Justice, as a faculty of the soul,
enables the individual to distinguish truth from falsehood and guides the
investigation of reality, so essential if superstitious beliefs and outworn
traditions that impede unity are to be eliminated
(Universal House of Justice:
Letter to the Bahá'ís of Iran 2 March 2013)
Often, when thinking about justice, we think
of social justice, a sociological and legal concept. It is a condition that we
wish to bring about in the world through the creation and application of good
civil law. We
think of barriers to unity as social, as laws and institutions that
discriminate, enabling one race or class to have and keep advantages, as
narrow-minded prejudices and divisive thought patterns, all of which must be
overcome. All this is true, but it is only half the truth. It is only half of the truth because it does
not discern the spiritual aspect, does not recognize the inner faculty of
justice needing proper training and expression: that all enduring and
progressive social conditions are built upon a spiritual foundation.
As global peace stems from an inner state, so
social justice is the outer manifestation of that inner reconciliation and
balancing which characterizes the two natures of humanity when they are working
in tandem in a spirit of harmony. The
inner reconciliation, which is justice for the two natures are in proper
balance, then enables the appearance of unity.
Baha’u’llah, of course, recognized all this
and a great deal more, and knew the reason why, imploring His followers: “Time
and again have We admonished Our beloved ones to avoid, nay to flee from,
anything whatsoever from which the odour of mischief can be detected. The world
is in great turmoil, and the minds of its people are in a state of utter confusion.
We entreat the Almighty that He may graciously illuminate them with the glory
of His Justice, and enable them to discover that which will be profitable unto
them at all times and under all conditions. He, verily is the All-Possessing,
the Most High.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah:
94)
Justice
is the faculty of discernment. Discernment is the ability to judge well. It is the middle way between an undiscerning
and unguarded tolerance of every kind of action, and a rigid legalistic
mechanical system of laws and principles. Justice is the supreme operating
quality for today, the harbinger of unity and the foundation of peace. It separates the old order from the new,
because its perceptions are based upon a new foundation of knowledge and truth.
What does
Baha’u’llah say about the soul’s faculty of justice? “The best beloved of all things in My
sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it
not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes
and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and
not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it
behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My
loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.” (The Arabic Hidden Words #2)
Yet, as I have said, justice
and the other faculties come from the religious faculty and religion’s
principles of moral and social life.
Recall Baha’u’llah’s statement: “Should
the lamp of religion be obscured, chaos and confusion will ensue, and the
lights of fairness and justice, of tranquillity and peace cease to shine.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 125)
He says of His own Revelation and the powers
it grants: “The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is
for man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the eye of
oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a searching eye.”
(Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 156)
Freeing our minds from all rigid ideology and
our hearts from fancy and imitation, perceiving the creation of God with the
eye of oneness as totality, not multiplicity, and looking into all things with
a searching eye, enables the intelligence to discern the truth in all things
and separate out what is vain, fanciful, prejudicial, untrue and simply wrong,
from what is true, enlightening and enduring. These are the attributes of discernment,
and they will manifest when we learn to measure our limited knowledge against
the standard of the ocean of His Revelation and true scientific knowledge, not
the other way around. Baha’u’llah advised one soul: “Set now thy face towards
the court of this Wronged One, that haply the breezes of Revelation and the
breaths of inspiration may assist thee and enable thee to attain thy goal.
Whoever gazeth this day on My signs will distinguish truth from falsehood as
the sun from shadow, and will be made cognizant of the goal.” (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf: 87) And of any searching soul: “He discerneth the
truth in all things, through the guidance of Him Who is the All-Seeing.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah:
342)
Through the exercise of the faculty of
justice the mind will be able to discern knowledges as yet unknown, and unified
social conditions as yet unrealized.
For He says: “Unveiled and unconcealed, this Wronged One hath, at all
times, proclaimed before the face of all the peoples of the world that which
will serve as the key for unlocking the doors of sciences, of arts, of
knowledge, of well-being, of prosperity and wealth.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 96)
If justice is the faculty of discernment, how
do we discern real justice from its imitators and false claimants? We discern true justice by knowing its
purpose, which Baha’u’llah tells us: “The purpose of
justice is the appearance of unity among men. (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 66-67)
We have
seen that “The well-being of mankind, its peace and
security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah: 286) But unity will remain a floating balloon
moving toward a receding horizon without a secure anchoring in justice.
If unity is the purpose of justice, then real
justice cannot be realized through the violent redress of past inequality, the
overthrow of oppressions and dismantling of discriminatory practices supported
by prejudicial laws. That is part of the
work of justice, and its results will endure if the goal of this work is the
further unity of the human race. If this
is not their purpose, then humanity will simply run another circle on the
gerbil wheel of social upheaval and merely replace one oppressive ruling class
with another. The full statement of
which I have just quoted contains both a warning and a promise: “The light of men is Justice. Quench it not
with the contrary winds of oppression and tyranny. The purpose of justice is
the appearance of unity among men. The ocean of divine wisdom surgeth within
this exalted word, while the books of the world cannot contain its inner
significance. Were mankind to be adorned with this raiment, they would behold
the day-star of the utterance, 'On that day God will satisfy everyone out of
His abundance,' shining resplendent above the horizon of the world. Appreciate
ye the value of this utterance; it is a noble fruit that the Tree of the Pen of
Glory hath yielded.” (Tablets of Baha'u'llah: 66-67)
The inner unity is the result of an
educational effort that develops the faculty of justice, that enables minds to
discern, i.e. know and judge, the truth in all things: to discern as quickly
and accurately as we differentiate light from shadow.
The outer unity here, as an expression of the
pivotal principle of the oneness of humankind, is that all should have the same
rights and privileges. The Master
asserts that: “Justice is not limited, it is a universal quality. Its operation
must be carried out in all classes, from the highest to the lowest. Justice
must be sacred, and the rights of all the people must be considered. Desire for
others only that which you desire for yourselves. Then shall we rejoice in the
Sun of Justice, which shines from the Horizon of God.” (Paris Talks: 161)
What is the core value and principle that
teaches justice and draws forth and trains the faculty of justice? Baha’u’llah combines the inner faculty of
justice with its social determinations in this quote, which also states the
axial value of justice: “Say: ‘O God, my God! Attire mine head
with the crown of justice, and my temple with the ornament of equity. Thou,
verily, art the Possessor of all gifts and bounties.’
“Justice and equity are twin Guardians that
watch over men. From them are revealed such blessed and perspicuous words as
are the cause of the well-being of the world and the protection of the nations.”
(Epistle to the Son of the Wolf: 12-13)
Socially, justice through equity, which is the middle way we mentioned earlier, is the discernment
of attenuating circumstances that enable a fair retribution or distribution of
goods and services or a fair legal decision to be carried out. Law is a blanket statement, but equity is the
just application of the law, the leveling of the playing field, how all are
equal before the law, how social equality is truly realized. So important are these qualities that He
unequivocally states: “It beseemeth you to fix your gaze under all conditions
upon justice and fairness.” (Tablets of
Baha'u'llah: 36)
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