Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has urged the people to introspect on the life during the last few months under corona virus induced confinement and assess if they have learned the right lessons and equipped themselves to deal with such uncertainties.

Seeking to engage with the people on the causes and consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, Shri Naidu posted on Facebook today, “Musings of Life in Corona Times”. Writing in a conversational format, he posed 10 questions, the answers to which would help in assessing the lessons learned and the transformation brought about by the demands of life in confinement over the last four months. This 10-point matrix, Shri Naidu said would also help in knowing if the people have equipped themselves with necessary understanding so as to help prevent recurrence of such adversities in future.

The Vice President stressed that the pandemic needs to be looked at not only as a disaster but also as a ‘corrector’ for making necessary changes in the perspectives and practices of living so as to live in harmony with the nature and culture and the attendant guiding principles and ethos. He said; “Constant evaluation of the course of life in all its manifestations and in the totality of context is an essential pre-requisite for a higher living. One such opportunity is now as we live with corona virus”.

The thrust of Shri Naidu’s ‘Musings of Life in Corona Times’ is to properly define the purpose of life besides revisiting the course, nature and pace of modern life with suitable alterations for a harmonious and measured living.

The suggestions made by Shri Naidu for anxiety free living include; thinking and acting right like looking at food as a medicine that sustains healthy life; acquiring a spiritual dimension to life going beyond material pursuits; adhering to the principles and practices of right and wrong; sharing with and caring for others; nurturing social bonds and  repurposing the life for a meaningful living.

Dwelling on the causes of frequent disasters, Shri Naidu said; “The planet does not needs us while we need the planet. Claiming sole propriety over the planet as if it is meant only for humans has upset the natural balance triggering adversities of different kind”.

The matrix suggested for self-assessment further to the experience of living in the pandemic times include, if one ; is aware of the causes of the pandemic; willing to make amendments to the ways of living before the corona outbreak; has redefined the meaning of life; has identified the gaps in playing out different roles like taking care of parents and other elders; has equipped to face the next adversity; understood the dharma of life; understood the need for spiritual awakening; identified what has been missed out the most during confinement; is aware of the causes and consequences of differential vulnerabilities to the impact of the pandemic and if one sees the pandemic only as a disaster or as a corrector as well.

On the differential impacts of the pandemic with some sections being hit the most, Shri Naidu said; “We are borne equal and end up being unequal as time flows. The pandemic has exposed the heightened vulnerabilities of some sections which is not of their making. They are more systemic and needs to be adequately addressed. Your way of living could be one of the reasons for enhanced vulnerabilities of others”.

Alluding to the larva slowing down its life as a cocoon and emerging from it as a butterfly, Shri Naidu urged the people to emerge as butterflies by properly reflecting on the experiences of life during the current pandemic and drawing right lessons from them for a secure future.

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VRRK/MS/MSY/DP