HARMONIZING DHARMA AND DEMOCRACY: : EXPLORING THE PRINCIPLES OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA IN THE FRAMEWORK OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Abstract

We Humans are the finest creation of the ultimate creator and thus the most complex. We have emotions, strength, intellect, ambitions and various other attributes. With Civilizations, came our greed for power, to attain supremacy and gradually the world became an interconnected, interdependent and interdisciplinary whole, where existence is more about the way one has carved their position in the society rather than how he survives. This tendency of human beings has created various nations, various powers and organizations with their rules, principles and procedures. The supreme laws of the countries represent the very principles which the citizens of that nation believe in. Likewise, in India, the Constitution; even though inspired by various other constitutions of world, is embodiment of those fundamental principles which Bharat as a nation has practiced since time immemorial. When we discuss the principles of ancient Bharat, (which ultimately became India of today) Bhagwad Gita stands in the forefront being the soul and spirit of all the prominent scriptures of ancient Bharat which forms the foundation of the ever-living Sanatan Dharma. This paper, therefore, attempts to discuss all such aspects of human life, where the principles of Gita are either applied to or should be applied for upliftment. It deals with the basic principles which Gita proposes, one among them is ‘Nishkamkarmyog’ or the principle of ‘Sthitpragya’ individual who doesn’t get affected by the everyday incidents of sorrow, pleasure or pain, but focuses on his/her goal understanding the true meaning of life which uplifts one from materialistic approach to a higher approach. How relevant these principles are to the legal fraternity, to the other dimensions of human lives, what principles our Constitution embodies? All such questions have been addressed through this paper.