Assignment – 03

Law and Society

Write short notes in not more than 300 words on:

i.  Guna Theory
Originally, the idea was known as a characteristic of Samkhya philosophy.
The gunas are now a central idea in virtually all Hindu philosophical systems.
According to this worldview, there are three gunas that have always been
and will continue to be present in all objects and creatures in the world.
Sattva, rajas, and tamas are the three gunas.
According to the Hindu worldview, the three gunas are present in everyone
and everything; the proportion is what differs. The interaction of these gunas
shapes someone's or something's character, as well as the development of
life.
Guna theory is an ancient Indian philosophy that focuses on individual
characteristics, whereas Dharma and Ashrama theories focus on the personal
and social environment, as well as the institutional framework. The
interaction of three gunas influences an individual's values, which, in the
Hindu worldview, influence the individual's behaviours as well as his or her
happiness and tranquilly. The gunas aren't regarded fixed or static.

ii. Sanskritization
Prof. M.N. Srinivas, a well-known Indian sociologist, was the first to coin the
term "Sanskritization." In his book "Religion and Society among the Coorgs of
South India," he defined this idea as "cultural mobility within the
conventional caste system of Indian society." In his research into the Mysore
coorgs, he discovered that the lower castes were attempting to enhance
their standing in the caste structure by embracing certain Brahmin cultural
ideas. As a result, they abandoned some of their principles, which the
Brahmins see as unclean. He coined the word "Brahminization" to describe
this process of migration. He later referred to it as "Sanskritization" in a wide
sense. The word "Sanskritization" has been chastised for a variety of reasons,
and replacements have been offered, all of which appear to have
comparable drawbacks. One major objection is that these words indicate
that Brahmanical/Hindu/Sanskritic culture is a totalizing, monolithic entity
capable of superseding other, "weaker" traditions, which are fundamentally
diverse and fragile.

iii. Brahmanization

“Brahmanization” is the current sociological research to target hinduism,

similar to aryanization in the past century. In this scenario, the name of
sociologist Srinivas has come up. The Brahmanas were not constrained by
numerous ideas, as contemporary theories suggest. All of this
brahmanization/sasnkritization is the product of many ideologues'
imaginations, who interpret social ideas according to political needs.
When Eastern ideologies took root among celebrities such as the Beatles in the
1960s, concepts like karma, mantra, prana, and nirvana became the buzzwords
of New Age joy, this Brahmanization of the American language acquired full
pace. George Harrison embraced Hindu culture and introduced it to
mainstream American music, while his sitar-playing partner Ravi Shankar
introduced calm spirituality to the salons of Americans who grew up listening
to Cliff Richard and Elvis Presley. The avalanche of gurus and yoga schools that
followed mesmerised their followers with promises of a wholesome life, even
"nirvana." Boy George and Culture Club imported "Karma Chameleon," and the
avalanche of gurus and yoga schools that followed mesmerised their followers
with promises of achieving a wholesome life, even "nirvana."