| The Upanishad
proceeds, therefore, to state that the Lord created Dharma, which is even the controller
of the king. The reign of' Dharma is more essential than the rule of the king. Form the
whole of this discussion; we can realize what the fundamental conception of Dharma
is according to the best minds of India. It is based on truth and ahimsa and abjures all
force or coercion, brute strength, or violence. It is not based on the doctrine of
liquidation of evil by destruction. It works gently through the efficacy of self-control
and the realisation of the dignity of the human spirit. By Dharma is meant duty.' The individual's duty to his family, to his
society, to God, to his own higher self, is all his Dharma. Dharma does not emphasize
rights generally. This is true with the exception of the vyavahara. chapter of the Dharma
Sastra. The insistence on the duties of every one to each other serves the same purpose as
the declaration of human rights. But it has the advantage of avoiding mutual conflict,
which the zealous assertion of right may engender.
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