The lockdown syndrome

For the first time in their life people are experiencing this kind of a situation. We learnt that movement is life. We now realise that staying put is life. And this is for the whole world. Super powers with their guns and bombs appear clueless to the wrath of a tiny biological entity visible only with an electronic microscope. Human Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence never appeared so helpless. There is anxiety and fear all around as the questions what next or who next send a chill down the spines of entire humanity. Naturally, every body is stressed. Those who are inside worry when this will end. Those who are outside dread being so. A life style aberration of this magnitude was beyond imagination of all. As the rich worry how long would their stocks last, the poor wonder where the next meal will come from. And to make things worse social media sites are poisoning minds with scary scenarios. Coping with anxieties and thanatophobia of this scale is a tall order. More so because even in these times there are some who are offering magic solutions for a fee. But that is human nature. However, the important issue is not letting fear and anxiety worsen the plight. Here are some tips, and free, like all good things of nature. First and foremost, there is need to reassure yourself even if you are not sure. Indulge in some kind of auto-suggestion. The bad thing about good things is that they come to an end. But the good thing about bad things is that they also come to an end. The trick lies in engaging the mind positively. Remember, an empty mind is a devil’s workshop. The best antidotes for the adversities as well as the viruses are Faith and hope. Faith in God and hope that he listens. And he does. But to only who have faith. Don’t believe  so that you may have faith. Have faith so that you may believe. All other things follow from this. Even the most die-hard votary of the verifiability principle of science cannot deny that faith and motivation alter situations. Particularly this kind of a situation where medical science has little clue and is relying on para scientific ways to fight a pathogen that can be dealt with toilet soap. After seven decades of a world level agency dedicated to health. So there is little else we can do except relying on healing powers of faith. If the answer to the virus is immunity, we must know that fear and anxiety lowers immunity, while faith and hope strengthens it. But at the same time some physical exercise is also needed to boost the immune system. So engaging in aerobics for half an hour may do a lot of good. Health is wealth and we now realise why. But physical and mental resilience go together. The idea of Psychoneuroimmunology is now fairly accepted. And all this is not coming from actors who are looking for some time pass and engagement themselves or some modern day sorcerer who tries to find commerce in everything. This is research based opinion. And some genuine one. Though these days people researching in computer viruses are talking about biological viruses. But, that not withstanding, the times are tough and we will have to acquire toughness of the mind, the body and the soul also. For the soul then, do some good without posting on Instagram.

 

Ancient practices that made sense

The threat from the tiniest of the creations of nature shows where homo sapiens stand in the scheme of things of the mighty universe. Pushed to the wall inside the homes, the haughty humanity seems to be at its wits end trying to tone down its ambitions of conquering the sun, the moon, the stars and the oceans. Once again, we learn the basic lesson that survival of humanity is a formidable challenge that economic prosperity may not help in fighting. But against this backdrop comes an important realisation that what our ancestors practiced during the ages which we lost in history and complacence made much more sense than what we thought, inebriated by the power of modern science. As the pleasant and mild Namaste becomes the norm replacing a hot and vigorous handshake, we understand the importance of social distancing. The present scenario takes me back more than 5 decades in the time machine when my mother had quarantined me after the infection from chicken pox virus and those painful and itchy eruptions had made life miserable. I was lodged in a room where only my mother would enter and give whatever was required. No outsider was allowed to visit the house nor anyone from the house would leave station. It made little sense to me as I had started studying everyday science in my standard 6 class. But my Quarantine was religiously followed in the name of Goddess Shitala and no chappals were allowed. My clothes would be taken and dipped in boiled water. The treatment, though largely palliative would involve warm water in which Neem leaves ware soaked to wash my face and body, and a few branches of thin Neem twigs with new leaves to brush and fan the rashes that had erupted. It all appeared so archaic. But I was given no option. The other regular feature of those days was that just in the beginning of first month of the Hindu calendar, the chaitra month, for the first 7 days we were all made to drink a few spoonful of juice of Neem leaves which was too bitter to consume. Again no option. Of course to counter bitterness we were given a few small pieces of sugar candy or jaggery. Similarly, there were many such practices that appeared meaningless but were religiously followed. One thing was always emphasised. The religious significance of those practices that made us adhere to them. As modern science now explains the significance of many of those practices we come to realise that our ancestors, too, had wisdom and scientific temper. It was our attitude towards those practices and the assumptions ingrained in our minds that West was best led to dismissing our traditional knowledge as trivial. But we need to revisit the treasure trove of our traditional knowledge and use them scientifically. Traditional knowledge and modern scientific information need not be two discrete bodies of knowledge but a Continuum for the benefit of humanity. We need to understand, as we struggle to buy hand sanitisers, that the potash alum the village barber used as after shave was quite effective and cheap. Similarly, the everyday practice of lighting lamps at dusk, with camphor pieces, also had a scientific basis. The rituals which we practice were not just rituals. They had meaning. It is time to recapitulate what has been gradually obliterated from our memories as a result of interventionist informational onslaught.