ABSTRACT
In the Hindu tradition Ultimate Truth (Being) is often said to be beyond good and evil and all other distinctions, and realisation of this Truth is thought to dawn on one through an eventual transcendence of these distinctions rather than merely through doing or being good. It is thought in the Hindu tradition that spiritual realisation, whether it is conceived as union with God or identity with Brahman, can be achieved by man only if he can transcend desires for happiness in the world. Critics of the Hindu tradition often say that it is the goal of renunciation, at best an asocial value, that makes for the shortcomings of Hindu culture in the worldly sphere. It turns away man’s attention from social and moral problems by preaching that life is fundamentally bad and should be abandoned, the wisest course for a man to adopt being his individual salvation.
