Justice is a broad concept, and it needs to take a wide view. But to be real, it also has to draw the individual into focus. I was reminded of this at a conference on the religions of India which examined ideas and practices of social and environmental justice. In each example there was an inter-play of individual and community. Let me give a taste.

Once a year, there is a Jain ritual confessing the harm done to other life forms, intentional or unintentional. In Jain philosophy, every being has--or is--a jiva, a life force that strives for fullness. While each creature is responsible for their own jiva, the harm done to another creature becomes part of their accrued karma. Because negative karma inhibits the creature in the next life, every creature wants to limit the harm they do.

Jains are strict vegetarians, but plants have a jiva and being eaten ends this incarnation. Microbes are destroyed in the course of everyday life. The act of living does harm other creatures. So confession is a regular practice with the prayer, "I ask pardon of all creatures; may all creatures pardon me."

What Jain philosophy does is widen the field of attention, broaden the perspective of who matters. Although each human is responsible for the striving of their own jiva, that progress requires attention to the possible harm done to every jiva, every plant and animal, they encounter. Each can dial back their impact.

In South Africa and then in India, M. K. Gandhi worked to bring justice to the society he lived in. He used techniques of non-violent resistance in his campaigns. He knew that the sacrifice required in such a campaign--the refusal to return violence with violence, the willingness to be arrested and jailed--took self-discipline. So each person needed to practice self-discipline in their daily life in order to prepare for the sacrifices needed in the pursuit of justice.

Because the path of satyagraha was arduous, he established ashrams in both countries where people could live together and encourage one another in the practice of self-discipline. The goal was lived out by the individual first and these intentional communities second in the hope that the nation could be transformed.

In the early twentieth century, Sikh immigrants made their way to the U S. Two such men came to teach and to offer healing rituals where they traveled. Their writings and their workshops were extremely popular. When they applied for citizenship, however, they were told that citizenship was only for whites.

One of these men challenged that denial in court arguing that their heritage was Indo-European just like those who lived in Europe, those who had immigrated to the U S. The court responded that any ordinary person could see that a Sikh was not white.

Before we shake our heads at American prejudice, this was also the era when Canada turned back a shipload of Sikh's seeking admission to Canada even though it was known that they were at risk if sent back to their homeland. In fact, nineteen were shot when disembarking back in India and many others imprisoned.

In the case of the two men in the U S, it was their individual aspiration that drove them, but their personal quest shone light on the exclusionary practice of the government.

One of the common ways in which blessing is shared in Indian religious traditions is the distribution of prasad. At a temple, the departing worshipper will be offered food to eat or fruit to take with them. The time of prayer and ritual in the temple blesses them, but this gift strengthens and extends that blessing for the individual. Recently, some Sikh gurus will distribute seeds as prasad. The departing worshipper is expected to plant the seeds so that the blessing is extended through them to the natural world. What is usually an individual blessing becomes a gift to the environment.

Other themes emerged at the conference as we examined ways of building community, coherence and connection, but in ways that took me by surprise, focus on individual salvation could widen the human perspective to take in the whole environment. Focus on social change came back to the life choices of the individual. Living justice takes both the individual and the whole.
Cathy Hird is a farmer, minister, and writer living near Walters Falls.