, our ignorance into illumination. The evil of existence is expiated only by the suffering and self-restraint of life. The word "drama " comes from a root which means "to suffer." Without suf- fering, there is no progress; without death, no resurrection. Our life from beginning to end is a kind of death which means a larger life. The more we die to ourselves, the more do we live to God. Living and dying are inextricably blended and the perfect life is the crown of a complete death. Four stages are distinguished in the life of every Hindu, of which the first two are those of Brahmachari or student, Grihastha or householder. The last two stages deal with the retirement from life when the individual becomes a servant of God and of humanity. The first period opens with the sacramental symbol of initiation into a spiritual birth. It is intended to build up the psychophysical constitution of man. The building of the body and the training of the mind are the principal aims of this stage. The student is taught the habits of cleanliness, chastity, good manners and godliness.9 Social sympathies are cultivated by the insistence on poverty for all students whether they are sons of princes or of peasants. Every student is required to beg for his food and this train- ing in poverty impresses on the mind of the student that wealth is not an essential condition of a good life. The stu- dents are not allowed to become laws unto themselves; nor are they delivered into the hands of an ignorant and blind I (^) Manu VI, 87. (^1) Manu II. 69.
10 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.
expression. It works up to the ideal of equality by recog- nizing the actual differences. It is an attempt to co-operate with the forces of nature and not flout them. Those who criticize the institution from the platform of modern knowl- edge do not remember that in no other country were peoples belonging to stocks of very unequal value thrown together. The prevedic peoples with whom the Aryans had to mingle were of a lower grade of civilization and culture. They were constituted into the fourth estate of the unre- generate, the once-born, the ekajdti, in whom no quality of intellect, emotion, or will is particularly developed. The twice-born or the regenerate are divided into three classes according as their intellect, emotion or will is more dominant than the others. Those who are strongly endowed with the powers of thought and reflection are the Brahmans; those gifted with heroism and love are the Kshatriyas or the warriors; those strongly inclined towards the practical busi- ness of life are the Vaigyas or the traders. The four classes correspond to the intellectual, the militant, the industrial and the unskilled workers. All of them serve God's crea- tion, by their own capacities, the Brahmans by their spiritu- ality, the Kshatriyas by their heroism, the Vaiiyas by their skill and the Sidras by their service.12 All of them place the common good above that of their party or class. Claims of egoism and ambition are subordinated to those of conscience and justice, the enduring values that are con- fided to our keeping. When the different classes fulfil their respective functions, the society is considered to be just or in accordance with dharma. The true interests of the unskilled workers were not neg- lected. The Vaigyas pursue trade and love wealth and comfort though they are required to interpret them in terms of life and welfare. This caste is an association of men united by an economic nexus. (^) Commercialism, however, was checked since the members of this class were called upon to hold the goods of life in the bonds of love. The Ksha-
la (^) Sukraniti I, 38-42.
THE HINDU DHARMA. 11
triyas were the defenders of society from external aggression and internal disorder. The military organisation of the state was entrusted to them. They were in charge of the political arrangements. It was not the intention of the Hindu dharma to make the body of the people act as a general militia. Efficiency is everywhere gained through specialization. Those whose business it is to make war and resist wrong by force must possess the proper aptitude for it and get the necessary training. The art of govern- ment cannot^ be practiced by^ all.^ It is increasingly^ felt that amateur politicians keen on satisfying their constitu- encies and with no other training than what could be got from the hurly-burly of popular elections are incapable of doing justice to the task of administration. One particular class was devoted to the military and the administrative purposes, and the people as a whole were not possessed by a passion for government, for domination and power. To- day, the great wars are fought for the government of the world and for the possession of its markets and not for the moral elevation of the people or the pursuit of good. The political obsession is the cause for the drifting of the world in deep confusion to unseen issues. It may be said that when there is a professional ruling class, there is no guaran- tee that the rule will be unselfish. The training to which they are subjected is a sufficient security for the right dis- charge of their functions. Besides, the rulers are not allowed to annul or alter dharma, but are only to administer it. The changes in the dharma are introduced by the Brahman thinkers, who possess no vested interests, but lead a life of spirit in compulsory poverty. They interpret the dharma in cases of doubt and difficulty. The organisation of the society is essentially aristocratic in the best sense of the term, since only the philosophically minded men with detachment of view lay down the laws. The priests were the lawgivers even among the Jews, the Iranians and the Celts. The qualifications of the^ true Brahmans, wisdom, self-control and disinterestedness, made selfish legislation difficult.^ The Brahmans engaged in the
THE HINDU DHARMA. 13
St. Christopher,who undertook to carry the Christ-child
on his shoulders across a stream, is applicable to us all.
The deeper he entered into the water, the heavier became
the burden. By a slow conquest of the passions,by a rising
knowledge of the spiritual basis of the world, all men who
are born gzuidrasgraduallyrise in the scale till they became
Brahmans. The load becomes heavier the higher we rise,
and our strength will have to increasein proportion to the
rise in the weight of the load. While the Kshatriyain view
of his limitations may employ force, though without hatred
and with a clean conscience, the Brahman should refrain
altogetherfromthe use of force and the cherishingof hatred
or ill feeling for any.
The relativity of the stages leading up to the absolute
ideal may also be illustrated from another case. Modern
evolution is confirmingthe Hindu theory of the continuity
of the animal and the human worlds. The Hindu dharma
inculcates respect for life and tendernesstowards all forms
of animal creation. "Thou shalt not kill" applies to the
animals as well. It is also believed that animal diet clogs
the finer sensibilities of human life. More than what it
adds to the physical it takes away from the psychical.
Jesus himself is quite clear that even animals are objects of
sacredness,and that not a sparrowfalls to the groundwith-
out the notice of God. Yet the peoples of India were accus-
tomed to animal diet, and so regulations were laid down
restricting the use of animal diet for the fourth class and
prohibitingit as a rule for the other classes, with the result
that the Hindus as a whole are tending to give it up more
and more.
Caste has economic^ implications. Many of the modern
castes are only occupational divisions. Every man is not
fit for all things and does not feel that he can begin any
trade as he pleases. Nor do individuals go about in search
of work, but they serve society by filling the station in
which they happen to be placed. Unlimited competition
and selfish individualism are checked. A religious char-
acter is impressedon every kind of work and form of indus-
14 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.
try. The bricklayer and the carpenter, the blacksmith and the milkman believe that they glorify God by the right performance of their work. In these days of large-scale production and factory labor, we tend to forget that when a man is cut off from his family and made to work in a large factory, the work becomes joyless and mechanical. The caste on the other hand puts all men working the same pro- fession in their natural surroundings, instead of tearing them away from their homes and working them for long hours and small wages. The fulness of communal life with its living associations of beauty, love and social obligations helps to make the worker happy. The members of his family who share in his work introduce sweetness and humanity into it. If women and children are to be worked, it is better that they work in the atmosphere of a home where it is possible to embody their creative impulses in what they turn out. There is a finer stimulus to right action than mere success in competition or satisfaction of customers can supply. Those who practice the same craft develop corporate feeling and professional honour. The young acquire from the plastic influences of the environ- ment the right kind of vocational training. They absorb unconsciously the tradition of the trade and the economic pursuit happens to be the free self-expression of their soul. It is true that modern conditions are working against cot- tage industries and small-scale production. But it is not everywhere the case. Fine arts, decorative (^) industries, even spinning and weaving as supplementary interests of the agriculturists may be confined to homes and we can have small factories worked by electricity or oil engines. Caste as trade guilds is not yet out of date. While the sug- gestion of a definite programme of life at the very beginning is not undesirable, still its stereotyping without the least re- gard to the natural endowment and special aptitudes islikely to result in an enslavement of life which finds it difficult to adjust itself to the complex conditions of the modern world. Strictly speaking, the caste of a man is determined by the predominance of reason, emotion or will in him which corre-
16 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.
Since the distinction of functions among the^ different classes is likely to generate pride and exclusiveness, in spite of the training during the student period, the general laws of the equal treatment of all are insisted on.^ Highest vir- tue consists in doing to others as we would be done by. Vishnu Purdna says, "Everywhere ye should perceive the equal; for the realization of equality or samatva is the wor- ship of God."'9 There are duties which men of all castes are required to obey, such as non-injury to life, truth, in- tegrity, cleanliness and self-control.20 After all, the caste divisions are incidental to our imperfections and should not therefore constitute a source of pride.^ The one Eternal has no caste. The rules of caste are applicable only in the stage of the householder. Even here, they are not superior to the claims of humanity. What is necessary at the present day is an acceptance of the aims of caste and the cultivation of a more truly social spirit. The blighting bigotries and the rigid restrictions about the amenities of life are incon- sistent with humanity and fellowship and therefore are to be given up. Manu^ does^ not^ encourage^ them.^ " The ploughman, the friend of the family, the cowherd, the ser- vant, the barber and the poor stranger offering his service- from the hands of such SiUdrasmay food be^ taken.'' The caste rules were not rigid until the advent of the Mohammedans into India. The social laws were fluid and elastic and the mutability of growth was not sacrificed to the strait waistcoat^ of a legal formula.^ We read in the Puranas stories of individuals and of families who changed from lower to higher castes.^ Manu admits the possibility of ascent and descent.22 Rules for change of caste by grad- ual purification are also mentioned.23 The higher strata were accessible to merit from below. When Hindu India lost political freedom and the new rulers adopted a policy of
(^19) XVI. (^20) Manu X, 63; VI, 91-92. 21 Manu IV, 253. 22 See X, 42; IX, 335. (^23) Manu X, (^) 57-65.
THE HINDU DHARMA. 17
proselytism, social initiative disappeared and law and cus- tom became fetishes, with disastrous results for national solidarity. We have to recover the original spirit of the dharma, which was not limited to particular forms, but manifested itself in fresh ones, changing the old and develop- ing the new. The exaggerated value given to caste in times of political insecurity is no more necessary. Caste has a future only if it is confined to social matters. In every society, people enter into^ marriage relations^ only with those who are near to them in habits^ of mind and action. Since a common cultural tradition is better^ de- veloped among those who pursue the same vocation, mar- riages among members of the same profession become the order of the day. Even in ancient India, intermarriages among members of different castes were not forbidden, though they were not encouraged. Anulona and prati- loma marriagesare not usual, though they are not invalid according to Hindu law.24^ If such marriages are not com- mon, it is because they tend to disturb the intimate indus- trial, social and spiritual life of the community. Caste as a basis of intimate social relations does not interfere with the larger life of the nation.^ As the emperor Asoka said to his Hindu minister, "Caste (^) may be considered when it is a question of marriage or invitation, but not of the dharma; for the dharma is concerned with virtues and virtues have nothing to do with caste." It is a bold affirmation of an untruth to argue that social service is unknown to the Hindus. Much capital is made out of the treatment of the untouchables. It is not re- membered that a free India rendered them much greater service than what other free countries even in recent times have done for their backward classes. How have the superior nations civilized the Tasmanian and the Austra- lian aborigines, certain Maori peoples and North American Indian tribes? We generally refine them into extinction and where that is not possible, we sink them into the slough (^24) See Bombay Law Reporter. Bai Gulab vs. Jivanlal Harilal vol. XXIV. 25Indian Social Reformer,June 4, 1922.
THE HINDU DHARMA. 19
cess by the ancient Indians, we would have had not merely fifty millions of these " depressed " classes, but a much larger number. When the outside invaders came into the coun- try, the Hindu felt nervous and as a sheer act of self-preser- vation stereotyped the existing divisions, and some were left outside the pale of the caste order. Though Manu says that "there is no fifth class anywhere,"26the tribes who were not influenced by the dharma formed themselves into the fifth class. "^ He who has abandoned his duties is cruel and pitiless, and oppresses others who is passionate and full of destructiveness is a mleccha."27 No words are too strong for the deplorable condition of these people. To disregard the claims of man simply because he happens to be low or belongs to another race is against the religious spirit of Hinduism. Now that things are in a more settled condi- tion, the Hindu leaders are reiterating the central truth that the least of all men has a soul and need not be con- sidered past all power to save. The last two stages of Vanaprastha and Sannyasa, which may be taken as one for our purposes, treat of those who have retired from the competitive^ struggle for life.^ The Sannyasi represents the highest type of Indian manhood. From selfishness, the individual has^ progressed to^ self- annihilation through the extinction of all prejudice, hatred and ambition. He has passed through all institutions and is now above them. His emotional life expresses itself in the love of the divine or bhakti and not in animal lusts or personal likes. He perceives the oneness and wholeness of humanity, and his mind is freed from all superstition and unreason. His active energies are devoted to the service of humanity, knowing as he does that God is in all beings and is all of them.28 He who has the vision of all in one, in whom (^) the impersonal predominates over the personal, cannot (^) sin.29 He is the superman of the Bhagavadgita, the
26 X, 4. (^27) Sukraniti I, 44. (^28) Sarva bhutamayamharm. Vishnu Purana I, 19, 9. (^29) Manu XII, 118.
20 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS.
awakened of Buddhism, the true Brahman who glories in his poverty, rejoices in suffering, and is finely balanced in mind, with peace and joy at heart. He loves all, men, birds and beasts, and resists not evil but overcomes it by love. In him the soul of man is at its highest stretch. The ideal of the Sannyasi has dominated the life of India from the time of the Rishis of the Upanishads. To follow this ideal, kings lay down their crowns and sceptres and assume the garb of poverty, fighting heroes forget the pride of victory and break their weapons, and skilled traders and workmen pursue their toil with steadfast mind surrendering to God the fruits thereof. These sannydsis as a rule are the helpers of humanity. The greatest of them, like Sankara and Rqmdnuja, Ranan- anda and Kabir, have entered into the lifeblood of the nation and laid the foundations of its religion. It is, however, true, that in India, as in Mediheval Europe, many ascetics made the mistake of escaping into the wilderness from the worries of the world. These hermits of the cloister and monks of the desert are voices astray in the dark. Their perpetual consciousness of incitement to sin, their preoccu- pation with their selfish salvation show that they have lost their lives in their anxiety to save them. As the tide of monasticism which swept over Europe in the middle ages is not true to the teaching of Jesus, who asks us to look upon ourselves as servants trusted by the master, porters bidden to watch, stewards to whom much is committed, sons to whom the father confides his affairs, so the deserters from the battle of life are not the true sannyasis who rage to suffer for mankind, with intense humility, glowing faith, sincere love and sober joy. To reach the highest state, it is not always necessary to adhere literally to the rules of dharma. There are cases of sudden conversion, uprushes of the spirit from seemingly commonplace souls, astonishing moral elevations among men who have not learned the highest lesson of existence. The rules of dharma, however, represent the normal growth of spirit. The freed souls sometimes smile at the irrele-
