Dear Editor,
UWI Lecturer Kean Gibson’s pitiable “clarification” of the meaning of ‘dharma’ (KN letter, “Clarifying the meaning of ‘dharma’ 16-02-07) would surely garner a fail grade in a senior high school type examination.
Any competent high school student who looks up the word “dharma” in the dictionary, encyclopaedia, or any other research resource would not give the meaning of ‘dharma’ as “inequality”. (With this type of explanation, it is truly baffling as to how Ms. Gibson continues her sojourn as a Senior Lecturer at the University of the West Indies).
Ms Gibson’s “clarification” of the semantics of the word does not compute in any shape or form, and borders on absurdity, with her woeful attempt at a slingshot argument and girding the etymological fallacy of the word ‘dharma’. Even the use of folk etymology does not come anyway close to Ms. Gibson’s explanation of the semantics of the word.
Because of Ms Gibson’s adharma (“that which brings conflict, disharmony and foments hatred”), an affective meaning was fabricated to give an antonym, rather than the synonym of the word.
As I stated in an earlier letter, the word ‘dharma’ comes from the root word “dhr”, which means ‘to hold’. Its etymological meaning is ‘that which holds’; it is that notion which upholds the right way of living or conduct, in view of the divine creation of the world. This upholding of right living has no bearing on any hierarchy, or any extraneous religious or social structure. In the Christian context, the idea of dharma is reflected in Proverbs 4:13 – “Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life”. Similarly, St Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, encouraged the Christians to “
