History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c83: Front matter

History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c83

Language: English

Front matter

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*Prepared under the Supervision of the Publication Department of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute POONA*

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POONA Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

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Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, POONA 4

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Copies can be had direct from the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona 4 (India)

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Price Rs 60 per Copy exclusive of Postage

Pages 719-1711 of the Text and pp. I to XXII of the Epilogue printed by Shri K G. Sharangpani, at the Aryabhushan Press, 915/1 Shivajinagar, Poona 4 and the Prefatory matter and the Index printed by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Press, Poona 4 and published by Dr R. N. Dandekar, M. A, Ph D, Hon. Secretary, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona 4.

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It transcends the distinction of subject and object, the duality which is essential for knowledge

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The absolute of experience is not the absolute of language or of logic. The Real to which we belong is beyond description in its majesty, power and glory. Spiritual humility requires us to look upon the varied expressions and interpretations as suggestions of the Supreme. By encouraging dogmatism and the use of force to spread belief, religions have become discredited.

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The seers affirm that they are one with the Supreme : *ahaṁ brahmāsmi*. Hallāj exclaims . "I am the truth" and was executed for his heterodoxy.

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A well-known Sufi tradition attributes to the prophet a saying : "He who knows the self knows the Lord". Of Abū Yazīd it is recorded that he said : "I sloughed off my self as a snake sloughs off its skin; then I looked into my self, and lo, I was He".¹ Religion, it is said, springs from the great 'I am' in each 'me'. The fountains are within.

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¹ Cf *Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad* IV 4 7.

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On the pathway to the goal we feel that the attainment of the goal is conditioned by the effort of the seeker and the grace of God — *tapaḥ-prabhāva* and *deva-prasāda*.

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The seekers look upon the Supreme as a Person separate from us, whose commands we obey, whose will we accept with reverence. The One beyond sense-perception, speech and logic is also the Controller, the Lord of all, the Creator and Ordainer of all. "There is nothing marvellous in my love for you, O God, you are a mighty being but your love for me a poor slave is really marvellous. It is impossible to know thee and not to love thee." The personal is not a falsification of This page appears to be completely blank.

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*Vyavasāyātmikā buddhir eke 'ha kurunandana*. The trained understanding is single-minded. Integrity refers to the quality of oneness. It does not mean alienation from the world. Religion does not mean other-worldliness, separating oneself from all created things. It is denial of egoism. Turning one's back on the world is a part of ascetic discipline which is not an end in itself. Liberation from the tyranny of time is not liberation from time. When we become spiritual in outlook we do not cease to be human.

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The secret of true greatness is love of fellowmen. Love of neighbour is not only a moral duty but a wise policy. The right course today is co-operation and not conflict. "What merit is there in the goodness of a man who returns good for good? A good man verily is one who returns good for evil."¹ *Rāmarājya* or the Kingdom of God is the ideal for the human community. The one hope for the peoples of the world to get together is a change in the human heart.

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¹ *upakāriṣu yaḥ sādhuḥ sādhutve tasya ko guṇaḥ* । *apakāriṣu yaḥ sādhuḥ sa sādhuḥ sadbhir ucyate* ॥

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Ethical standards are the only criteria for the distinction between high and low among men. Purity of conduct elevates a man even as impurity degrades him All other distinctions are irrelevant The *Chāndogya Upaniṣad* refers to *patitas*. The Cāṇḍālas are those given to stealing, drinking, adultery and murder. These four are fallen *ete patanti catvāraḥ*.² A *patita*, a fallen man, is a wicked man, a small-minded selfish man, not an untouchable.

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² V 10. 9

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The caste distinctions may have had their value in another context of society but we have out-grown it.

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The *Bhagavadgītā* speaks of the four-fold classification as based on *guṇa* (character) and *karma* (work).

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We are all unregenerate at birth and become regenerate by our effort.

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*janmanā jāyate sūdraḥ*
*saṁskārād dvija ucyate* ।

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Some are advanced; others not. We should give equal facilities to all. The *Mahābhārata* says that there was only one *varṇa* at the beginning and the four castes arose out of later developments.

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*ekavarṇam idaṁ pūrvaṁ viśvaṁ āsīd yudhiṣṭhira* ।
*karma-kriyā-vibhedena cāturvarṇyaṁ pratiṣṭhitam* ॥

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But we have come to base caste on birth though some of our leading writers have held that it is not birth or learning but conduct alone that constitutes its basis; for *dvijatva*,

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*vṛttam eva tu kāraṇam* ।
*vedapāṭhena vipras tu brahmajñānāt tu brāhmaṇaḥ* ॥

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It is not the colour of the skin but the conduct of the person that counts. The only way to progress is by means of good conduct. The *Saṁvarta-Smṛti* says :

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*sadācāreṇa devatvaṁ ṛṣitvaṁ vai tathaiva ca* ।
*prāpnuvanti kuyonitvaṁ manuṣyās tadviparyaye* ॥

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Great achievement is possible for each one of us.

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Professor Kane brings out with great learning and lucidity the frequent changes our society has passed through. When Manu (I. 85) tells us that different customs prevailed in different ages he suggests that the social code is not a fixed but a flexible one.¹ Social customs and institutions are subject to change Yājñavalkya tells us that "one should not practise that which, though ordained by the *Smṛti*, is condemned by the people."¹ What appeals to one's conscience, *ātmanas tuṣṭiḥ*, the conscience of the disciplined, not of the superficial, the forms which the elect praise,² should be our standard.

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¹ *anye kṛtayuge dharmās tretāyāṁ dvāpare 'pare* । *anye kaliyuge nṛṇām*

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¹ I 156

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² *yam āryāḥ kriyamāṇam tu śaṃsanti.*

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Vital changes may be introduced in the habits of the people by *pariṣads* or assemblies of the learned. When such assemblies cannot be constituted even the decision of one learned in *dharma* will be authoritative. The Āpastamba Dharmasūtra says *dharmajña-samayaḥ pramāṇam*.³ People who are learned and compassionate, who are practical-minded can decide the issues of right and wrong. They are the conscience of the community. What we are doing by legislative enactments is consistent with our tradition.

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³ I 1 1 2

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S. RADHAKRISHNAN