What is Dharma, Why is It?

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About the Author Professor Dr. Shiva Kumar Ojha was born on 23" November 1933 in a Brahmin family in the village Bojha of district Etawah (U.P.) which is situated by the side of river Shri Yamuna. After getting an M.Sc. degree in Mathematics form Lucknow University he obtained Ph.D. degree in the area of his specialization "Aerodynamics", Department of Aerospace Engineering at 1.1.Sc. Bangalore, where he was subsequently appointed as Lecturer. In the year 1967 he joined the Department of Aerospace Engineering at 1.1.T. Bombay and continued to remain there as Professor. During that period he carried out studying and teaching of different subjects related to the field of Aerodynamics, held various administrative responsibilities, guided researches and projects, published research papers, made educational tours abroad and wrote a book entitled "Flight Performance of Aircraft" which was published in U.S.A.

Soon after retirement in 1995, Prof. Ojha got interested in studying, teaching and research in the area of Indian Culture. Due to his initiative one-semester course on the subject of Indian Culture got started from the academic session 2002-2003 in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at I.I.T. Bombay and he taught it also there. Prof. Ojha also wrote a book (about 700 pages of bigger size) on the subject of Indian Culture. It is entitled BHARATIYA SANSKRITI MAHAN EVAM VILAKSHANA (Indian Culture Great And Wonderful) which is in Hindi Language. Based on the contents of this book.

Foreword 'Dharma' is a prevalent Sanskrit language word of the Indian culture, which is very familiar in India. In the present book, 'the Indian culture' refers to the Vaidik culture, the Sanatan Dharma or the Hindu Dharma. Under the Western culture, the English language translates the word 'Dharma' as Religion. I do not know as to which individual or institution this translation did. This translation is very old and has become prevalent during the British regime. Many Indian scholars do not consider this appropriate. When a word belonging to a particular society (or culture) is translated by a language pertaining to a different society, cent-per-cent appropriate translation becomes difficult; some disparities are usually bound to occur. If such a word has some serious connotations of meaning, possibility of disparity increases even more, because both the words have originated from two different cultures of life-style. If different individuals or societies hold different perceptions towards a word, human actions and reactions related to that word clash with one-another, the reflection of which can be clearly seen in the modern age.

**Contents and Sample Pages**