Karmic law and the Dharma of encounters

Nov 23, 2009, 12.00am IST
SHANTANU NAGARKATTI .

What is the best way to deal with terrorists, Naxalites, gangsters and other similar anti-social elements and perpetrators of violence and terror?


Should we take the path of legal action by submitting the case in courts of law – of protracted justice – that are known for their long and often tedious procedures? Or should we simply confront the perpetrators of injustice on the streets, with bullets of instant justice? These questions are not new. Gurcharan Das in his book The Difficulty Of Being Good – on The Subtle Art of Dharma, discusses the quandary that Yuddhistra faced in the Mahabharata epic.


‘‘Debate is useless,’’ says the Mahabharata. ‘‘There are many scriptural authorities (or law books) that contradict one another, as do the Brahmins (lawyers). The essence of dharma remains a great secret. We need to learn (dharma) from the conduct of the great Ones.’’ From the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and looking at the behaviour of divine incarnations like Rama and Krishna, we might get some insight: Are encounters or extrajudicial killings within the boundaries of dharma?


In the Kishkindhakand of the Ramayana, Rama hides behind a tree and shoots an arrow that kills the monkey king Vali as he battles his brother – and Rama’s devotee – Sugriva. While dying, Vali accuses the Lord of transgressing dharma by indulging in murder through concealment rather than by direct confrontation in battle. Rama declares that Vali has himself indulged in adharma by appropriating his brother’s wife. Further, Kshatriya dharma is valid only in battle against another Kshatriya, isn’t it?


In the Mahabharata, when a helpless Karna, left without any weapon, is facing an encounter type of death from Arjuna, he takes the shelter of dharma as protection. Krishna asks Karna if he upheld dharma – when Draupadi was being stripped, when Shakuni played a rigged game of dice with Yuddhistra, when Arjuna’s young son, Abhimanyu, was encircled in the Chakravyhu and mercilessly slain. As Karna hangs his head in shame, the Lord instructs a hesitant Arjuna to shoot his arrows and kill the defenceless warrior.


Dharma protects those who uphold dharma. Those who violate dharma are not entitled to the protection of dharma. Equality is a spiritual concept, for all of us are truly spiritually equal. But we need to be careful in porting this concept of equality onto the material plane of dispensing justice. If we must follow in the footsteps of the great Ones, it could be arguably stated that ‘‘encounters’’ might have a place – only if dispensed by just and flawless agents – in the big picture of maintaining law and order.


In his book, Beyond Good and Evil, Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future, Nietzsche said, ‘‘When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.’’ If you look into evil long enough, even as you confront it, evil could become a part of you. So maybe it is best to let the wheels of justice grind faster.


In current times, there might not be the equivalent of the great Ones who could unravel through example, the mystery of dharma. Hence those who risk taking the law into their own hands must be prepared to face the karmic consequences of their actions, and like Yuddhistra at the conclusion of the Mahabharata, be ready to experience Hell – as the Pandava prince had to, in submission to the karmic law of cause and effect.