PUTTAPARTHI: Strongly advocating the importance of liberty and spirituality in life, Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra said "life has no meaning without liberty."
Delivering the inaugural address at the conference on "Human Values and Legal World" being organised at Prashanti Nilayam in Puttaparthi, Justice Misra asked, "can human race survive without liberty" adding that "what is the point if I do not have liberty, sans liberty life has no meaning. It is death."
Dwelling at length about the importance of spirituality and humanity in life, he said, spirituality is not beyond rationality and rationality is not bereft of spirituality. There has to be a synthesis, amalgamation, synergy between spirituality and rationality.
"My spiritual and moral summoning has brought me here. There is no need for a tussle between science and spirituality," he stressed.
Referring to Human values and human rights enshrined in the constitution, he said some human values are inherent and some you have to cultivate. Human values and Human rights are protected. Constituion and law teaches you as you grow up.
"The concepts of law are built on the foundations of human values. If the human values are lost the entire edifice will crumble," he cautioned.
He emphasised the need for imparting justice with human touch. "Law and justice is blended with humanity," he said. Paying tributes to spiritual icon Satya Sai Baba, justice Misra said, "divinity is humanity."
He also dwelt about the need to shed ego to attain greater sense of humanity and spirituality. Throw that "I" if you want to grow up morally," he said.
More than 30 sitting judges of Supreme Court and various High Courts and more than 750 delegates from the legal fraternity, are attending the two-day conference, which is said to be the first of its kind in India. Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Judge of International Court of Justice, Supreme Couirt judge NV Ramana, Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana justice TB Radhakrishnan are among those who are participating in the conference which has separate seminars on the subjects of "Constituional Values and Human Rights," "Role of Judiciary in Advancing Human Values" and "Dharma and the Rule of Law."