Kettering University

Page: 1 - 2

Conflict resolution and Hinduism

By Dawn Hibbard

Everyone has heard the phrase “looking at a problem with fresh eyes,” and that is precisely what Dr. Badrinath Rao, associate professor of Liberal Studies at Kettering University, has done. Rao has taken a look at conflict resolution through Hindu “eyes” and has found what he considers to be a resource for conflict resolution through religion.

“The world needs to find new mechanisms to enable people to solve conflicts,” he said, adding, “the use of religion is one attempt at identifying a new approach.” He was able to share his ideas at a global conflict resolution program earlier this year.

Rao began exploring the use of religious traditions as a way to address conflict while completing his doctoral work. His research focused on conflict between religious communities in India and the response of the state and judicial system to these conflicts.

“India is one of the most diverse societies in the world,” he explained, “and as a culture has to deal with these issues more than other societies. My interest emerged from the recurrent and class-based conflicts going on in India, and grew to encompass conflicts in general, and in particular, conflict resolution and alternate dispute resolution.”

According to Rao, the justice system in India is overburdened with cases – approximately 30 million cases at different levels in the judiciary - making speedy and cheap access to justice a major challenge facing India. Hence, the need to explore avenues for alternate dispute resolution, more specifically, from religious traditions, he said.

Analyzing how a non-Abrahamic religious tradition, such as Hinduism, poses a different set of issues in respect to addressing conflict resolution, Rao concluded that Hinduism offers enormous resources for conflict resolution through its emphasis on relational orientation and context-sensitivity (Dharma).

“Because it emphasizes tolerance, sacrifice, Dharmic obligations and self denial,” Rao said, “Hinduism provides the right values for resolving social disputes.” In traditional Hindu society with its caste structure, Dharma constitutes the religious and moral doctrine of the rights and duties of each individual.

The concept of Dharma has entrenched ethical relativism in the Hindu way of thinking, according to Rao. In other words, what a person should or should not do depends on the context of the situation, and virtues and transgressions are both equally dependant on contextual issues. Abrahamic traditions typically have established rules for what is considered a virtue and what is considered a transgression.

One result of a context-based approach is that truth is relative and there is no choice but to be tolerant of the truth of others.

Continued on page 2