RE: Death by Penalty

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HOMI KAIKOBAD wrote:
Death by penalty will not be like this nor end up in rebirth in this manner.
Here the mind will stand against the death and will till the last proclaim
life to all the members, to the flesj and heart, and to the soul. The victim
will have suffered a cessation of vitality in limbs, but the mind will be
very much alive, giving a final desperate message to all that is vital
within that life still continues. By this token, rebirth will never happen
because classical death never happened, the dead man or woman is still
alive.

What happens to the suspended karma of the victim? It must rest in a living
matrix, so it simply jumps and latches on to the karmic matrix of those most
intimately concerned with causing the death, such as the judge, prosecutor,
jury, and by belated connection, those who have thought most spiritedly of
the murder, such as the original murdered victim's relatives, friends,
people at large, politicians, publicans. Karma is much like energy and will
not be reduced, but will fill itself at any corpus which invites it with
obsession, preoccupation, much like lightening in an overloaded sky will
jump to the nearest inviting object.
Unquote:

Would you mind clarifying the following:

1.	If on death by penalty classical death never happened, by the same
logic, classical death never happens in cases of instant death by accident,
because mind never decided on it. Like in a car crash due to the fault of
the dead driver.  Where does the suspended karma jump to? The dead himself
caused the 'physical death' albeit without the knowledge of his mind. So it
has no place to jump to? Does it jump to the corpus of anyone who mourns the
death and trouble them? 
2.	If the Karma of the executed person jumps and latches on to karmic
matrix of say, the judge, whatever happens to the Karma of the Judge
himself?  The migrant Karma gets revenge on resident Karma? Doesn't this
theory fly in the face of Krishna's advice to Arjun to do whatever is his
duty dispassionately?  After all, the judge was just performing his duty.
Why would his Karma be troubled for doing his duty? You could perhaps say
that the judge need not have sentenced him to death and could have given
life imprisonment. But isn't the judge duty-bound to give the most
appropriate penalty as per law? If Arjun had godly mandate to down Bhishma
by deceit and kill unarmed Karna in the larger interest of mankind's
welfare, isn't the judge duty bound to award maximum penalty to one proved
of offending mankind's welfare to the extreme? (I do not, even for a moment,
mean to support death penalty; I am just exploring why the 'suspended Karma'
would  inflict vicarious reflex punishment on the judge).
3.	If you subscribe to the theory of rebirth (I don't.), it follows
that the soul will be carrying the baggage of Karma of previous life. If so,
the events of this life will be shaped by that baggage as well as your deeds
in this life. So wouldn't it be simpler to explain that the death by penalty
was the result of his deeds in his present life and that his soul will carry
the burden of suspended Karma to his next life?  I am unable to reconcile
the theory of transmigration of Karma with the theory of rebirth on which
you have built it.  
4.	I don't think Muslims believe in rebirth or in transmigration of
Karma. 
5.	Should opposition to death penalty include terrorizing spiritually
those involved in the process of prosecuting, judging and executing the law
of an organized civil society? They are already braving physical terror that
could possibly be unleashed on them by supporters of the executed criminal,
in order to uphold the rules of the society.  The law may be harsh, but for
that you can't be harsh on the instrumentalities of the society. They could
do without spiritual terrorism through theories of 'vicarious reflex
punishment'.

I admit that my understanding of the ways of the world, not to speak of the
ways of the soul, is inadequate. If my queries arise out of inadequate
understanding of your theory, I apologize. Nevertheless, I would like to be
enlightened, if you have the time and inclination. 

V.K.Venugopal
  











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