This Pandemic Crisis spreading widely, everyone including world leaders are bewildered about ways to tackle the problem. Leaders themselves have fallen prey to it in some cases. This is the second article on the same topic. The first was ” Life Insurance Policy in the Pandemic Crisis“. That was meant primarily for those who are suffering from the disease and may lose the battle. However, the article provides a background for the current one and so all readers are recommended to read that before coming to this. This article is aimed at providing direction for those who have survived the Pandemic scare. They have a very big responsibility at hand. They need to do a retrospective analysis of the whole situation and see what went wrong. They need to build a strong foundation for the next generation. That may require a change in perspective. We had enough material perspectives on this. The advancement of technological society had given great confidence (or arrogance) that this will continue forever. The previous ideas of spiritualists that sense enjoyment is the root cause of suffering that were dismissed as some outdated thinking. But pride goes before a fall. Things have changed now and hopefully the perspective of things also.
Previously if there was an outbreak it would be confined to a village. It was easy to identify the sick and quarantine them. The outbreaks in recent centuries have had a bigger reach. The outbreak of this Pandemic seems to have the highest reach. This has become an international disease, not a local one. We like international brands for everything, so why not accept an international disease. It is time we realize that modern society is quite vulnerable to failure. We are aiming at having a global Village, are we not in to suffer the consequences of the same.
The world history shows various extraordinary kings who had all the ability to move towards globalization. The Supreme Lord Krishna Himself advent 5000 years ago and gifted us the Bhagavad Gita. He came as Lord Rama long ago and ruled the planet. If globalization would be the best policy, would God not be the first person to implement it? Krishna has given such a concrete philosophy about how we are not the body and how bodily identity is the cause of suffering. How can He go wrong by not advocating globalization?
Globalization springs from the modern idea that the world is evolving towards becoming perfect and complete. So, all things that are lacking in one part of the world are compensated for another part. This goes with the assumption that man will take only as much as he needs and be done with it. Has this assumption not been frustrated time and again? Have we learned any lessons from it? Are we confident that the petrol that is being transferred from one part of the world to another will go on forever? Are local fuels not a better idea?
Japanese scientist Fukowaka says “Which do you think is quicker, warmer, and more convenient, burning this kerosene or branches of cedar or pine from in front of the house?” What’s wrong with our perspective? The idea that we are developing the world is the wrong one. Just by having gadgets, we are not creating a more developed world. Srila Prabhupada said “We are creating a civilization which is very painful, but we are thinking that we are advanced. This is an illusion. We are simply creating problems, and still, we are thinking that we are advanced”. Is this not true today? Has modern society fulfilled the promises of happiness it made? What happened to the wholesale propaganda that the world will be a better place if we buy soap powders, toothpaste, cars, go on the world tour, etc. Maybe we still have people around who are dreaming about going on a world tour as soon as this Pandemic scare is gone or launch a great business to compensate for the great loss. But not so many. The illusion of false happiness may have been dispelled at least for some time. Do we not want to see a new world where we don’t believe in the false promises of happiness made by the fallible soldiers like movies, advertisements, politicians, etc? But what is the alternative to the advancement of civilization?
The Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.11 says:
tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo
yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api
nāmāny anantasya yaśo ‘ńkitāni yat
śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ
“That literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literature, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest”
Honest people would take advice from the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita which have the potency to create a revolution in the lives of suffering humanity. This revolution is based on the understanding of God being the creator and controller of everything. Because this nature comes from God who is a complete source, material nature is also complete. That is confirmed in the Sri Isopanisad:
oḿ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaḿ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
“The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains a complete balance.”
The material nature is complete because it comes from God, Krishna. So all facilities for living happily are present in all parts of the world. Unnecessarily transporting a thing from one region to another creates chaos. For this, mankind has to work hard. This world can’t advance more than that set by Krishna. Any attempt to advance it will create issues like terrorism, wars, epidemic, etc. Food, construction material, water, medicines, clothing facility are all available in all parts of the world based on the needs of that environment. What is the need to transport things from one part of the world to another? That just makes such diseases transmit quickly.
Localization needed
Localization is the need of the hour, not globalization. Humans must be trained to be satisfied with whatever nature gives and save time to understand spirituality. We are located in a community where we grow our food, build traditional houses with local material, protect cows, live without electricity. Life is very simple. We don’t have any food scarcity even when the whole world is locked down. Brushing our teeth, bathing, food, shelter, fuel, lighting, etc, everything is fulfilled with locally available materials. If the whole world takes up this lifestyle, they will not have to work unnecessarily hard to import petroleum from the middle east just for some bread. This was envisioned by Srila Prabhupada decades before this chaos. Unless we have this perspective that God is the controller of nature, proprietor and enjoyer, we always run the risks of wars, terrorism, epidemic, etc. People when locked down are already living somewhat near to this local living. If people learn to get their necessities fulfilled locally by growing their food, building traditional houses, etc, they will save a lot of their time which can be used to understand God, something that only humans can do. What we call as organic food or chemical-free milk was available to everyone a century ago when people were so-called less advanced. With so-called advancement, quality of life is reduced and also risks like this pandemic is invited. I invite at least the intelligent people to not be fooled again by the propaganda of wholesale exploitation and take up the serious study of Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam. The lockdown period offers a great opportunity to study these and get prepared for a better life as organized by the creator Himself. Srila Prabhupada (Founder-Acharya of ISKCON) has translated these books into English and they are further translated into various languages. This is more of an opportunity offered by nature to get our perspectives right and organize the society more scientifically instead of facilitating the exploitation of the masses.