Corona… corona… corona..!
M y head begins to spin hearing this word repeatedly. I’m scared! I see death and I suddenly start cursing the PM, CM and DM. I am not able to get a vaccine… I cannot get medicine… My relative is not getting an oxygen bed… My wife is not getting an ICU bed… My brother is dying… My partner has left me… My business has been destroyed… This government is incompetent… It is hopeless..!
Then what..?
Dear sir, the government is yours, so have faith. And if you don’t, what will happen, you know? It will increase negativity, further adding to the fear and anxiety. It will hamper whatever good is happening around. Yes, every individual right now is trying to keep himself or herself safe. Every one of them is struggling to be out of harm’s way. So stop worrying. The government will do whatever it can, but we will have to do something too. We will have to find the powers that are within us to survive any crisis. We will have to keep our heart and mind composed. We will have to find moments of peace. If the heart and mind will be relaxed, the body will be fit and healthy too.
Scientists say that when you are under stress and mentally disturbed, it directly affects the body mechanism making it weak. From this point of view, the most important thing is that we should seek smaller moments of happiness that can give us a lot of relief. In this way, we can give our body a favourable environment to produce antibodies naturally. I am reminded of the movie Anand. Rajesh Khanna knows that he is about to die but he tells the doctor, Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahin Babu Moshay! Jab tak zinda hun, mara nahin (life should be great, not long…) The same Rajesh Khanna says in the film Bawarchi, Kisi badi khushi ke intazaar mein hum chhoti chhoti khushiyon ke mauke kho dete hain (We lose smaller moments of happiness in anticipation of perfect happiness). That is to say, why die a little every day for fear of death?
Of course, when the circumstances are terrible, smaller moments of happiness will give you a lot of relief. Just two days back, I made a call to an old friend of mine in Gujarat. At first he responded in the typical native language. Only a close friend can use native language. You cannot speak in such a language with anyone else! After that we both laughed so much, we indulged in such a spell of light banter that the whole heart and mind got refreshed. The mood became cheerful. Today, people are locked at homes, but then you can always call a friend and share some lighter moments!
Let me give you some examples. When you come home stressed and your wife asks you, what happened? You tell her everything and then the wife says, why are you worrying? I am there! That makes you completely stress free. All of a sudden your children hug you, and you forget all the worries of the world. Suddenly, you start singing despite not knowing the lyrics. Even if you do not know the language of dance, you start to throw your legs, and then you are surprised at how much happiness it has filled you with. This is the ambience that makes your mind fit and it is obvious that it also makes your body strong.
And of course, you need to pay attention to your lifestyle. I have come to the conclusion that with the development of science, man will get caught in many complex problems and he will conduct several experiments in order to establish his rule over the world! The preservation of environmental balance will be crucial to ensure sustainability. Life will also lose balance with the imbalance of the environment. Our life, our family, our children and all the creatures and beings of nature will suffer from the waste created by science, the waste that is generated daily, and the destruction of forests, polluted water and toxic air, among many evils of modern industrial society. Just those who have been able to maintain their mental condition stable or who have good physical ability will be able to fight against these problems. Surely pranayaam, spirituality, happiness, friends and home environment are going to play an important role in keeping the mind and body healthy. And what about food? Forget that you will get fresh and poison free vegetables, grains and fruits. The greed of man and the behaviour of man towards man has started ruining mankind. Man himself is adulterating the foodstuff. Spurious medicines are also being manufactured by humans. I want to say that if you are earning money by taking advantage of someone’s helplessness, no matter what your profession is, be sure that if you are not around to enjoy, where will you bring happiness from and what will you do with your money? In fact, today the whole environment has become an enemy of humanity. There is no house that is free from medicines. These medicines are chemicals only! So it is high time you take care of yourself. If despair threatens to take hold of you, just dust it off and remember that there is a silver lining to every dark cloud. We have experienced a period of darkness and our ancestors have also sustained the darkest period. At that time, man was not so advanced in science, yet our ancestors were successful in defeating the darkness. We have a robust support of science today. We will get rid of this darkness too. Here are a few lines that are coming to my mind:
Kyon kose andhere ko, kuch fayda bhi toh nahin!
Chalo dhoondhte hain milkar, suraj ki mutthhi bhar roshni!!
The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.
