_and soc-culture.malaysia a few weeks ago.
Calumny and Justice
There is a mysterious saying by a great Christian sage, Meister Eckhardt of the 13th century:
‘The more he blasphemes, the more he praises God.’
The meaning, on one level at least, is as follows: when a person takes the name of God in vain, or when he swears at God or maligns Him in any way, he is first of all acknowledging His existence, and to acknowledge His existence is, indirectly, a ‘praise’ of God. Even the atheist, who denies God’s existence, is still ‘praising’ Him because the atheist is making use of his speech, his intelligence, and his free will—all three being gifts of God to man; the very use of these gifts glorifies, whether the atheist likes it or not, the greatness of the Giver, God Himself. From this point of view, every single thing in existence, even the most negative, cannot help ‘praising’ God by its very existence, the existence bestowed upon it by God. All things are expressions of divine creativity, and, therefore, all things bear witness to the Creator.
The principle of this argument applies on lower levels also: when a good person is unjustly calumniated by an evil person, all of the calumny simply redounds to the further glory of the good person, and shows, all the more clearly, the perversion of the calumniator. Things are more clearly seen in terms of opposites: black stands out more clearly against a white background, beauty is more dazzling when contrasted with ugliness. Now, the present smear campaign against the good name and reputation of Anwar Ibrahim should be seen by all intelligent observers in just this light: the very absurdity of the allegations, without a trace of supporting evidence, is itself a sign, albeit indirect, of the integrity of Anwar Ibrahim’s character. The more poisonous the venom of his detractors, the more his commitment to justice is affirmed. For it is clear that the people behind the smear campaign—which has been launched with considerable money and resources—are those who have most to lose by Anwar Ibrahim’s accession to the leadership; those who have benefited from corruption are those who most fear one who would put an end to corruption. When a just person is attacked by other just persons, there is confusion; but there can be no confusion when a just person is attacked by vicious persons: if they did not attack the just person, that would be a cause for concern, for that would mean that they did not fear him, and that in turn might mean that they did not think his commitment to justice was genuine. As the Tao Te Ching says: When the inferior man hears of the Tao he laughs; if he did not laugh, it would not be the Tao.
But the mean-spirited have indeed attacked him, for they do fear, correctly, his commitment to justice; the calumnies of the corrupt against a just man are therefore so many eloquent pleas for his justice, so many arguments in favour of his sincerity, so many proofs of his integrity. The more they calumniate, the more they praise him …
‘Offences must needs come’, says Jesus, ‘but woe to him through whom the offence cometh’. We are living at a time when it would be foolhardy to believe that justice and truth will easily predominate over corruption and falsehood. It will not be easy to establish righteous principles in an age dominated by greed and pride; in an age where worldliness is the norm, and piety is the exception. The ‘world’ itself comes to the assistance of the worldly, whence the material power of the unjust; but it is no less true that heaven lends succour to those that are truly pious, whence the spiritual power of the just. One key element of justice is the capacity to subordinate self-interest to higher principles: that is, in social terms, to sacrifice self-interest to the common good, and, in spiritual terms, to submit the ego to the dictates of the Divine. By overcoming egotism and narrow self-interest, true justice is not of this world, for egotism is the life-blood of the world: in this light the relevance of the following saying of Jesus to the present smear-campaign can be more fully grasped:
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
All those who support Anwar Ibrahim should, therefore, draw strength from the present situation, and not be disheartened. Anyone who supports Anwar Ibrahim for the sake of politics alone will indeed be disheartened; but anyone who supports him politically for the sake of the ideals he represents will be strengthened. For the attacks against him are really attacks against those ideals; principally, the ideal of justice. So whoever supports Anwar Ibrahim for the sake of their commitment to justice cannot experience any despondency; for justice is one with the Truth, and where there is Truth, there is victory: in the world there will be tribulations, Jesus told us, but he added: be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.
Again, those whose commitment to justice is political only, may suffer a degree of despair at the present time; but no despair can afflict those whose commitment to political justice is an expression of a higher principle: spiritual aspiration for the source of all true justice in God. For such people, what counts is spiritual integrity first, then moral integrity and then political integrity; adherence to these ideals is itself victory: goodness is its own reward. Even if the corrupt appear to be ahead in political terms, their victory, if achieved, can only be a hollow one; for the escape from justice can only ever be temporary, while the fruits of justice, on the contrary, are eternal. For the unjust, the fruits of injustice last at most until the end of this short stay on earth; no one can avoid judgement in the Hereafter. For those who are just, on the contrary, the fruits of their justice begin here and now: what delight on earth can compare with a good conscience, born of sincere faith? Not only do such just people taste the fruits of justice on earth: they also have a foretaste of the fruits of their faith in eternity: blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
It is from this certainty of God’s Justice—implacable and inescapable—that just persons derive their inner strength. In the measure that we are certain of divine justice, we shall be strong, calm, and confident. If we are lacking this certainty, then we will fall prey to all manner of doubts and confusion. Just people are fully just only if they give full due to God; for giving everything its proper due is the very definition of justice. Now, to give God His due is, among other things, to acknowledge that nothing happens but by His Will; to be fully resigned to this Will; to accept that His Justice prevails over all worldly injustices; to have trust in this Justice above all else; and to draw all the practical consequences from these attitudes. There are many who believe in God but do not give God His due: whose belief is not reflected in their actions, intentions, and attitudes. Now those who think of themselves as ‘just’ cannot suffer despair at any worldly misfortune, for then they are not trusting in His Goodness, not resigning themselves to His Will, not giving God His due: they are not being really ‘just’. In the face of trials, these inner attitudes must be present if we are to be really ‘just’; and there should also be ‘just’ action, that is, appropriate action—in the present circumstances, patience and steadfastness are called for: a refusal to be intimidated.
Let all those who believe in justice—in economic justice to the poor and down-trodden, in fidelity to the principles of right conduct in political life, in adherence to judicial propriety, in fair treatment of religious minorities—let all such believers know that the sordid and the petty will not prevail over the truth; and let us all draw comfort from this certainty.