Corona is here, but where is the Karuna?

The grave crisis that has developed worldwide due to the spread of a tiny invisible virus reminds us of the well-known story of the Samudra Manthan, the churning of the milky ocean. Continuous churning went on for centuries in which the Devas and the Asuras both participated in the hope that great gifts would emerge.  Instead, suddenly a dark and deadly poison – the garala – emerged and spread throughout the world.  The Devas and Asuras fled in terror, and it was only when Lord Shiva, Karunavataram, the Incarnation of Compassion, collected the poison in his hands and swallowed it, thus containing it in his own throat which turned blue – hence his name Neelkanth – that the churning continued and the great gifts began to appear. 

If we consider the violent churning that the human race has indulged in over the last few centuries – the ruthless exploitation of nature, the cruel destruction of millions of plant, insect and animal species, the pollution of the air, the earth and the oceans, the unsustainable high protein diets and the consumption of strange animals and reptiles – all this has, at last, thrown up a new garala that threatens the very existence of the human race. Perhaps this is nature's way of telling us to slowdown worldwide for a while so as to enable her to regenerate, which she seems to be doing rapidly.

To expect Lord Shiva to appear once again and contain this poison is, to say the least, unrealistic, but nonetheless we urgently need the compassion he embodied so that together we can meet this challenge.  This must extend not only to the victims of the virus but to those millions whose lives has been uprooted and disrupted in the process.  The sight of lakhs of migrant workers desperately trying to walk hundreds of kilometres to get back to their villages was heart-rending. Have we seen a countervailing upsurge of compassion? Let us recall Shakespeare's immortal words in the Merchant of Venice: 

The quality of mercy is not strained,

 It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath : it is twice blest

 It blesses him that gives and him that takes 

That is the Karuna we need.

The present crisis has taught us some valuable lessons.

Firstly, despite the attempts by several world leaders, notably President Trump, to trash globalization, the fact remains that in the face of any major worldwide crisis we will all in the final analysis sink or swim together. Our ancient ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the whole world is a single family, remains valid. 

Secondly, it shows that our basic health infrastructure remains woefully inadequate. Sharir Madhyam Khalu Dharma sadhanam, the body alone is the foundation for all dharmas. Unless we triple the percentage of GDP that is at present allotted to health and education, we will never be able to safeguard the welfare of the weaker and most vulnerable sections of society. A restructuring of our national priorities is long overdue.