Mystic Mantra: Don’t judge what you see
Whenever an accused is given the death penalty, it is accompanied by a furious debate on the validity of this “uncivilised” punishment. But if you listen to the arguments closely, the opposition to capital punishment is not on humanitarian grounds but guided by a shared sense of vengeance. They contend that those awarded the death penalty are often involved in heinous crimes hence a swift death might actually look like a reprieve. And those who are in favour seem to get a morbid gratification watching someone walking to the gallows.
Alas, the whole system of law and order, as well as the public reaction, is based on revenge, not on compassion. It comes out of a very superficial understanding of the human mind. This is no solution to a crime. What the society needs is the insight of someone like Osho: “A human being is a vast phenomenon. Therefore, don’t judge people by their actions.
Actions are momentary, life is long. You judge the whole life of a person — ‘This man is a thief, that man is a murderer’ — and not only do you judge, but your courts, which are thought to be just, go on judging people by their actions. Nobody looks at the cause. You don’t have the means to enter into anybody’s act, because the action comes from his unconscious. You have not explored your own unconscious, how can you enter into somebody else’s unconscious?”
This is a valid question indeed. We cannot forget that these criminals are born in the society created by all of us. We cannot deny our responsibility. Like it or not, all of us have the potential to turn into a criminal if pushed against the wall. Thus, justice should be imparted like the Chinese sage Lao Tzu. The emperor of China wanted Lao Tzu, the wise, to be the chief justice of China. When the emperor offered him the position, Tzu said, “You are choosing a wrong person because I will be really just.” The emperor said, “That is why we are inviting you.”
The first case was about a thief who had stolen money from the richest man in China. Lao Tzu listened to the whole case and gave his judgment: “Six months jail for both the rich man and the thief.” The rich man was aghast,
Tzu said, “I am looking at the whole thing as deeply as possible. This thief is a secondary criminal but you are the primary one.” “You have collected the entire capital’s money, you have deprived the millions their share of the money. Even if he had not stolen from you, you needed punishment. And I will not call this poor man a thief; he was simply distributing wealth to those to whom it belongs. You are a bloodsucker, a parasite!”
Amrit Sadhana is in the management team of Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune. She facilitates meditation workshops around the country and abroad.
