蜜芽传媒

Good morning. There has been much comment on the sentence handed down to Oscar Pistorius on Tuesday. Some people still doubt his claim that he killed his girl-friend by accident; and the prosecution may yet appeal the murder acquittal. And, was the sentence for the crime of culpable homicide too harsh or too lenient? There鈥檚 no doubt that Judge Thokozile Masipa walked a delicate tight-rope in trying to apply a sentence which was, in her words, 鈥渇air and just both to society and to the accused鈥�.

Now, today is Diwali, probably the most important festival for Hindu families around the world. The Diwali story really starts with an incident which, I think, has parallels with the Pistorius case. Rama鈥檚 father Dasharatha had been obliged to banish Rama, but, then racked with grief and separation, Dasharath lost the will to live. In his dying hours, he recalled how, as a young man out hunting, he thought he鈥檇 heard an animal drinking from the river; and so fired his arrow. But, the cry of pain was human and Dasharath rushed to the spot to find a young man pierced in the heart. The dying youth urged Dasharatha to find his elderly parents and beg their forgiveness for the crime that he鈥檇 committed, albeit unknowingly.
Dasharatha did so, but although distraught at the time, it was only now, feeling his own pain at the loss of Rama, that he understood the unbearable suffering his reckless actions had inflicted. And, he realised he had never been punished for his error; nor made amends; nor properly satisfied the boy鈥檚 parents with his contrition.

Dasharatha suspected that his current anguish might well be the result of some form of natural justice at work balancing out his previous wrong-doing and lack of atonement.

One of the key Diwali messages is that when the state applies justice, it endeavours to assure its citizens that, ultimately, goodness and fairness should prevail in the face of atrocities and terrible crime 鈥� but, not just as a social principle. The Hindu idea is that good state justice nurtures confidence that, behind the scenes, the universe itself is a fair and just place.

Judge Masipa spoke boldly about the need to balance justice with mercy. And, in this regard, the Hindu tradition teaches us that showing mercy when applying justice is one way of acknowledging the forgiveness and redemption that we might seek from God.

The Diwali story concludes with Rama鈥檚 return from exile and his welcome back to Ayodhya 鈥� an event celebrated by the lights and fireworks that have come to symbolise the Diwali festivities鈥� as we are led from the darkness of our mistakes and troubles to the light of hope and redemption. Happy Diwali.

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