The virus has engulfed the whole world. It has changed the whole scenario. Every day it is expanding its dominance. The virus has become the enemy of human life and a symbol of risk to well being. A deep apprehension and anxiety is making us all restless..
The destruction of economy has already started having effects on many vulnerable people. No one is willing to believe that the world where many places never slept, where life never took a rest, where life would go on endlessly. Where we would always see a crowd, where you could not even get a place to put your foot on, where everything used to shine like stars – all of a sudden everything came to a halt.
This sudden change has rattled everyone.
Wealthy or poor, all are living under stress, because we have created a world of pretensions. There is a feeling of insecurity as there is no hope of any help in case of trouble, so everyone is just trying to amass as much as he or she can. This has made the man of today very competitive. He does not want to be left behind. He is restless in pursuit of this false security.
Man already crushed by his burdens, is finding it hard to deal with this pandemic. Now who will not like to have his life back to normal as it was before pandemic, and who will not like to live life marching towards his or her goal unhindered and free. Governments of the world are working very hard. People around the world can also make their contribution and turn impossible into possible.
Whatever may be the origin of this virus but one thing is clear that it was man who spread this virus to every part of the world. We must see to it that has nature created this calamity to teach is a lesson.
People in today’s world have convinced themselves that they are people of new ideas, new approach, civilized to core etc. But reality is something else, quite opposite to what people claim. The world is being divided through hate and contempt.
There are people who are hell bent on desecrating humanity. Innocents are being oppressed for their crime of innocence, being sacrificed on the altar of prejudice and hate. This is the bigger tragedy than corona. We take cries of these innocent victims lightly. We are not mindful of the silent suffering humanity. These hurtful hearts can shake the entire world. When nature reacts to this injustice man should be prepared for the consequences.
Once, a man saw the devil in dream. The man held devil responsible for every evil in the world. The man accused the devil of creating divisions between brothers. He accused the devil of being responsible for all human misery. He told the devil that if it weren’t for you there would be peace everywhere. Devil had now enough of it. He stopped the man and told him that to know what I do or don’t do, come with me for a while.
“After seeing what I show you, you can form your opinion as you like”. He made the man sit near a sweets shop. He took a little cream and put it on the floor. He asked the man to observe what will happen now? Some flies sat on the cream dot. Rat saw this and jumped to have cream. Cat saw the rat and thought of her food. Dog saw the cat and jumped on it. Shopkeeper saw the dog
and threw something solid at it. This solid thing, probably the weight measure, hit a passerby. Passerby fell down in a pool of blood. Within a moment there was chaos all over. The news travelled to nearby places, then far off too. Then a crowd gathered and put the shop on fire. As the shop owner and passerby where from two different communities, many who are always in search of such occasions entered the fray. Everywhere there was hue and cry; elderly were hit, children faced brutalities, all started running to save their lives. Many people lost their lives in this mayhem created out of nothing. The whole scenario of the city changed. The city which was buzzing with activity, peace and prosperity came to a stand still. People who were living like brothers were now preying for each other’s lives. A big wall of hate erupted in the minds of people. After this entire episode the devil told the man that he had seen everything with his eyes. “Actually I don’t do anything, people do it”, the devil said. “You saw I just threw a little cream on the floor. After that whatever happened was their doing, not mine”
These people who call themselves civilised, none among them even tried to know what had really happened. Everyone joined the frenzy without understanding anything. Even animals feel proud of their animality on seeing such human beings.
There are many people in the world who are wasting their capacities in putting the cream on sensitive spots. These are the people who are full of negativity and ill will for all. This is a universal principle that one cannot be at peace when he or she intends to hurt other human beings. How much one may pray, if he does not give up hurting others, no inner peace is possible. Religions guide people on the path of humanity, to be decent human, and be human friendly.
These days Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and Buddhists – all are asserting their respective identities, but have left humanity far behind. Humanity, the only thing that connects them all.
In these testing times we find many torch bearers. There are the people who are risking their lives to protect others’. These are the people who realize their responsibilities and take responsibility for things. Doctors at the fore front, other people associated with them like paramedical staff, we all praise them and must grateful to these people. How these people are taking risks, fighting against a disease we know not much about. What makes these people work? Simply, their love for the fellow humans. These people are epitome of human values and mutual trust.
So keeping our helplessness in view, we must all surrender before the Almighty’s Power. We must erase, as far as we can, arrogance and hate from our minds, and cultivate compassion. As we move ahead on the path of humanity things will tilt in our favour, pleasing the creator. If we are at peace within ourselves and at peace with the nature we will surely get rid of this virus. We must all acknowledge that we have lost touch with our basic humanity. All of us are tense and stressed. We must turn to Almighty. If we are not able to, cry lets mourn and repent in silence.
Present crisis has given us an opportunity; we can find solution in the very problems we are facing, we can find solace
Ishaq Mir is an Interior Designer from Srinagar, Kashmir