Engaged Dharma: Indian Religious Principles in Theory and Practice Today

Ethicists, theologians, and ordinary people have long recognized that absolute maxims inevitably collide with the moral complexity of the real world we inhabit. Contributors to this panel investigate how South Asians today navigate the demand for “absolute non-violence” promoted by Jain scriptural tradition and Gandhian ethics while engaging in productive philanthropic and civic activity. Panelists consider ways in which Hindus and Jains accommodate the problem of “karmic collateral” – the “knock-on” effects of environmental disruption which may accrue from otherwise virtuously motivated charitable activity, as well as the problem of the ideal of absolute non-violence in collective governance, e.g., instances in which inflicting harm may be necessary to prevent the infliction of greater harm in the future.