Dharma and South Asian Spirituality
Dharma and South Asian Spirituality
This introductory chapter discusses dharma as a South Asian spirituality. In the global marketplace of ideas, dharma has come to denote South Asian spirituality as a marker of identity, transplantable values, and Indianness self, whether at home or abroad. Moreover, the concept of dharma has served to bridge religious and civilization discourses on South Asia. On the one hand, dharma can sometimes be translated as “religion,” at least when used by Buddhist and Hindus. On the other hand, it has also become the term of choice to characterize a distinctive South Asian civilization worldview. As such, dharma has been repeatedly taken up by scholars, historians, and philosophers when they seek to represent and explain the religious and civilizational values of South Asia.
Keywords: dharma, South Asian spirituality, Indianness self, Buddhist, Hindus, South Asian religion, South Asian civilization
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