IDEA OF JUSTICE

Oh lady Themis!  How great is thy balancing act!

Blindfolded and unbiased in the marble you seem!

Yet, in real life, can you ever level your tilted scale! 

 Can two faces meet, when two heads are turning away?

Two torsos pulling in opposite directions

Two hands, yet hoping to shake and greet!

But tell me oh miraculous one!

Can your scale of justice be kept at balance, in this world of inequality!

In a world where existence is inequality!

And inequality is existence!

From night and day, to food and water

Unequal are properties

Unequal are qualities

Unequal are resources

Unequal capability; unequal availability

Yet, what equality can you claim; when you claim justice!

 Justice is fairness; and fairness is justice; once said Rawls

Equal rights for basic liberties he says

But who decides the scales of the basic!

Greatest advantage to the least advantaged, he says

But, what qualities do you choose

When conflicts arise, with multiple choices!

Many are disadvantaged, based on many a different property

Which one of the many will one choose? 

With limited resources and multiples of disadvantaged

On what basis does one comparatively distribute?

Can one compare pain with poverty?

Can one compare hunger with disease?

Who can compare; and who can choose!

Can anyone be just- when he can just choose?

The Rawlsian veil of ignorance; hiding its inherent quality

With reasoning minds   and rational beings

Within the cosy fair comfort of the original position

Even to an omniscient man, with omnipotent capability

Are they not finer points of imagination?

The hard problem of justice is real; and when its reality strikes you

It strikes you hard as a rugged rock

To chisel into this,  justice must deal with the rocky reality of the real man

The shrewd man next door; the unkempt man round the corner!

The man within; still grappling with greed hate and delusion!

The man with a preference for us over them; family over friend; friend over stranger

A preference for the known over the unknown

A preference for the fearsome over the fearful; more over the less

With limited resources and limited facility

With Limited   man’s cognitive capability

Can any real system of man,  ever be Just!

 Upholding the hands of justice on the Indian ground

Nyaya and Niti have long been around!

Tested and tried to be sound

Nyaya and Niti are wisdom profound!

Nyaya aims at fairness; Niti goes by the rule  

Niti is human society’s only protective tool

Protecting the powerless from the powerful

Limiting the reign of power; and setting the rule of security

Nyaya on the other hand is of implementation

Nyaya is of practise : Nyaya is considerate

Nyaya is comparative; Nyaya is compassionate 

To be effective and just in, wisdom and action 

Nyaya and niti  must  go hand in hand

Nyaya and niti;  hand in hand  to control power

Aiming to restore equal opportunity, in world of inequality

Striving for equanimity, protecting the weaker from the stronger

Nyaya and niti   ultimately aim at balancing power!

But to handle power and balance it , one must accept its inherent  responsibility

For the hard handle of Power is attached broad basket of responsibility

The Power to utilize; brings in responsibility to conserve

The power to access; brings in responsibility to share

The power to influence; brings in the responsibly to be truthful

The power to distribute; bring in the responsibility to be fair

Responsibility produces motivation

Motivation produces the will

The Will produces action

And If action is non violent and the will is good

And motivation is devoid of greed hate and delusion

Action tends towards the ideal !

And the ideal tends towards the idea!

The ideal idea ;  the idea of justice!

Tell me friend!  Is this not a pragmatic solution?

Only a pragmatic solution to the mere idea of justice!