Justice, which consisteth in rendering each his due,
dependeth upon and is conditioned by two words: reward and punishment. From the
standpoint of justice, every soul should receive the reward of his actions,
inasmuch as the peace and prosperity of the world depend thereon, even as He
saith, exalted be His glory: ‘The structure of world stability and order hath
been reared upon, and will continue to be sustained by, the twin pillars of
reward and punishment’ In brief, every circumstance requireth a different
utterance and every occasion calleth for a different course of action.
(Baha'u'llah, Tabernacle of Unity: 40)
While justice “consisteth in rendering each
his due”, the concept of equity—“every circumstance requireth a different
utterance and every occasion calleth for a different course of action”—broadens
and relaxes the strictures of the equality of law, making true justice. Equity may demand that more be given to some
than what may be, by law, due to them, because they have been deprived of equal
opportunity and resources. Equity
restores the balance and moderates the selfish impulses of those already
blessed with social advantage. The
Master stated: “The Kingdom of God is founded
upon equity and justice, and also upon mercy, compassion, and kindness to every
living soul.” (Selections from the
Writings of Abdu'l-Baha: 158)
Now equity itself, while the axial
principle, or fundamental human value, in justice, is brought about through two
other powers working in tandem. The
first of these is consultation, but consultation does not function alone. In our discussion of the kerygmatic, we saw
that consultation is paired with compassion.
I wrote there: “…compassion
works collectively to build the unity of a group. It is itself an unique form of knowing and generating
knowledge. Baha’u’llah says compassion is of equal importance to consultation
in the meaningful exchange of thought: “The heaven of divine wisdom is
illumined with the two luminaries of consultation and compassion...”(Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 126)
Their
relation with justice as the inner faculty which discerns truth, and with the
consultative processes that operate within the outer institutions of justice to
educe and train that faculty, is further strengthened when we look at the
larger statement. Baha’u’llah wrote: “The
heaven of divine wisdom is illumined with the two luminaries of consultation
and compassion and the canopy of world order is upraised upon the two pillars
of reward and punishment.” (Tablets of
Baha'u'llah: 126) Consultation and
compassion are connected with intellect and the power of understanding, i.e.
the recognition of spiritual principle: “The Great Being saith: The heaven of
divine wisdom is illumined with the two luminaries of consultation and compassion.
Take ye counsel together in all matters, inasmuch as consultation is the lamp
of guidance which leadeth the way, and is the bestower of understanding.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 168)
As the faculty that discerns truth and orders
society, justice “traineth the world.”
Perhaps this is why it is the “best-beloved of all things” in His
sight. When it is a consistent system of
rewards and punishments, justice and equity are life-giving, as are all other
spiritual faculties when functioning properly.
Baha’u’llah tells us: “That which traineth the world is Justice, for it
is upheld by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars are the
sources of life to the world. Inasmuch as for each day there is a new problem
and for every problem an expedient solution, such affairs should be referred to
the Ministers of the House of Justice that they may act according to the needs
and requirements of the time.” (Tablets
of Baha'u'llah: 27)
“The structure of world stability and order,”
He further asserts, “hath been reared upon, and will continue to be sustained
by, the twin pillars of reward and punishment. And in another connection He
hath uttered the following in the eloquent tongue: Justice hath a mighty force
at its command. It is none other than reward and punishment for the deeds of
men. By the power of this force the tabernacle of order is established
throughout the world, causing the wicked to restrain their natures for fear of
punishment.” (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of
Baha'u'llah: 163-164)
Yet, what society today embodies both of
these ideals?; which community uses both wings of justice to fly? In a stinging indictment of many penal
systems, ‘Abdu’l-Baha remarked: “They build prisons, make chains and fetters,
arrange places of exile and banishment, and different kinds of hardships and
tortures, and think by these means to discipline criminals, whereas, in
reality, they are causing destruction of morals and perversion of characters.”
(Some Answered Questions: 271)
The best means of achieving justice is
through moral education. The Master
again: “The communities must punish the oppressor, the murderer, the
malefactor, so as to warn and restrain others from committing like crimes. But
the most essential thing is that the people must be educated in such a way that
no crimes will be committed; for it is possible to educate the masses so
effectively that they will avoid and shrink from perpetrating crimes, so that
the crime itself will appear to them as the greatest chastisement, the utmost
condemnation and torment. Therefore, no crimes which require punishment
will be committed.” (Some Answered
Questions: 268-269) He is not so
sanguine as to believe that crime can be completely eliminated. But His category of crimes that do not
require punishment is suggestive of the kind of community that can be built.
One final point needs be made regarding the
proper training of the faculty of justice.
I will let ‘Abdu’l-Baha make it, and only say to the reader to pay
attention to His last phrase: “As to the difference between that material
civilization now prevailing, and the divine civilization which will be one of
the benefits to derive from the House of Justice, it is this: material
civilization, through the power of punitive and retaliatory laws, restraineth
the people from criminal acts; and notwithstanding this, while laws to
retaliate against and punish a man are continually proliferating, as ye can see,
no laws exist to reward him.” (Selections
from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha: 132)
What might be the result of laws that reward citizens for righteous
actions? Again, crimes for which
punishment is not required, and laws that reward for good actions are ideas
that grow from the principle of the oneness of humanity and its correlate, in
this context, of equity—taking account of extenuating circumstances.
Basically there are two types of justice, retributive
and distributive. Loosely, the first is
punishment, the second, reward. Both are
necessary, but in individual psychology as in collective life, the retributive mentally
emerges first, while some idea of distributive emerges later with
socialization. (See, for example, Jean
Piaget, The Moral Judgement of the Child)
But this chronology indicates that distributive justice is, spiritually, the
higher form. Real distributive justice
has as its goal unity, the just distribution of goods, services, opportunities
and wealth in society. Hence it centers
round equity as its axial principle.
Socially, equity and justice depend first
upon a personal sense of justice among the rulers. “The heaven of statesmanship is made luminous
and resplendent by the brightness of the light of these blessed words which
hath dawned from the dayspring of the Will of God: It behoveth every ruler to
weigh his own being every day in the balance of equity and justice and then to
judge between men and counsel them to do that which would direct their steps
unto the path of wisdom and understanding. This is the cornerstone of
statesmanship and the essence thereof. From these words every enlightened man
of wisdom will readily perceive that which will foster such aims as the
welfare, security and protection of mankind and the safety of human lives.” (Baha'u'llah,
Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 166) But there is emerging today a third kind of
justice.
If humanity had the inner faculty of justice
better developed there would be no need for so many laws, because previous ones
would not need abrogation; and all such laws would be in harmony with that
which is immanent in human nature, not the desires of the ruling classes. True
justice would also preserve the universal relations of human society, as all
would be in harmony with Wisdom. That
is, justice would no longer be either retributive or distributive, but
restorative, putting relations in manifest unity and, thereby, renovating the
conditions of existence. The balance of
social forces, classes and aspirations would be dynamically set upon the
primary ideal of the oneness of humankind, much as proper bodily health comes
from the balance of foods and nutrients. It is necessary for the world's peace and prosperity that societies have laws that reward people for their good actions. This is but true manifest justice. Baha'u'llah, in our opening quote stated:
World civilization cannot be built without
institutions of justice at every level. The
best means of bringing forth the faculty of justice is good moral
education. They go hand-in-hand. We read where rulers must daily weigh their
own actions in the balance of justice and equity, then rule over their
subjects. But justice in a globalizing
world cannot be established without a universal code of morality, agreed upon
by all people, that sets out what is right and wrong for everyone. Morality, too, is intimately connected with
both individual and social transformation.
Another way that the word of God can be
discovered and recognized is through the moral faculty. We turn to that next.
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