Dharma and liberty
Given my interest in the concept of Dharma, it is assumed that my political inclinations lie with the "right-wing" (a term that has no meaning to describe the Indian political landscape) and by implication, I am a "conservative" and further by implication, I'm in the opposite camp of "liberalism" and favour imposition of collective will (led by religious doctrine), as against upholding of individual liberty. This is how befuddled and muddled is the collective discourse, as is our understanding of important concepts from the Indian worldview. This post is to address the question of whether a worldview based in dharma is in opposition to the ideology of individual liberty. To recap, dharma is the property of sustainability or a "stable state" that is characteristic of any finite system of being. It is not some form of a divine commandment or revelation given by the Gods and accessible only to the sages or some such. It is a property that...