Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
182Concluding remarks
What our enquiry shows is t hat t he Indian c ult ure, like any c ivilizat ion, st rives for
ethic ally right c onduc t as well as a theoretic al understanding of ethic s. It may not
suc c eed in ac hieving t he goal, or it may lose sight of it s goal, or even fail t o reac h a
stage of clarit y in it s et hic al disc ourse. But t here are some import ant ideas and a
few principles that emerge; these helped the society to survive, and to develop,
even aesthetically. For us in the modern era, edging towards the twenty-first
century, they may seem inadequate; but they might at least provide some useful
met aphors, or analogues, to engage with our own notions, ideas, theories and
analysis.
Dhar ma, wit h it s root s in rit a or ‘natural order’, c an open up a more holistic ,
organic and ec ologic ally enlight ened perspective as a contrast to the more
individualist ic , c ompet it ive, nat ure-subjugating, and tec hnoc ratic environment in
whic h we try and think ethic s. Karma or ‘ac tion-effect’, and even the Indian ideas of
c onc ent ric life-c yc les and human ends, may suggest ot her possibilit ies of
integrating the disparate and finite features of human life into this organic whole.
And last but not least , t he princ iple of disint erest ed non-violent ac t ion may prove
effec tive in the c ontinuing struggles towards justic e and peace in the world.