Dharma vs the Law of the Jungle

(Penguin Petit)

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“Culture needs to thrive but not at the cost of nature.”

Asuras are different from humans—or manavas—because they usually follow the law of the jungle, where ‘might is right’. This offers no reprieve for the weak, the helpless, or the downtrodden. According to this code, only the fit may survive.

Humans, on the other hand, have the faculty of reason—they can discipline themselves and tame the instinct to dominate the weak. They are expected to follow the code of dharma. But what is it exactly that distinguishes the two codes? Are we really programmed to live according to dharma or do we also possess the urge to live by the law of the jungle? Is a cultured society—one that follows dharma—really better than an untamed society?

Read on as Devdutt Pattanaik explores these questions and more in Dharma vs the Law of the Jungle.