Dharma, Moral Desert, And Justice: A Comparative Study Of Western Philosophy And Hindu Ethical Thought

Abstract

The question of who deserves what lies at the foundation of moral philosophy, political theory, and jurisprudence. While Western thinkers such as Aristotle [1] , John Rawls [2] , and Robert Nozick [3] offer diverging accounts of moral desert and distributive justice, Hindu philosophical traditions provide a distinct metaphysical and ethical paradigm rooted in the doctrines of dharma, karma, and the Purusharthas. Aristotle grounds desert in virtue and teleology, Rawls rejects desert as a fair basis of distribution because natural attributes are morally arbitrary, while Nozick dismisses patterned theories altogether in favour of historical entitlement. In contrast, ancient Hindu sources [4] such as the Upanishads [5] , the Bhagavad Gita, Manusmriti, the Ramayana, and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras frame moral desert as the natural and inevitable result of action, intention, and duty across lifetimes. This paper examines these contrasting frameworks, integrating scriptural teachings to show that Hindu thought offers a more holistic and spiritually integrated conception of desert, in which personal responsibility, cosmic law, virtue, and spiritual evolution converge. Through an analysis of morality, truth, justice, action, the Purusharthas, and the types of karma, the research demonstrates how Hindu ethics unify social and cosmic dimensions of justice, presenting an alternative to the procedural fairness of Rawls and the libertarian entitlement of Nozick. [1] Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (Trans. by W.D. Ross, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1954). [2] John Rawls, A Theory of Justice 63–65 (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, rev. edn., 1999). [3] Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (Basic Books, New York, 1974). [4] G. Bühler (trans.), The Laws of Manu (Internet Sacred Text Archive), available at: https://www.sacred- texts.com/hin/manu.htm (last visited on Feb. 7, 2025); F. Max Müller (trans.), XXXII Vedic Hymns, Part I , Sacred Books of the East (Internet Sacred Text Archive, 2008), available at: https://www.sacred- texts.com/hin/sbe32/index.htm (last visited on Feb. 7, 2025); Hermann Oldenberg (trans.), XLVI Vedic Hymns, Part II , Sacred Books of the East (Internet Sacred Text Archive, 1897), available at: https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe46/index.htm (last visited on Feb. 7, 2025); Swami Madhavananda (trans.), The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upanishad (Advaita Ashrama), available at: https://www.advaitaashrama.org (last visited on Feb. 7, 2025). [5] Ibid .