Sort of a moral dilemma. Ok, here's the scenario: An aquaintence of yours is in a jam and needs some money bad. You lend it to him and help him out, but later, when he's supposed to repay you, he refuses and goes on his way. You are left without your money and want justice done, but there's nothing you can do about it. Now suppose later you find some dirt on him, which could get him in trouble with the police, or his wife, or his boss, or whatever. Would it be wrong to rat him out, and screw him over, or would it be justice? And is vengence wrong? Is it wrong to take justice into your own hands, or should you leave it to the fates, and why?
If I were you, I wouldn't rat him out, because that's the pussy thing to do, but I would take a baseball bat to his car or something of that sort.
Ratting him out is not so cool, because you would lower yourself to his level then. I would just wait, he will be punished eventually, and you know you did the right thing.
Punished for what? For not paying him back? That's not illegal, if they never signed a contract and all that crap. I'm still suggesting the baseball bat revenge :sunglasse
Ratting him out involves the authorities, which are NOT involved in the problem between the two of you; that's why you shouldn't do it. It's like running to mom and dad when a playground bully picks on you; that never solves the problem, ever, and only makes things worse and more complicated. Say that amount of money is yours. And he has it and won't give it back. Which means, he's got x amount of money extra. In my mind, you've got two options, one representing "justice" and the other "vengeance." The first, the "just" one, would involve you taking back what is yours; whether you have to blackmail him, threaten him, steal from him, or what, its yours to take and not his to keep. That way, he doesn't have the money, and you do. And that's the result it should be. Just keep in mind, that it isn't justice if you take MORE than he owes you. And once it's all and done, never trust him again. The second, the "vengeant" one, would involve you instead of recovering the money and you having it, deducting that amount of money from his assets by forcing him to spend it somehow. Like keying a car, or throwing a rock through a few windows, or whatever. No, with this method, you won't ever see that money again, but at the very least, neither will he. Again, it's going overboard if you do more damage than the money could replace. The first is always better than the second; the second leaves the money invested in doing damage, the first leaves you with the money to spend on whatever you want, but doesn't usually get the message across as well as the second does. Justice sets things right, vegeance makes them fair. I grew up around a mother that always likes to say, "Two wrongs don't make it right!" As a result, I have a nifty little saying: "One wrong ensures it will never be right, and two wrongs makes it fair, which is as close to right as it can get from that point on." If that second "wrong" can't return things to their original state, then it should at least make things more fair. Just bear in mind that it's worse to go overboard than it is to not do anything at all; going overboard will only continue the hatred and give the other person a good reason to do something back to you again.
When you lent the money you knew he might not repay. He didn't. You loose. He was dishonest and stole from you under false pretenses. You were dumb, innocent, trusting, or all three. The money you lost should be considered payment for a valuable lesson. Either learn to judge human beings better, or next time draw up a contract so that you have legal recourse if you get screwed. Let it go. Grasping after this money will only lead to trouble.
No you wouldnt be on his level unless you only think that which isnt true. Vengence is sweet. After you get your revenge you're released from any negative feeling. And you sure feel good after revenge. You'll then have a mental high instead of a mental downer.
You should try to let go of your desires for vengeance and justice. Give without thought of the results. Give and let go. You're mad because you expected something in return for what you did, which calls into question the sincerity of your kindness. It sucks that you lost your money but that's how things go sometimes. Most people are more considerate than the person you gave money to. Don't let it jade you. Try to look at it as a test of your compassion. That person probably has all sorts of negative issues. Don't add to it by trying to get him back. Seeking justice or vengeance will only increase the negativity, and I don't think you want that.
Interesting replies, people. I like your post, Hikaru, there some stuff to think about in there. Just so you all know, that was a hypothetical situation, I was just curious about the difference between revenge and justice. Is justice nothing but an accepted form of revenge? Or is there a qualitative difference? I was also curious about how you people felt about taking justice into your own hands, whether that is good or not.
Here is what I would do. Accept the loss as the result of my karma. To attempt to recover it by blackmail or to exact revenge by ratting him out, etc would just lead to more bad karma. Therefore I would try my level best to forgive and move on. Indeed, I would accept the loss as a blessing from the Lord, a lesson from him teaching me not to attach too much importance to wealth. All we can do is act, leave the results to bhagawan. Whatever results, wether you see them as good or bad, accept it as his gift to you. Thus you still keep your peace of mind, which is the important thing anyway. IF one is peaceful with no posessions at all, he is far far richer than a multi billionaire who has no rest from the world.
Are you saying that you would do such unethical things as blackmail and revenge if you would not get bad karma as a result?
Justice is almost always revenge. Taking justice into your own hands is dangerous, and unlikely to be good. Still, I would do it in certain situations.
First of all, the question doesnt arise. Second of all, no, because I would, like I said quite clearly in my post, accept all results as the Lord's prasad, hsi gift to me, so there is no question of a bad result, all results are good because they come from the lord. In this way there is no disappointment, no anger, there is hreat peace of mind. When there are no bad results, then where is the question of revenge? When I accept bhagawan as the one who gives me what comes to me, should I revenge myself upon him? No, because I know that he always does only what is good for each and every one of us. Indeed one of his names is Lokapriya, He who loves the entire universe. Therefore, I thank him and accept with humility and devotion, all that He gives me.
i'd keep my mouth shut.people do or don't do things based on who they are at a particular time in their lives and what they can do. i don't think vengeance is justice, nor do i think justice is really required in this situation.
I would not 'rat him out'. If you would have done so regardless of the debt, then do, but not out of a sense of vengeance. Thats my take on that part of it. I have had very similar things happen in my life, and almost always saw that they got theirs eventually. In your situation, I would let the person know I had the dirt on him, and I would tell him very clearly what I think of his actions. I always try to remember to be thankful that I am not the person who screwed me.
