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VipulDwivedi
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The ordeal has had its lighter moments. For one, our hands have never been as spotless as they are now. There is definitely more alcohol on human hands today than in the human gut – a phenomenon that augurs well for future health and well-being. A nail-biting coronavirus vaccine race has kept us entertained. Russia leapt into the fray with Sputnik V; America responded spiritedly with a two-pronged Moderna and Pfizer reprisal. India, home to one of the world’s largest immunization programmes and manufacturer of 60% of the world’s vaccines, has shown no lack of initiative – although mobilizing supply chains and motivating a billion people to submit to two needle pricks a month remains a daunting challenge.
Soothsayers of varied persuasions have offered a spate of dire predictions. Medical experts have foretold a mental health and suicide pandemic, while astrologers are busy charting horoscopes for the virus, foretelling how eclipses and shifts in the Earth’s planetary axis will affect human and viral destinies.
The story grows more complex. Human biological evolution, we are told, was determined by our ability to integrate and even enslave foreign viral elements. Over half the human genome is composed of DNA sequences, possibly attributable to long-dead viruses. Given our ability to turn several viral infections to our advantage, is it possible that in time we will domesticate or even befriend this sneaky invader?
Spiritually, the virus has triumphed where all gurus have failed, offering humanity a crash course in stillness that no religious leader has ever been able to inspire on this scale! In the past, people outsourced their suffering to a million factors. Now, they have a single enemy. Since all needless physical contact and movement has been minimized, people have no choice but to stay put and deal with their own issues. Many are discovering that they aren’t very good company! The responsibility to craft more meaningful and joyful lives lies squarely with them. This move towards self-determination is the perfect start to any spiritual journey.
My intention is not to trivialize the immense suffering this virus has unleashed