Rights, Roles, and Reciprocity in Hindu Dharma`

Authors

Nancy M. Martin, Chapman UniversityFollow

Files

Description

"Hinduism offers both views of social relations – that of hierarchical complementarity and that of egalitarian complementarity. In what follows I will begin with a closer examination of the Hindu notion of dharma and the basis for these two views – hierarchical and egalitarian complementarity – within Hinduism, and then, disagreeing with Ambedkar, I will argue that Hinduism has a valuable contribution to make to global discourse on human rights, both (1) through the teachings of Hinduism which advocate non-violence and compassion and thus relativize the meaning of hierarchies of difference and (2) through the Hindu vision of human community as marked by an egalitarian complementarity which incorporates both responsibilities and difference in a rich manner that a call for individualistic egalitarianism does not and indeed cannot attain."

ISBN

9781851683093

Publication Date

2003

Publisher

Oneworld Publications

City

Oxford, UK

Keywords

Hinduism, Dharma, hierarchical complementarity, egalitarian complementarity, human rights

Disciplines

Hindu Studies | Other Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Comments

In Joseph Runzo, Arvind Sharma, and Nancy M. Martin (Eds.), Human Rights and Responsibilities in the World Religions.

Recommended Citation

Martin, Nancy M. “Rights, Roles, and Reciprocity in Hindu Dharma.” In Human Rights and Responsibilities in the World Religions. Edited by J. Runzo, A. Sharma, and N. M. Martin. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2003. Pages 266-280.

Copyright

Oneworld Publications