Indian Culture: The Ethical Dimension

For a proper understanding of the subject, the terms “culture”, “ethics” and “Indian” need to be defined. “Culture” has been defined in numerous ways and the one given by the British anthropologist, Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, seems to be the most satisfactory, being accepted by modern scientists. He defines it as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”.¹ The units of culture, which include certain characteristic manners and practices of a group of people, go to form the “cultural pattern” of a society. A set of cultural traits adopted by a group “to meet its needs and ensure its survival” constitutes its culture. In this sense, culture could be associated with a nation, town, village or a tribe. In terms of Tylor’s definition, man acquires culture or becomes cultured by being a member of a society or a group and there are various elements in that “complex whole” called culture. Ethics is one of them.

Ethics is concerned with the norms of human social behaviour. “It is that study of human behaviour which propounds the supreme good or the summum bonum of human life, and which formulates the judgments of right and wrong and good and evil”.² It is also called moral philosophy. The word “ethics” itself is derived from the Greek “ethos,” meaning customs, usages or habits, or more comprehensively, “character”. The word “right” has a Latin origin (“rectus”) which means “straight” or “according to rule”. Ethics is thus specifically concerned with the principles or rules which make our conduct right or straight. The Latin word “mores”, from which is derived the English “moral”, is not much different from the Greek “ethos” which means habits or customs (as stated earlier). The word good comes of the German “gut”, meaning anything useful or service­able for some end or purpose.

Ethics as a science or body of knowledge is not so much concerned with what an individual considers as good for himself as with the ultimate good of the society as a whole. It is a science of a values as distinguished from a science of facts such as physics or chemistry. It is by applying these values that judgments of human conduct are formed. According to ethics, good conduct is an intrinsic value.

The term “value” needs to be understood in this context. It is defined as “that which is desired”. “It is always associated with a feeling of pleasure, owing to the past experience of the valuing subject and it is that feeling which awakens a desire for realising the value in question”.³ Thus, which in fact is apprehended, a value is realised. While some values are “realized”, some values are used as the means to realise them. The distinction is, therefore, made of “instrumental” and “intrinsic” values. The realisation of an intrinsic value begins with an idea of value which, being tinged with a feeling of pleasure, arouses a desire for it; and that desire by prompting, in its turn, appropriate activity culminates in the realisation of the value. Hence all the three aspects of the mind – cogni­tion, feeling and will – are involved in the process of value ­realisation, and they operate in succession. ⁴

Man being endowed with Jnana (discriminative knowledge), or more precisely, “viveka”, which is defined as “reason inspired, guided and controlled by intuition”,⁵ seeks both higher and lower ends– “he has a footing in nature as well as a winging in the sky”. He seeks satisfaction not merely in temporal and transient ends but spiritual and eternal ends. The right and the true are the two higher values which he pursues in seeking the “final ideal of life via self-perfection”. The right and the true belong to the sphere of morals or moral action which leads to the attainment of the spiritual ideal (or value) of self-realisation.

Has India a culture of her own? Given the complexity introduced by differences of race, religion, language, customs and tradition, it is not easy to identify the elements of Indian culture. Sardar K. M. Panikkar observes: “That India has a life-view of her own, a special outlook on essential problems which has persisted throughout her history would hardly be denied by anyone ... T. S. Eliot, in his “0bservation on culture”, argues that the basis of culture is religious beliefs. It is undeniably true that it is Christianity that forms the basis of European culture, in the same way that it is the pre-eminence of Hinduism in India that gives to Indian culture its special characteristics”.⁶

Sardar Panikkar identifies what he calls, ‘Outstanding Facts of Indian Culture’. These are:

1.      Tradition of tolerance, aiding to the richness and variety of Indian life.
2.      Sense of synthesis reflected in racial harmony, the primary institutions of the village and the family, sculpture, architecture, music and painting, modes of worship, faith in democratic institutions. Etc.
3.      Universal outlook as reflected in views such as “The world is one family” and “the world as one nest”.
4.      Philosophical outlook with its basis in the belief in the unity of creation.
5.      Respect for the individual based on the philosophical equation of Atman and Brahman, the soul and the Oversoul.

II

Though we feel it in our bones as it were the distinction between good and bad, virtue and vice, right and wrong, or specifically that between what is moral, and immoral, critics have not been wanting in raising an accusing finger at India. Farquhar pointed out long ago that “there is practically no ethical philosophy within the frontiers of Hindu thinking”.⁷ Prof. McKenzie declared that the ethics of India is “defective, illogical, and anti-social, lacking any philosophical foundation, nullified by abhorrent ideas of asceticism and ritual, and altogether inferior to the ‘higher spirituality’ of Europe”.⁸ Dr. Albert Schweitzer makes a distinction between the old “Brahminic thought” void of ethics, with its life and world negation and the “modern thought” that integrates ethics with life and world affirmation “Hinduism is so much under the influence of Brahminic thought that it abandons the world and life affirmation which originally belonged to the religion of the people. So it dares not stand for the view that the universe in some way has a meaning and that human activity can set itself a task in the world. It nowhere makes the demand, which is such a matter of course to Christianity, that love of God shall be actively realised in love to man. Like the Brahmins it requires no other activity beyond what is imposed by the obligations of caste”. ⁹

Competent scholars have rebutted the views of the Western critics with force and clarity. Dr. Radhakrishnan affirms that “The actual content of the moral life in Hinduism is comparable to others”. Hopkins writes a whole book to show that truthfulness, generosity, kindness of heart, purity of soul, forgiveness and compassion were taught in India as everyday precepts long before the Christian era.” Raghunathan deals point-by-point with Schweitzer’s charges and clinches his argument thus: “Schweitzer’s plea for a world-view based on ethical world affirmation boils down to approval of progress, science and uplift, leavened by a sentimental-romantic humanitarianism which, in being active, feels good and concludes that it must, therefore, be doing good”. ¹⁰

It needs, however, to be kept in mind that, as Dr. R. N. Dandekar has said, “the traditional Hindu thought cannot be said to have developed any system of ethics as such.” He adds: “Its main concern is in individual practical morality. The emphasis is always put on practice rather than on theory. That is why we hardly come across any doctrinaire texts dealing with ethics. There are ethical codes all right but there is no regular metaphysic of ethics”. ¹¹ The Hindu conception of ethics or code of morality is derived from or influenced by the Supreme value of Moksha or self-liberation; it is both perfection and freedom bondage of “Samsara” or the miseries of ephemeral life.

III

The moral principles that govern human conduct in the ambience of Indian culture may be traced to the comprehensive view of human ends called the Purusharthas – Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.¹² Of the four ends, the first three are “instrumental” values and the last is an intrinsic value. While wealth satisfies desire, the satisfaction needs to be sought in terms of Dharma (or virtue, which is value translated into action). Temporal satisfaction realised in a spirit of detachment prepares one for the final satisfaction or the realisation of supreme value of self-perfection. The four values could be paired: Artha subserves Kama and Dharma subserves Moksha. The doctrines of Karma (the law of “as you sow, so you reap”). Re-birth (so long as one bears the load of sin), Varna (functional division of people based on nature and nurture) and Ashrama (stages in one’s life – the student, the householder, the ageing man preparing himself to renounce the world and the renunciate) have also a great deal to do with the development of the moral code.

The value (which may be called secondary to the primary value of Moksha) that lndian culture cherishes may be traced through (1) the Vedas; (2) the Vedanta or the Upanishads; (3) the Smritis or the Codes of Law; (4) the epics and the Puranas and, specifically, the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata; and (4) the literary works in Sanskrit.

The two great concepts, which have a bearing on ethics, contained in the Vedas are the Rita, the law of God or the Eternal Law, and Satya, truth. God is Ritavaan, the upholder of the Eternal Order, and He is Satya-dharman, the One for whom truth is the law of being. ¹³ Anyone who acts in accordance with the law of truth, and the law of Eternal Order is “good”. Dr. Radhakrishnan sums up the Vedic idea of moral life thus:

“Prayers are to be offered to the gods. Rites are to be performed ... The life of man has to be led under the very eye of God. Apart from the duties owed to gods there are also duties to man. Kindness to all is enjoined; hospitality is reckoned a great virtue. The riches of one who gives do not diminish. He who possessed of food hardens his heart against the feeble man craving nourishment, against the sufferer coming to him (for help), and pursues (his own enjoyment even) before him, that man finds no consoler.” Sorcery, witchcraft, seduction and adultery are condemned as vicious. Gambling is denounced. Virtue is conformity to the law of God, which includes love of man, Vice is disobedience to this law” ¹⁴

The Upanishads presuppose ethical excellence on the part of the student set on a study of spiritual knowledge. They do not, therefore, discuss elaborately the principles of ethics though, here and there, they do contain teachings about morals. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad sums up a whole ethical philosophy in three words: daamyata, datta and dayadhvam – self-control, charity and compassion. (These are the three, D’s which T. S Eliot uses in his “The Wasteland” as the message from the ancient world to the conflict ridden modern world.) In the Taittiriya Upanishad, the teacher exhorts the pupil to speak the truth, practise virtue, not to be negligent of virtue, welfare and prosperity to honour the parents and the teacher and so on. The Chandogya instructs the spiritual aspirant not to cause injury to any living creature. It stresses austerities, charity, truth-­speaking, and straightforwardness, among others. The Maitri Upanishad, one of the minor Upanishads, speaks of anger, jealousy, meanness, cruelty and rashness, among others, as vices to be avoided. The Upanishads also stress virtues such as chastity, austerity and silence.

Manu and Yajnavalkya, among the Hindu law-givers, the Smriti-karakas, stress the importance of “Achara” or good conduct. Dharma, which is traceable to the “Vedic Rita”, is exalted. Manusmriti proclaims:

“Self-possession, patience, self-control, Integrity, purity, restraint, intelligence, truthfulness, absence of anger – these ten are the marks of Dharma.”

Manu points out that non-injury to other beings and truthful­ness, among others. represent the essence of Dharma.

The whole of Dharma, says Yajnavalkya, consists of truthful­ness, non-stealing, absence of anger, modesty, purity, intelligence, self-possession, self-control, restraint of the senses and learning.

Manu lists the virtues expected of the student, the householder, the renunciate, the priestly class and the ruling class. Respect for elders as one of the cardinal virtues is held up by him, Women, be says, must be honoured and mutual fidelity between the husband and wife must continue till death (of both).

The epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, illustrate the highest moral principles enunciated in the scriptures, the Sruti and the Smriti. The Ramayana projects the ideal man, the ideal wife, the ideal brother and the ideal servant, and Rama himself is held up as the very image of Dharma.

The Mahabharata is a veritable treasure of moral maxims which characters like Bhishma and Vidura expound on occasions. “Subtle is morality”, says Bhishma to Yudhishtira. “I instruct thee not by the Veda interpreted by wisdom and experience ... She alone is wife that speaketh pleasantly. He alone is a son that maketh his sire happy. He alone is a friend who may be safely trusted. That, verily, is the motherland wherein living is earned. He alone is a king who ruleth without oppression, in whose territories the righteous have no fear, who cherisheth the poor and punisheth the wicked”.¹⁶ “To give joy to another is righteousness: to give pain is sin”. “Let no man do to another what is not good for himself”. “Virtues are forms of Truth” as Truth is that which is Real, the Eternal Brahman.

The Bhagavad Gita, the gem set in the jewel of Mahabharata, is explicit about moral principles and makes the supreme Lord Himself expound them. Distinguishing between the virtues of the children of Light (Devas) and the vices of the children of Darkness (Asuras), the Lord of the Gita enumerates them as follows (selective).

Virtues

Fearlessness, purity of mind, charity, self-control and sacrifice, austerity and uprightness, non-violence, truth, freedom from anger, renunciation, aversion to fault-finding, compassion, freedom from covetousness, gentleness, modesty, steadiness, forgiveness, fortitude, freedom from malice and excessive pride.

Vices

Lust, anger, greed, self-conceit, stubbornness, ostentation, arrogance, excessive pride, harshness, ignorance and force.
–Bhagavad Gita, Ch. XVI

Adi Sankara, Patanjali and Bhartrihari are among the others who have laid down moral principles the observance of which takes man along the path of righteousness to godhead. ¹⁷

Indian culture is a culture of religion and morality. And morality is bound up with the realisation of the spiritual ideal of self-realisation, the oneness with Truth, the Real, the Infinite that is Satchidananda. On a mundane level, morality expresses itself in truth, goodness and beauty, Satyam, Sivam, Sundaram, not ends in themselves but steps leading to the final goal of Perfection, Moksha.

References

¹ “Primitive Culture” (1871) by Sir E. B. Tylor quoted in “The World Book Encyclopedia”, World Book Inc., Chicago. p. 1186.
² “Ethical Philosophies of India” by I. C. Sharma. Edited and revised by Stanley M. Dangert (1965). George Allen and Unwin Ltd. p. 31.
³ “Indian Conception of Values” by M. Hiriyanna (1975). Kavyalaya Publishers, Mysore. P. 3.
⁴ Ibid. Janati, Ichchati, Yatate.
⁵ “Reason and Intuition in Indian Culture” by N. Raghunathan. Prof. L. Venkataratnam Lectures for 1962-63 (1969). University of Madras. p. 4.
⁶ “Essential Features of Indian Culture” by Sardar K. M. Panikkar (1964). Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay. Pp. 2-3.
⁷ Quoted by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan in “Indian Philosophy” Vol. I. p. 52.
⁸ Prof. Mackenzie in his “Hindu Ethics” quoted by E. W. Hopkins in “Ethics of India” (1924). Yale University Press. p. ix.
⁹ “Indian Thought and Its Development” by Albert Schweitzer. Hodder and Staughton (1936). p. 178.
¹⁰ Raghunathan. See Supra. p. 71.
¹¹ Dr. R. N. Dandekar Presidential Address at the All India Oriental Conference, Visakhapatnam. 1989.
¹² The precise stage in the development of Hindu thought on ethics at which the four ends of life – the Purusharthas ­were formulated is difficult to specify with certainty. The formulation is seen in the Mahabharata and in the Bhagavata Purana (Perhaps, in other Puranas also). The Mahabharata says: “The wise man, O best of speakers, that knoweth the proper times, serveth Dharma, Artha and Kama, all three evenly dividing the time between them (on the Pravritti Marga, the path of outgoing).

But O king, all beings desire happiness, and Moksha (belonging to the Nivritti Marga, the path of return) is the highest good for them”. – Vana Parva. xxxiii 41, 42.

“He who wishes to cross beyond this intense darkness, let him not attach himself too much to anything, for such attachment is .he great frustrator of Dharma (religion) duty, right conduct etc.), Artha (wealth), Kama (pleasure, and Moksha ( emancipation).

“Of these (four) too, Moksha is the truly ultimate end, for the other three are even haunted by the fear of Death, the Ender”. –Srimad Bhagavata IV, XXII, 34, 35.

¹³ For the relevant verses please see “The call of the Vedas” by A. C. Bose (1988). Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

¹⁴ “Indian Philosophy” Vol. I by Dr. S Radhakrishnan. p. 110.

¹⁵ “Social, Ethical and Spiritual Values” by Dr. T. M. P. Mahadevan in “The Indian Mind” edited by Charles A. Moore, East-West Center Press (1967). p. 157.

¹⁶ Mahabharata, Shanti Parva

¹⁷ For references to moral teachings in Sanskrit literature please see Dr. C. Sivaramamurti’s “Ethical Fragrance in Indian Art and Literature”, Kanak Publications, New Delhi (1980).

Indian art, according to Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (as quoted by Dr. Sivaramamurti), with all its aesthetic appeal and grandeur of technique, form and colour, has had behind it the ethical and spiritual urge.