Law and spirituality: Why a bond is essential for ensuring justice

In the area of law and justice, focus on spirituality is scarce. Photo: Reuters.

When we are being victimised and wronged, we have basically  two alternatives. We can  seek justice in the form of revenge which is very conventional due to our mindset. Peace and happiness can also be sought instead of retortion. When we quest peace and happiness, we acknowledge and recuperate our spirituality and by accepting it, our judiciary can also ensure humane justice. 

By reuniting law and spirituality in justice, separate human bodies restore tranquillity and experience their true oneness. Justice has spiritual value which expresses humanism - the ultimate goal of our civilisation. It also encounters  the establishment of a society founded on liberty, equality and fraternity through the enforcement of law. 

This correlation of spirituality with justice itself is an indicator of equity and tranquillity in the legal process. Law has some limitations as sometimes we can not reach to the root cause just by the law. Spirituality helps in going into the root cause. 

If we have already understood spirituality as a way of life incorporating humanism, we realise that in today's world, there is a need especially in the legal profession to incorporate this particular way of life for living with sanity, wisdom, reasonableness, dignity, and with stability to ensure common good in society. 

We need to use our conscience aptly to understand the rights and responsibilities with the help of  the subtleness and sensitivity which is very indispensable for a justice system and this can only be developed and nurtured through spiritual prudence and practice of spiritual values. 

When judges and lawyers assimilate spiritual values and oneness in enforcing these laws, we aim to achieve a better governed society. Spirituality believes in 'Sarvajan hitaya, sarvajana sukhaya' and this is the basic spirit of the judiciary but without compromising the rights of any individuals and a group. 

It is argued that spirituality matters for informing decisions, exhibiting human activities, and promoting social cohesion and even individual health. 

In the area of law and justice, however, focus on spirituality is scarce. But both legal and spiritual aspects are well connected with the justice system because the justice which is encompassed with spiritual value is the inner expression of a judge and of the lawyers.

The legal attitude of a judge and the lawyers of a case  can provide a sense of social justice and responsibility which leads to respect and protects the rights of others and the basic laws of a state. The spiritual attitude leads to the freedom of soul and promotes neutralism, a sense of fellowship with human beings, harmony with the universe which creates connection with the divine while ensuring justice. A felicitous justice system is possible when legal and spiritual aspects are coupling together through the judiciary.

Law is the compilation of a set of tools which is admittedly complex and intellectually engaging. But we should not get so caught up in the intellectual interest of law  forgetting  that law alone cannot solve human problems. Law may facilitate the solution of a given problem which has arisen in a suit. But we cannot expect law to tell us how the problem should be resolved considering the common good. 

Law should have connectivity with spirituality and our lawmakers should keep it in mind while enacting laws.The greatest fear about justice occurs when lawyers and legal scholars presume  that it will introduce indeterminate subjectivity in the courtroom instead of determinacy of law. 

What the law says is part of the suit that the litigating parties want to tell to the judge. We cannot do justice if we remain blind to the law. 

It is strategically unwise to argue with the judge that the judge should not apply a particular law because the law in question is unjust. But spirituality can answer what the judge should do when the judge is faced with applying an unjust law. Any judicial opinion should not be constructed and designed to convince the reader that the judge had no choice so that law had determined everything. Such kind of enforcement of law is not expected also. 

By measuring the significance of spirituality, it can be said that justice rendered without blending of law and spirituality from legal professionals is worthless for a society. Cooperation is necessary with the spirit in the world to render this justice visible and real. Spirituality can add a joyful dimension to the activities of the judges  as well as elevate this profession to an eminent dimension  by integrating true inherent spirituality with the relevant laws in the judiciary .

The establishment of a just and fair legal system along with fair and impartial judiciary is essential for a community at the local, national, or supranational level and integrating spirituality into these two sectors is the ultimate achievement of law. 

Spirituality cannot be left out of the system. In fact, spirituality has uniqueness because it affects the law by its holistic dimensionality which provides unity to moral, political, and legal values and these positive aspects also touch the inner thoughts of a judge.

Legal systems should  not be  independent from the spiritual element because spiritual features of humans such as love, communion, and gift are deeply rooted with the legal triad of justice, agreement, and right. 

Intentions which are individual and collective have a role to play and cultural values are also the elements which operate as a bridge between legality and spirituality. Legal systems have been  evolving through spiritualisation. 

Spirituality has been promoting the dematerialisation of the legal system by motivating the limitation of exploitation and inspiring the reduction of coercion. It also stimulates unity and consensus in society and enhances  respect for the law and the legal systems. Time has come to voice those thoughts which come from the inner spirit which is needed  for the spirit of the law.

Tarin Hasan, Contributor. Sketch: TBS

Tarin Hasan is a student, department of law, University of Chittagong.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.