Facing the COVID-19 Crisis — Thoughts of Inspiration and Hope
With the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, fears are rising around the globe as we now live in extremely uncertain times. We have seen disruption not just in global health and safety, but also in trade, the economy, international relationships, the way we look at the world, and even how we connect with our own families. It is as if humanity has suddenly been woken up from a beautiful dream by a nightmare, which you quickly realize is reality.
Bhagwan Swaminarayan often said that in difficult times and in times of crisis, getting disheartened or living in fear will not lead to any resolution. Hopelessness gets us nowhere. Fear should not turn into panic, any form of panic, whether it is through rumors, perceived threats, or our imagination. We must be realistic and face our challenges with courage, confidence, and the collective consciousness of humanity.
His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, the current spiritual head of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, along with almost every leader of every religious institution, is providing comfort and guidance to their followers through their words and prayers. We optimistically believe that thanks to our health care professionals and scientists, there will eventually be a treatment and vaccine against COVID-19. Until then, we must believe that God has equipped each one of us with life-preserving “vaccines” that will help us conquer the mental and physical instabilities that occur during these difficult and uncertain times.
SOCIAL VACCINE
Any doctor will tell you that the effectiveness of any medicine given to the human body depends on how the body responds and the strength of the body’s internal immune system. Hence, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to remember to take a social vaccine, where we prioritize our personal and social hygiene.
Cleanliness has always been emphasized, not just by world leaders, but almost every religious leader. Cleanliness, after all, is next to godliness. That’s perhaps one of the reasons that you see that all temples created by His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj are clean and extremely hygienic. Optimal social and personal hygiene are simple to incorporate into our daily lives. We should be washing our hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, using hand sanitizer, maintaining appropriate social distancing of six feet or more, and following self-isolation or stay-at-home restrictions.
Self-isolation, however, should not have to equate to loneliness. Self-isolation should lead to an opportunity to reconnect with our families, to reconnect with our children, to rewind, introspect, and revise our personal goals. It’s a perfect time to pause from the hustle and bustle of life and spend time with our families and loved ones. Whichever religion you believe in, try and reflect upon the scriptures, the ideals, refocus on the morals, and share with your children the loving stories that your forefathers told you. Try to serve each other. Try and emotionally get on the same level as everyone around you. If you don’t have anybody around you, then, of course, use your phone to talk to 10 people with positivity. Try to ask for forgiveness from people who may be distant, but with whom you always wanted to reconnect.
Once we incorporate social vaccines into our homes, we must do the same for our communities and public places. It’s not just during this pandemic, but it’s vital to maintain the good habits we start now and continue them into the future. As devotees and as spiritual people, this is not just a rule of a country; this is our social responsibility to our families, communities, and nations.
MORAL VACCINE
Moral vaccines come in many forms. It could start by avoiding spreading rumors or panic in conversation or instant messaging platforms, which can cause mental instabilities in yourself and others. A moral vaccine also means that if we have symptoms of COVID-19, not to hide them, but rather, get screened to avoid spreading the virus to others. Our moral responsibility also includes the desire to create a better society by avoiding blaming others, leaders, government officials, or countries for the problems we face today. Every world leader and every country is trying its best, whether through lock-downs, invoking special rules, or creating isolation wards for the affected. We must appreciate our leaders who are spending sleepless nights trying to protect our population. We must focus on solutions, not the problem.
EMOTIONAL VACCINE
An emotional vaccine requires us not to lose compassion, even as we maintain social distancing from our family members or communities. We must understand that this is a disease and not a sin. Anybody of any gender, religion, or nationality can catch the disease. That is why it’s essential not to lose compassion by saying it’s a foreign virus. This vaccine requires us to maintain our emotions when everyone else around us may not be able to control theirs. So, rather than blaming or emotionally distancing ourselves from the entire situation, we need to have more compassion, more care, more love. This vaccine requires us to patiently maintain our composure when everyone else around us may be losing theirs.
SPIRITUAL VACCINE
A spiritual vaccine is when each one of us believes that through prayer, God will continue to guide humanity through times of turbulence. Whether it is the plague or our current pandemic, these are not new to humanity. Hundreds of years ago or maybe 50 years ago, when such outbreaks became pandemics, thousands died when our medicine was in its infancy. We didn’t have the medical knowledge or the equipment we have today. Yet despite such limitations, humanity collectively overcame the fear and the disease. A spiritual vaccine goes beyond prayers and asks us to rise beyond the differences that divide us to collectively conquer what is in front of us. It is time to forget the borders of our country, forget the differences of our cultures and communities, and work as one single human species where the whole world is our family. If we can work together spiritually and rise beyond our differences, then our prayers will also be heard — quickly and compassionately.
God has given us the ability to guide our species through very turbulent moments. As we incorporate social, emotional, and moral vaccines into our lives, it’s also a time to say prayers to whichever God we may believe in, whichever religion that we may belong to, in whichever way or form we may be accustom. Even if one is not a believer, we should express gratitude to our leaders and all the brave medical personnel who are risking their own lives in trying to help our brothers and sisters.
Remember, our earth is just a tiny planet floating in the galaxy. Despite our progress and our powers, we are humbled by a simple, sub-microscopic virus. It is time to reflect that God created the world as interconnected and interdependent. As the ancient Hindu sages often said, nature is a part of us, and we are a part of nature that God created. It is time, not just to worship, but to strengthen faith and preserve and cherish everything around us, together. Just as inter-connectivity is essential, our inner connectivity with spiritual forces, with God and each soul that exists on this earth, is also going to be very important as we face this crisis together.
IT ALL LEADS TO THIS…
Do we have a choice on whether we should breathe or not? Theoretically, we do. We can choose to breathe, or we can choose not to breathe; but if we want to live, we must breathe. During this pandemic, the most vital emotion will be positivity. We can build the strongest positivity to face this pandemic by embracing the vaccines we spoke of earlier: social, moral, emotional, spiritual.
Wherever we live on this earth, regardless of the country, each one of us should remain positive and be genuinely thankful for our countries and the leaders that guide us. We need to follow the procedures, protocols, and regulations established by our country. The measures may seem harsh — lock-downs, self-isolation, social distancing, etc. — but perhaps those are the wisest ways to stop this disease from spreading. Can we leave a safer and healthier planet for our children?
Brahmviharidas Swami
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
