Lockdown Muse

I wanted to know what caused this virus. So I went to visit a wise man.  He told me it had been caught by a worker from a wild animal at an animal market in China.

Fine, I thought, now I know. But a slight doubt remained. So I went to another wise person with the same question. He was equally assured. “The virus was manufactured in an American germ laboratory and released in China to cripple the Chinese economy.”

Aha, I thought. But then I realized that the U.S. was being hit just as hard as China. So a nasty little doubt returned. 

“Actually, it’s all due to the stars,” an astrologer confided. “Ketu is solely responsible for this virus. Once Jupiter moves onto MakaraRasi as adhisaram, a cure will be found.”

“Rubbish,” said a passer-by. “This is nature’s revenge for the terrible way we have been treating her.”

I had to agree. I mentioned this to a friend, who snorted in derision. “It’s a plot by Bill Gates, aided by the World Health Organisation, to get the world to take his vaccine during which they will implant chips for surveillance.”

“It’s even worse than that,” confided my hairdresser.  “This is a deep laid scheme by a powerful shadow group that is planning to take over world government.”

Mm. But what if there is no longer a world left to govern? And if this group doesn’t have a cure, they’ll go down with the rest. 

“Forget the rubbish about taking over world government,” said another friend. “This is a plan by the pharmaceutical industry, and particularly the makers of masks, ventilators and protective equipment, to boost their sales.”

My head was beginning to spin. “Can I sell you an aspirin?” he asked. 

When I mentioned to another friend that I was feeling dizzy, her eyes lit up.

“That’s the 5G radiation,” she said. “It’s weakened everybody’s resistance so it’s easy for the virus to take hold.”

So how do I prevent getting infected?

“Wash your hands regularly, practice social distancing and wear a mask, “I was told.  “But if it’s an ordinary mask, it’s useless,” warned another, “because the virus is so small it will pass through. And if you already have respiratory problems, the mask will make them worse.”

I returned to my wise people and received the following nuggets of wisdom. “Take megadoses of vitamin C and D.” “Avoid cold drinks and ice cream.” “Avoid dairy, eggs, sweet food and poultry.” “Eat garlic and onions.” “Drink water every 15 minutes.” “Consume colloidal silver.” “Drink bleach.” “Stop vaping.” “Lie in the sun for two hours a day.” “Hold your breath.”

Finally, in desperation, I stopped a masked passer-by. “Enlighten me,” I pleaded, hoping that he(she?) was not on the way to robbing a bank.

“It’s all a scam,” he (she?) said. “Coronavirus is no more deadly than any other flu. Governments are pumping up the death figures because they want to use it to further control their citizens’ freedom of movement and speech.”

But…what?...how?   Aaaaaggggghhhhhh… 

I started running, wildly, anywhere, just anywhere, to get away from the voices, the confused janglings in my head.  I was running through a forest, smashing into trees, stumbling over roots, crashing through bushes, thorns shredding my flesh. 

At last, I stopped, exhausted. I looked round. Lost. Utterly lost!

Ahead, I could see a clearing. I walked towards it. In the middle sat an old man, a seraphic smile upon his face. I approached him warily. Was this another ‘expert’? If so, I was ready to flee again. But he just…smiled.

I sat down, facing him. I still had so many questions, but now the words, the voices in my head, began to leak away. That smile dissolved all the hard edges in my brain and I began to sink, sink, through layer after layer, persona after persona, life after life, until I touched what seemed like rock. Then all quietened, stilled, into a peace beyond all understanding… 

Lost no more.

Come home dear daughters, to your souls, to your skin

Come home dear daughters, stepping out of the shadows, courageously leaning in

The winds carry my voice, my songs of grief,

The rivers carry my tears, trees bearing my message on every leaf

I urge you to put down your ladles, your rolling pins and your knives,

I urge you to pause in your hurried corporate lives

The songbird has sung himself hoarse trying to catch your attention,

The sun has hidden behind the moon in sheer dejection

The ants follow you in vain from the kitchen to the laundry,

your paintbrush waits with bated breath to be picked up,

your musical instruments all knotted up in a quandary.

Do you think she will create today? They ask me

Will she paint the world with her strength and resilience?

Will she voice her opinions, will she shine with her brilliance?

Will she guard her boundaries? will she pen down her dreams?

Will she dance with abandon, empty her heart, quit bursting at the seams?

Come home dear daughters, we have work to do,

a humanity to nourish, a sacred balance to hold true

Relationships to sew, hearts to be mended,

Rivers to be cleaned, fields to be tended

songs to be sung, dreams to be painted

a vision to give birth to, the sooner we get acquainted

Come home dear daughters, to your soul, to your skin

Come home dear daughters, stepping out of the shadows, courageously leaning in 

Poem by Kushmita S

As aspirants of the truth, we are aware that change is slow and gradual, but we still, silently and secretly, wish for a single big moment of transformation. We tread and toil hoping and even believing that such a moment is possible and would come within our lifetimes. Well, this is it, the future is here!

As over a third of the human population is forced to stay at home and others with severe restrictions and suffering, people losing their jobs and lives, separated from families, some stranded on the streets and some locked up inside, we are also witnessing a truly global phenomenon, a wave of awakening, imploring all of us to slow down, turn off the noise and pay close attention to the essentials and connect with the part of ourselves that had not had the chance to speak up or be heard. This situation has put in front of us what we had been ignoring or shy of dealing with for far too long.

But the contagion of the disease brings with it also the contagion of fears and hope. 

We are at the crossroads of denial and acceptance, of complacency and rebellion, of wanting to go back to normalcy and wanting a new world, of the longing of transformation and dreading the realization that nothing has and will change.  We witness this massive polarization of our emotions, ideas and visions, stretching out forcefully as if to catapult us into something and somewhere new.

As this cosmic drama unfolds, we have the choice and the help of our masters to use this moment and participate with the forces within and without, for the birth of a new consciousness. The world is not the same anymore and will never be. It may take time for some people to realize this, but we in Auroville, with our material and spiritual privileges, have no excuses anymore. The question is, are we ready to take the leap or will human unity always be a faraway dream?

Text and Picture by Angelica & Anshul

I saw them cross the twilight of an age,

The sun-eyed children of a marvelous dawn,

The great creators with wide brows of calm,

The massive barrier-breakers of the world

And wrestlers with destiny in her lists of will,

The labourers in the quarries of the gods,

The messengers of the Incommunicable,

The architects of immortality.

Sri Aurobindo ,Savitri, Book III, Canto IV, Page 343-344  

Painting “Nectar of Light”, pen and watercolor by Lavanya P

Isolate physically yet don’t create a despondent 

desolate homepage

Connect Virtually yet don’t be so enamored 

by clicking on connections that you forget to ‘zoom’ within

Wash your hands often yet don’t wash your hands off 

your responsibility your commitments your integral action

Wear a mask to protect yourself yet do make an effort 

to unmask your true feelings emotions and authentic expression with loved ones

Stay at home yet strive endlessly to walk yourself and

humanity ‘truly back home’ 

Honor the lockdown yet don’t lock down your spirit 

your compassion your generosity and your hope

Maintain social distance yet acknowledge and build bridges 

of warmth trust and genuine empathy in all relationships

Make all efforts to ‘Flatten the Curve’ of Coronavirus 

yet don’t forget to

straighten the lines of our vision

Unite the scope of our perspectives

embrace the oneness of our hearts

raise the bar of our shared reality 

ascend the heights of our collective consciousness

Poem by Kushmita S

Aquifers unwind

my colons finally sigh

earth in unbelieving joy

at last

space stretches itself wide, wide

each moment, glimpses eternity

each action, fuller

each thought, with consequence

silently the constant hum

calling

for years

in assured faith

reaching

my deaf ears

at last

i breathe

the hot air, 

eternity slowly returning

busyness, smallness and compromise

false gods

their itching stops

buried and forgiven

the depths have been calling me

through fevers

fractures

heat

and lockdowns 

Silence is loud

pausing dynamic

my guts a refined antennae

elephants walk through Rishikesh

Goats meander through Llandudno

Delhi’s air is clean

Eden is not so far away

Stop the world

Trump is naked

no need for sugar , 

or sugar coating

Text by Peter L and Painting by Tara R, watercolour and poster colour.

Naked 

Under the Neem

Perfume                                                      

White rain                                                                                                 

Nobody nothing                                         

Now.

No need to go anywhere

Everything is here

You visited me

I Am. 

Poems by Anandi A.

Notre mère nous donne le sein, nous berce gentiment pour tout effacer de ce cauchemar quotidien que l’on s’était bâtis. C’est en chemin. 

L’entends-tu, au loin, l’écho simple de nos voies lactées? 

Patience : c’est en chemin. Toutes voiles sorties pour nous laisser porter par son souffle, nous arriverons bientôt et alors, à l’horizon, il n’y aura plus que toi. 

Plus de retour en arrière, de chaos, de brouhaha - juste toi, baignée de silence et de coquelicots.

C’est en chemin.

English translation :

Our mother gives us the breast, gently rocks us to erase everything from this daily nightmare that we had built. It's on the way.

Can you hear, in the distance, the simple echo of our milky way?

Patience: it's on the way. All sails left to let us carry by its breath, we will arrive soon and then, on the horizon, there will only be you.

No more turning back, chaos, hubbub - just you, bathed in silence and poppies.

It's on the way. 

Text and Painting by Maël

Slow life, Soul life  

Time is just art. 

Circles of deep understanding 

Instead of lines of dual thought 

Aquarius is settling down. 

I embrace the mystery and jump into the unknown 

It is written in the stars anyway 

It was never about quantity. Will we finally get it?

Exuding endorphins, purging cortisol out, 

Forgiveness comes in peppermint flavour. 

And you only took one dance movement, Mother 

To melt my pride away

like yellow tears on ice cream. 

Craving for mama’s milk, we are children asleep. 

If we just could see

That we never really abandoned the womb.

But changing scenario was too traumatic 

for an amateur actor 

Compassion then 

hugging the afraid child 

sending the fear monster away 

we will see, it’s an illusion 

we will see…

It was too good to be truth, Mother. 

So we have made this earth a living hell 

Make me remember once again, then 

With your tender hug

That love and life never abandon my nest. 

Make me remember once again

So I could finally rest

Knowing, 

I am life.

Let us drink from your milky rivers

Let us bleed like your volcanic lava

Let us move slow, in tectonic plate mood

Shake us. We need a deep-felt heart earthquake 

Pressure us to transform our coal into diamonds 

We will take that sunbath only after being soaked to death,

Under the storm 

Make every second a drop of silence 

Make every noise an expression of love 

I want to dance naked with my friends 

No shame.

Teach me, Mother. Make every tear count, 

Transmute every drama into ecstatic laughter 

Transform this zombie thriller into compelling comedy

Make me the film director of my story this time 

Change my anatomy from within, 

and I will dedicate my life to serve your creation 

in softness and intimacy 

Forgive me. 

I have made you wrong, I have made you right

I have made myself crazy trying to grasp the truth with the mind 

I have denied your humanity, I have denied your divinity

I tried to use chopsticks to catch that sunset cloud 

it didn’t work…

Now the Source is cracking me from inside.

I allow myself to stop now. 

I’m learning how to breathe and that will be enough 

No matter how many ghosts would come crawling to my door 

Thanks be to the Gods to take a chance on me

Now breathe, grieve, release 

And celebrate 

New life is just around the corner 

Text and Painting “We are mammals” water colour and pen by Valentina B

The forest welcomes me on my daily pilgrimage. My bare feet open to the throb of the earth, a steady rhythm in unison with my heartbeat. 

‘Slow down’ she whispers. As the branches wave, bird chants soothe the echoes of my human mind, trees and dogs invite me for an intimate hug, I melt.

The moon is at its fullest, the cricket’s noisy trance, dark shadows revealing hidden fears, initiations into faith and humility.

Rustling leaves in the bush, a wild pig crosses my path, a snake walks over my feet, while I cursed the forest, not to have elephants or rivers

Day after day, She reveals Her face to me, Her power, Her beauty, Her unexpected moves in the eternal rhythm of synchronicity. 

Another gentle snake guardian stops me in my tracks, a big toad being swallowed. Evil transformed by serpent power

Colours and shapes, oh you beauty!

You shed your skins, inviting me to surrender to your wonder.

Seeds of wisdom and psychological perfection fall into place. 

My feet walk with the ashes of burnt memories

Lockdown imposes; I clean, I cook, I garden

I weave a net with ropes to God. In my heart, neurons grow, vibrating with Earth’s blessings. Water breaks and birth is imminent; it will be wild, expectant, and non linear. A bubble, after the rains, grows, joins and pops

My cat purrs with the stars at night

Returning; I sigh, I yawn, I cry, I pray.

Text and Photo by Aikya

“There should be somewhere on earth a place which no nation could claim as its own, where all human beings could live and work freely in human unity, without diseases, sicknesses and fears.”

This is the beginning of a new dream that I imagine Mother could have said in these times of COVID.

“Practice social distancing,” say the scientists. “Decrease personal contact so as to prevent disease transmission.” 

But is this the best step towards human unity? Shouldn't we also practice social empathy?

Text and Photo Art by Marco S

Go inside to discover and see, to listen and taste, to smell and touch your beauty, this extraordinary beauty that only asks you to bloom…

Text and Photo-Art by Melina P

When you realize the smallness of who you are and the enormity of what there is, Surrender is a natural action.

Text and Photo Art and by Aashay S

As the world changes, rushes and pauses,

As the rising crescendo turns off key,

Breathless and lost, we dread the future,

Waiting for the footsteps of the unknown.

As economies crash, and governments topple,

And rumours of conspiracies wax and wane,

Silently waiting behind the corridors of the heart, 

Love awaits it’s hour, an unbidden guest.

It will catch us unaware, and shake our old leaves,

It will ensnare us with its bewitching eyes,

It will transform us, in spite of our cries and protests,

It will crack us open for the light to shine through.

We will be drunk with its Dionysian kiss,

And tremble like new born babes, to this magical dawn.

Text by Samrat Photo-Art by Melina P