Lessons from a Pandemic.

It is time to move

“From I to We”

The Collective responsibility should precede our personal freedom. We should move from “I” to “We”. A pandemic brings out the age-old Conflict between our Collective responsibility and Personal freedom. When you wear a mask, you feel a little discomfort. You have to sacrifice a tiny share of your oxygen quota in order that you don’t share your virus with the passers-by. Mask is all about restricting the spillage of our own virus content into the air, rather than inhaling other. When everyone is masked, the virus becomes immobile, at the cost of our personal comfort, of course.

What happened in USA ?

In countries championing on the “Rights of Individual” and “Personal freedom“, people go to court- of-law asking why should I wear a mask. Surprisingly, some courts also do upheld their views. So a strange situation arises. In USA, one state mandates mask wearing, the neighbouring state does not and the virus moves in both the states scot free. The virus teaches them a lesson. In spite of the best personal health care, highest stock of vaccine, USA today is the worst affected by the pandemic.

Vaccination is never a Personal Therapeutics.

Vaccination is also about protecting your contacts more than yourself. Even if you manage to get 5 shots of the best vaccines we have, you will never get 100% protection. You always run the risk of 10% chance of getting it from your domestic helps and providers like Sabziwala, or Kamwali bai. But when everyone around you is vaccinated with 2 shots, the virus is house arrested.

This virus demands our collective responsibility more than our prized individual freedom. The spread of virus is like your colony road. Even if you pave the interior of your residence with the costliest Italian marble, if your colony road has big potholes, you are going to suffer. You along with your colony people have the collective responsibility of improving the colony road together.

”A rising tide raises all boats.”

When everyone among us is vaccinated and every one wears a mask, this virus will be defeated. Till such time, any number of boosters can not close that chink in our immunity.

The wisdom of an ancient civilization.

This virus reminds me the great teachings of our ancient east:

“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.”

The Isha Upanishad says,

“ Ishavasya idam tatam,

Yat kinchit Jagatyam Jagat.

Tena tyaktena bhunjitha.”

Our forefathers told us to *Rejoice by Giving* and initiated us into the *Joy of Sharing*. You grow by Giving not Hoarding.The *Ubantu* thing.

[ ..The Ancient East have the vedas. It is their knowledge bank. The vedas have erudite renditions on every aspect of knowledge spanning from from health care ( Ayurveda) to music ( sam veda) to astronomy and astrology. Each chapter contains the lifetime realisations of a rishi: “Atri, Angira, Viswmitra, Vasishtha, Ashtabakra, Yagnavalkya, Gargi, Maitreyi and many more. But none of these treatise have the authors name appended to it. Veda is said to be Apaureshaya. It is so self evasive yet so pervasive.]

The virus also reminds us the same,

“No one is safe unless Everyone is safe.”

Collective responsibility should precede our personal freedom. We should move from “I” to “We”. We should vaccinate one and all.

Here is an extract from my talk on this idea.

ରମାକାନ୍ତ ମହାପାତ୍ର