Krishna and Rama as exemplars of Dharma Essay examples

To live a life of this, a life of complete and utter submission, people must accept and romanticize ideals. They yield to authority and adopt ways of thinking that condemn them to lives of obedience. They lose all individuality, becoming merely carbon copies of each citizen of this community.

The question of condition, or problem, mainly focuses on what is wrong with the world and your surroundings or with yourself. In the Krishna and Hinduism world view, the problem is the illusion, or Maya, that people tend to build about themselves and what surrounds them. Maya is when people see themselves as something separate instead of the common Hindu belief that all things are connected. Maya brings ignorance, attachment, and reincarnation into the lives of people. People start thinking that they are the most important thing around and do not think about the harm that they may bring to others and mainly their own souls. They start betraying and killing for simple desires instead of for ones own good. By being this

When thinking about morality, it is necessary to consider how aspects from both nature and nurture, along with free will, may form ones moral beliefs and dictate ones moral actions. To understand how moral beliefs as well as actions formulate and operate within individuals and societies, it is imperative that a general definition of morality is laid out. Morality, then, can be defined as ones principles regarding what is right and wrong, good or bad. Although an individual may hold moral beliefs, it is not always the case that moral actions follow. Therefore, in this essay I aim to provide an explanation that clarifies the two and in doing so I also hope to further the notion that one’s moral framework is a product of all three factors; nature, nurture, and free will. The first part of this essay will flush out what exactly morality it and how it manifests similarly across individuals and differently across individuals. Contrariwise, I will then explain how morality manifests similarly across societies and differently across societies. Alongside presenting the information in this order, I will trace morality back to primordial times to showcase how morality has evolved and developed since then, not only from a nature-based standpoint, but also from a

Dharma is a powerful word, but some may see it differently then others depending on their

“Acknowledges the fact that in individualistic cultures, ‘people are supposed to look after themselves and their family only’ while in collective cultures, ‘people belong to groups or collectives which are supposed to look after them in exchange for loyalty’”. (Theriault, 2016)

“We can be ethical only in relation to something we can see, feel, understand, love, or otherwise have faith in”- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac (251)

In the article Unspeakable Ethics, Unnatural Laws, Arthur A. Leff took an agnostic approach when determining what morality should be comprised of. He suggested that humans struggle with desiring to follow a predetermined and unchallengeable set of moral rules, while at the same time wanting the autonomy to create those rules.

Hindus are extremely respectful and prideful people with many strong core beliefs. These beliefs have been passed down through the ages in The Ramayana. Throughout this epic poem, Rama, his family, and many others exemplify what it means to be Hindu. Rama is considered to be a perfect Hindu and follows all aspects of Hinduism flawlessly. This includes following duty, honor, responsibilities based on a person’s place in society, and most important to Rama, family. In the epic The Ramayana, family is portrayed as the most important aspect to the Hindu belief.

One of the most important divergences between Buddhism and the Gita is how dharma is interpreted. In the Bhagavad Gītā Krishna is able to shed some light on the significance of dharma. On the subject of dharma Krishna says: “It is better to strive in one’s own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of another. Nothing is ever lost in following one’s own dharma. But competition in another’s dharma breeds fear and insecurity” (BG 3:35). Here Krishna is talking to Arjuna. Krishna is trying to get the point across that Arjuna is always better off following his svadharma rather than adhering to what others want him to do. It is important for Arjuna to follow his own path in order to reach moksha. Krishna is stressing that Arjuna must follow the path that has been carved out

Throughout history morality has been a topic of intense debate. Innumerable thinkers have devoted immense amounts of time and energy to the formulation of various ethical theories intended to assist humans in their daily lives. These theories set out guidelines which help to determine the rightness or wrongness of any given action and can therefore illuminate which choice would be morally beneficial. And while many of these theories differ substantially, most have at least one common underlying principle, namely that humans deserve to be treated with a certain level of respect. This idea comes from the belief that all humans have interests which are significant enough to be considered, hence no one should impede another

These virtuous standards directs our actions in order that nonviolent societies might be. Many individuals acquire ethical standards from their family, their peers at institutes, in religious settings, or in other public locations. While a record amount of societies obtain their logic of that which is

Without the concept of dharma there is no Hinduism. Following ones dharma is to maintain the well being of oneself and others, and to depart from it leads to misdirection and ruin. Dharma in Hinduism is thought of as being an individual’s duty to themselves and their society in both a faith and societal obligation context. Three of Ninian Smart’s dimensions where dharma is most relevant are the ethical, social and mythological dimensions. Dharma details how a follower of Hinduism should go about their life and so relates to the ethical dimension, it describes the interconnection of Hindu society which pertains to the social dimension, and lastly is a central theme to nearly all epics present in Hindu thus representing the mythological dimension. Where dharma is expressed within these dimensions individually it also serves as a pillar to which the three facets are connected.

Another key concept of Hinduism is that every individual is responsible for his or her own solution. This idea is mainly connected with the terms Karma and Dharma. Karma is this principle where actions of an individual influence the future of that individual. Karma is what feeds samsara, or your rebirth. If you have karma, good or bad, that is unresolved when you die you will be reborn again. As said before, the main purpose of life on earth for Hindu’s is to break this cycle of time and receive moksha, so every individual is responsible for taking care of his or her own karma. Dharma works oppositely, as it only brings you closer moksha faster. Dharma is one’s duty or course of conduct. Following your dharma without any personal agenda will bring you closer to your purpose in life.

Dharma is the duty that people must fulfill in order to achieve their life’s purpose. In the Hindu religion, it is what guides the followers’ life choices and actions. Only the utmost just decisions and choices will lead down the path of obtaining dharma. At first glance, the Indian epic, The Ramayana, is a love story about a prince who is banished to the forest and an evil creature subsequently kidnaps his wife. However, it serves a much greater purpose in the Hindu culture. The Ramayana serves as a guide to living a life of moral righteousness. Rama and Sita are role models of how men and women should interact with each other and with society. There is multiple times throughout the epic that Rama faces morally difficult decisions that he flawlessly surpasses, a feat that his human peers surely would not have had the mental strength to accomplish. Rama is the supreme example of how to live a moral life. Rama’s dharma is to destroy evil, and throughout the book the difficult choices he makes and the heroic actions her performs are what guide him in his quest to fulfill his duty. Other characters in the epic, such as Ravana, are faced with the same moral dilemmas and chose incorrectly, which ultimately lead to their demise. Rama’s profound greatness is a result of his ability to place dharma above all other humanly desires and personal interests.

To live together beneficially, we must act decently or morally with one another. There is no social, economic or political institution which can exist if the participants in it unrestrainedly lie, cheat, steal, injure, threaten or physically endanger one another. (p. 694).