In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores the traditional understanding of justice through the Sanskrit concept of Nyaya.
The Sanskrit word for justice, Nyaya, is more commonly translated as law, but it is not law in the sense of the kind of laws that people create through legislatures. It means a law that emerges from right action and right alignment with reality.
I am thinking about justice because I recently went for the third time to visit the shrine of Masani Amman, who is the chief Devi, the chief goddess of the Palachi District in Tamil Nadu. Despite the fact that I have been associated with this part of Tamil Nadu for the past fourteen years, it was only in the last year that Masani Amman agreed to make herself known to me.
She did so because one morning I was out walking with a friend, and we saw a very unusual image in a small roadside shrine of a goddess who was lying down. I had never seen a goddess represented in that way. I wondered who she was, so I came back and asked someone about her. They told me that the next day they were going to visit her, which seemed very appropriate.
We went there, received her darshan, and heard the story of Masani Amman. A few hundred years ago, she was a young girl or young woman who lived in this part of the state. There was a chieftain who had a mango tree that he was very fond of, and he declared that nobody should eat mangoes from that tree except him. Otherwise, they would have to die.
There are different stories about how it happened, but accidentally she ate one of the mangoes. The chieftain declared that she must now die. The local people said that this was not fair because she did not know what she was doing. But the chieftain replied that he had created the law, and if he did not enforce it, people would think he was weak.
This is a good example of the difference between Nyaya as law and Nyaya as justice. He created the law and could have changed it, but he became attached to his authority and enforced it. She was executed, and not long afterward he was killed in a battle with another chieftain.
The local people recognized that she had been treated unjustly. They were concerned that she might become an unhappy spirit in the area, so they began worshipping her and acknowledging that justice had not been done in her case. Over the past few centuries, she has become very popular in the Palachi District, and people go to her for many reasons. We went simply to offer our respects and acknowledge her presence as the chief deity of the district.
Many people go to Masani Amman when they feel they have been wronged. The belief is that she can help them obtain justice. If someone seeks justice, they may go with a large bag of red chilies and grind them in the temple. They then apply the chilies to the stone of justice with the prayer that whatever needs to happen in the situation will be done by Masani Amman.
I would never do this because I was warned by Vimalananda never to ask for justice. He gave an example that I have thought about many times. There was a sadhu who sat in penance for twelve years. After twelve years, God was pleased and appeared before him, saying, “I am pleased. Ask for a boon.”
The sadhu said, “I want justice.”
God replied, “What a foolish thing to ask for. Do not ask for justice. Ask for something useful. Ask for money, ask for a wife, ask to become enlightened, ask for something that will benefit you.”
The sadhu again said, “I want justice.”
God said, “I am a busy being. I have the entire universe to deal with. I cannot spend more time with you. I will give you one more chance. What do you want?”
The sadhu again said, “I want justice.”
God replied, “You have been sitting on that rock for twelve years. Now that rock will sit on your head for twelve years. There is your justice.”
So do not ask God for justice. You can ask for mercy. You can examine a situation, try to do what is right, and try to obtain justice. But do not ask God for justice, because you do not know exactly what justice will mean in your particular situation.