Aspects Of Hindu Morality

In order to better understand the complexity and richness of Hindu religion, the author analytically divides Hinduism into several religio-moral traditions. The author emphasizes the adaptability of Hinduism and puts forth a strong case for a reformulation of Hindu philosophy of morals which would synthesize various elements of Hindu thought and practice so as to make its ethics more self-consistent and relevant for modern times.

This philosophical study offers a representation of the logical structure of classical Hindu ethics and argues for the availability of at least the core of this ethical system for Westerners.

In This Book The Author Tries To Trace Out The Ethical Thought Of The Ancient Hindus From The Early Rig-Vedic Period Down To The Age Of The Mahabharata And The Dharma-Shastras. The Author Had Tried To Trace Out The Ethical Thought Of The Ancient Hindus From The Early Rig-Vedic Period Down To The Age Of The Mahabharata And The Dharma-Sastras. The Period Covered Here Witness Indeed The Rise And Fall Of Hindu Culture, Its Very Interesting Evolution In Successive Periods Under Diverse Historical Conditions. Yet While There Is A Rich Diversity Of Moral Ideals, Presented To Us During These Periods Of Hindu History, A Clear Thread Of Unity Runs Through All These. At No Period Can We Say That There Is A Sudden Break Or Charm In The Continuity Of Our Civilization; And An Un-Mistakable Attempt Was Made At Every New Turn To Trace The Changes Of Thought Or Practice To Some Old Authority. The Hindu Ethical Theory Has Therefore An Organic Coherence About It; Its Childhood, Its Period Of Adolescence, And Its Old Age Were All Definitely Connected With Each Other.

The exploratory volume in the new field of comparative ethics serves the diverse goals of groups variously interested in International law and morality, in comparative religious ethical ideals, or simply in cross-cultural literature and drama. The author draws moral ideals from primary Hindu sources--popular and formal, literary and spiritual. The same method is applied for Buddhist moral texts. Introducing method in comparative ethics with a synopsis of Hindu mystical tradition, the author diiscusses in detail ethics in the Rgveda, Upaniisads, Laws of Manu, Ramayana, Gita, other popular classics, poetry, drama, philosophers, and reformers. After summarizing pluralism in Hindu ethiics, the author sketches ethical thought in Mahayana Buddhiist texts. The book contains elaborate notes, two appendices, critical textual matter, a diagram of topical parallels, a bibliography, and an index.