ETHICS AND RELIGION

Ethics is Character. When practiced it becomes conduct. Ethics is closely related to Religion. Religion often becomes emotional whereas ethics stand on reason. The conduct of a truly religious person is cent percent ethical. Religion without ethics is a blind religion with blind faith. Both religion and ethics go hand in hand. There is no question of one preceding the other. Ethics cannot replace religion. An ethical person without religious faith tend to develop ego. When connected with religion, ethical life gets a different dimension. Ego is replaced by Godliness. Man alone is blessed with a Will. He has to utilize the same to correct and regulate his birth tendencies. This Will is absent in other species. They simply lead a life of instinct and impulse.

Yama and Niyama of Ashtanga Yoga and Shad-sampatthy of Vedanta lead one to ethical life. Abstaining from violence, falsehood, theft, sexual immorality and avarice are known as Yama. Purity, serenity, austerity, Tatva-vichara, and worship of God are known as Niyama. Similarly shad-sampatthy are chamam, dhamam, uparathy, titiksha, sraddha and samadhanam (self-control of inner and outer organs, minimizing actions, endurance, trust in God and attentiveness)


In the Bhagavad Geetha karma is classified under three gunas viz. satwa, rajas and thamas. Satvic actions are recommended by Geetha. Some of the satwik qualities recommended in Geetha are: Free from malice, friendliness, compassion, free from egoism, contentment, absence of pride, freedom from hypocrisy, non-violence, forgiveness, straightforwardness, purity of mind and body, fearlessness, charity, non-violence, truthfulness, geniality of speech, absence of anger even on provocation, refraining from malicious gossip, kindness to all existence, sense of shame in doing things not sanctioned by scriptures, abstaining from idle pursuits, sublimity, forgiveness and fortitude.

Arjuna’s varna dharma dictates that as a kshatriya it is his duty to fight the war. At the same time, ethics passes moral judgment that non-violence, forgiveness etc would be violated in war. In the circumstances, Sri Krishna had to advice the highest Truth which absorbs both dharma and adharma.

A situation had arisen where war was inevitable. The war was as per Nature’s (Prakrity) mode and was beyond the control of an individual like Arjuna. Sri Krishna advices him to act keeping in mind the highest Truth and to be conscious of his real swaroopa i.eAtma,and to act as a mere instrument in the play of Prakrithy, and not entertaining the idea of a ‘doer’. Here, ethics and dharma have been revalued and synthesized in the highest Truth i.e. Param. In the normal course, when one is forced to act against ethical value, his conscience would be pricked in the absence of a highter knowledge – Wisdom Knowledge about the highest Truth. The situation of Arjuna is a typical example and Sri Krishna had to teach him the Wisdom-knowledge.


Worship, prayer, observance of religious rites, reading scriptures etc., are enjoined in religion which are absent in pure ethical life. As already observed , ethics and religion should go hand in hand to enrich each other. When ethics is connected to religion it becomes a moral law. The supreme Truth is above all these moral laws. Morality in its true sense is the outcome of internal feeling and not influenced by external conduct or forms.


In Vedanta there are terms like Param, Satyam, Rhythm, dharmam, acharam. Acharam denotes customs which differ from group to group, place to place and they are bound to change from time to time. Dharma is those karmas prescribed by Vedas to regulate the karmas in a rhythmic way. When rhythm is applied to the karmas of men, it is known by the name dharma. Rhythm denotes the rhythmic functioning of the universe (of elements which bring borth seasonal changes etc) Satyam is above all these – acharams, rhythm and dharma. Satyam is another term for God, Consciousness, Parameswara, Existence etc. There is no duality in it. There is something beyond Satyam which is beyond our comprehension and is inconceivable.That is the Supreme Absolute known by different names such as Brahman, Awareness, Akanda bhodam etc. ThisSupreme Absolute is the base i.e. mooladharam and satyam is the athishtanam and on that satyam the phenomena with the rhythm, moral law and acharam exist.



Jainism enumerates dharma as a safeguard for jeeva not to get entangled in karma. Forgiveness, sweetness, simplicity, cleanliness, truth, self-control, penance, sacrifice, indifference to mundane matters, celibacy – these are the dharma enumerated in Jainism. Similarly Buddhism prescribed eight-fold path i.e. the middle path as a way for Enlightenment. Right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration are the eight-fold path.