Acharya Tulsi
There is no one definite way of life for man. At times he wants to live an individual life of his own; at other times, he experiences joy in merging with the group. At times he willingly accepts bondage; at other times he is impatient to be totally free. Sometimes he looks within, at other times he is wholly concerned with outward happenings. At times he believes in the utility of laws and regulations, at other times he ruthlessly exposes their futility. Because of this peculiarity of the human mind, the state, the society and religion were obliged to interfere in his life. This interference was given the name of government, which has now become an indispensable pre-requisite of community life.
Where there is government, there is also a constitution. Without the constitution, no system of government can work. The objective of the constitution is the awakening of intelligence and the evolution of the administrative capability. As long as the intelligence of the people living in a community is not awakened, as long as they have no control over their minds which are disposed towards evil, the constitution has its utility. It also occupies an equally important place in the functioning of religion, even though the fundamental grounds of various constitutions in the fields of the state, the society and religion, are different. The order of their working is also different.
In the administration of the state and of society, the witness plays a greater role than even self-confession. lf a man has committed some fault and strong evidence to this effect is forthcoming, he is liable to be punished. Contrary to this, confession occupies the highest place in the field of religion. Accordingly, in the field of religion, until a man has confessed his fault, he cannot be punished.
As in the case of state administration, there is a prescribed penal, code in the administration of religion. Its representative documents are the Chhed—Sutras. One of the four Chhed—Sutras is entitled ‘Behaviour (Vyavihar). Of topical interest is the gist of an extract therefrom:
Two sadhaks came to the guru together. One of them said, "Master! I have committed such and such fault along with such and such monk. Kindly absolve me of my guilt by awarding me some penance." On hearing this confession, the Master interrogates the other sadhak about it. If that sadhak accepts the blame, the two undertake penance together. In the event of the other sadhak’s denial, however, the Master would award penance only to the confessor. There is no provision for awarding penance a sadhak who has not confessed his guilt.
The above instance underlines the subtle distinction between the rules, the constitution, and the penal code of the state and those pertaining to religion. Occasions have not been wanting when the defaulting sadhaks have freely confessed all their unknown crimes and accepted penance; that is the way of self- purification.
A stage arises in the sphere or religion which transcends all laws and is called kalpatita. After reaching that stage, no law is binding on the seeker of the spirit. That does not mean that the seeker is free to do anything. The transcendental state called kalpatita is just not possible where licence prevails. This total freedom from bondage of any kind applies only to the seekers who have perfected their self-discipline to the point of complete independence. This is the central point to grasp for a thorough understanding of the laws governing civil administration and those governing religion.
