The development of morality was of particular importance to psychiatric literature because of its significant contribution to personality development and its aberration in various disorders. The heinous acts of “immorality” committed by those who are “mentally ill” have long fascinated society. In a way, society aspires to “ultimate morality.” Just, egalitarian and moral cultures were widely accepted and valued. Such social structures promote healthy education. An essence of this healthy education is the transmission of the moral values of parents, teachers, role models, peers, colleagues and society as a whole. In this report, we will summarize existing modern theories of moral development, and then examine part of our past and cultural heritage, reviewing traditional Hindu concepts of morality and its contribution to personality development and its relevance in modern times. According to Hindu philosophy, the Dharma represents order with laws to govern creation. It is more than just a set of laws of physics; It is the religious and moral laws that bind us in harmony with this order. The correct Sanskrit pronunciation of the word is ṛta, where ṛ is a vocal r, as in pert or dirt, when pronounced with a rhotic r, for example as in American, followed by a short a. The most common pronunciation of speakers of modern Indian languages is “rita”, with short i and short i, due to the loss of vocal r by successor languages to Sanskrit, Prakrits and modern Indo-Aryan languages. The Stages of Moral Development, as Described by Kohlberg The emergence of karma as the central teaching of the end of the early Vedic and Hindu traditions is partly due to the problem of theodicy. Given the inherent goodness of the Ṛta and its absolute power over the functioning of the universe, the existence of gross inequality and injustice in the world posed a serious religious, philosophical and ethical dilemma.
The concept of karma helped overcome this problem, as it was conceived as a “law of moral causality” that effectively exonerated the gods and ṛta from the appearance of evil in the world and placed the responsibility directly on the individual. [32] Kohlberg developed Piaget`s theory further. He described the stages of moral development that depended on Piage`s stage of cognitive development. Kohlberg described three main stages of moral development, each divided into two stages, for a total of six stages. The three levels are pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional morality. [2] The preconventional phase is essentially the morality of preschoolers and focuses on avoiding punishment and receiving a reward. Morality in the conventional phase focuses on notions of mutual benefit, social conformity, and respect for law and order. The post-conventional phase focuses on internalized general moral principles. The sub-steps are listed in Table 1.
Kohlberg used moral dilemmas to examine the moral thinking of individuals, and he focused on the thought process of individuals rather than content. In science, there is no common position on the origin of the term Ṛta. Similar concepts exist in many Indo-European cultures and names can also be derived from an identical root *h2r-tós. For this reason, some scholars argue that concepts in Indo-European daughter cultures have a common ancestor in Proto-Indo-European culture. [9] Vedic principles have influenced the Indian psyche for many centuries. These principles underpinned the socio-cultural-religious framework for the development of individual and social moral principles. The Indian psyche and society are in a phase of rapid evolution. The pursuit of Artha and Kama takes responsibility for the Dharma. The moral structure of our society is at an interesting crossroads. Prosperity has led to greed and corruption. By remembering our glorious past, enriching the scriptures, and understanding their nature, we can restore the balance necessary to evolve and become mature beings. This would benefit not only Indian society, but the whole world.
Arjuna finally decides to fight against the Kauravas. However, it wasn`t because he didn`t love them, because they had betrayed him and his brothers. Because this was the most logical course of action based on his Dharma (morality), he demanded that by fighting the Kauravas and defeating them, he would ensure that justice prevailed.
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