• If we do not learn the lessons that Mother Earth seeks to teach is through corona then the pain we are going through shall recur.

It is a Delight to hear and read how so many people the world over are beginning to realize that normalcy after the pandemic caused by Covid-19 Virus, which originated in the city of Wuhan China, would be a disaster.

We are beginning to realize that after the pandemic ends, business would not be as usual. When I say “we”, I am referring to all men and women with a common sense and am referring to all those who understand the message delivered to us through this pandemic.      

Those who have not understood the message are to be pitied, for they have lost a golden opportunity to learn something of real value.

The Message, as I have Written Earlier is very clear, (to read part ONE ) Whether there has been a human intervention or not, it is because of our karmas, our irresponsible past actions that the virus is here and haunting us. We have to realize this, mend our ways, and start anew by living compassionately, with Karuna or Compassion as our guiding principle. 

Those who are hoping for normalcy, in the sense that they look forward to living irresponsibly again as before, would cause collateral damage to the entire world. Can we allow that to happen?

No, we cannot. No one in the right state of mind should allow that to happen. All humankind must work together to prevent such disaster from happening.

The facts on the ground, however, are not as positive as that. Many of us, very unfortunately, have not learnt anything from this collective experience. We have no intention or willingness to learn something.

1. The animals are revolting, the worst epidemics in the recent history are related to animals. Have we learnt something from this? What is it that the Existence is trying to tell us?

One of the Guiding Principles of Balinese Society is Tri Hita Karana, the 3 Factors or Causes of Happiness and General Wellbeing:

a. Parahyangan, that is to be Always Grateful to the bounties of Mother Earth, Existence, God, the Supreme Consciousness or Being, to That who is beyond all names, forms, and descriptions; and, yet, all Names, Forms and Descriptions are His/Hers. To the One who is beyond all genders, yet all Genders are His/Hers.

b. Pawongan, that is Living Harmoniously with the members of one’s family, society, nation, country, indeed, to consider the entire humankind as one family: One Earth, One Sky, One Humankind.

c. Palemahan, that is to protect the environment, the flora and fauna, and all other forms of life.

Alas, We have Failed to Fulfil Our Duties. Thus, we have invited this pandemic. Any scientist of lesser caliber than Einstein may argue, debate, and scoff at us. But, that is irrelevant. Most of scientific discoveries, including Einstein’s theories, were first scoffed at. 

Listen to what Einstein says, in the following excerpts from a letter allegedly attributed to him and addressed to one of his daughters:

“When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.

"I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.

“There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us. This universal force is LOVE.

“When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. Love is Light that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die. Love is God and God is Love.

“This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.

“To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.

After the failure of humanity in the use and control of the other forces of the universe that have turned against us, it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with another kind of energy…

“If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.

“Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet.

“However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.

“When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life….”

I must Warn You that the Authenticity of This Letter is being debated. For us, however, it is the contents of the letter that matter more.

Compassion is the natural outcome of Love that is unconditional and borderless, infinite. Love is expressed through acts of compassion. Compassion towards all fellow living beings, mountains and streams and towards gigantic trees and tender little saplings.

Inspite of the pandemic, it breaks our hearts to see how animals are still being farmed, forced to grow by injecting them with hormones, then slaughtered and served as food. Is this human?

Gifted with such noble ancestral values as Tri Hita Karana, even we are not yet conscious of our actions. We live in total blindness.

We are just giving a lip service to words like love and compassion.

For those who Consider Meat as an essential part of our diet, here is another chart to show that the Protein Content of various vegetables is higher than meat.

2.  A lot of people around us are in the hospitals; many are dead or dying. And, most of us are stressed due to unprecedented lockdowns and self-quarantines. The entire humankind is suffering.

But, look at Mother Nature! She has never smiled this way in decades. The air is unpolluted. The sky has got back its natural blue luster. The rivers are cleansed naturally. The animals in the forests are singing and dancing. The birds are chirping freely.

We are suffering because of our karmas, we are reaping what we have been sowing all these years.

We are condemned to eat the bitter, if not poisonous, fruits of our own misdeeds. We have nobody else to blame.

And, the earth, Mother Earth, is healing.

In our vanity, we have been mistreating Her, subjecting Her to much pain and suffering. She silently bore with us, and now She is silently healing Herself.

No, She is not punishing us for our misdeeds. She is just warning us: “It is the Supreme Will that we all must abide by. You were serving your ego, and you have brought this pandemic upon yourself.”

A lot of people living in their pearly bubbles with golden and silvery linings foolishly believed that no calamity could possibly befall upon them. They were wrong. The question is: Have we learnt anything from such examples?

3. In the name of growth, progress, and prosperity we have been pursuing sciences and technologies that are not friendly to the environment, indeed, to human life and the lives of other living beings.

We no longer care for humanity. We have no sense of human values and the value of this very life. We define material comfort as happiness and the possession of material things as the goal of life. This is the time to wake up.

The pandemic is a wake-up call to all of us.

This is the Time shun All Erratic Values! It is now or never. This pandemic may end. But, our Mother shall not cease, shall not stop to warn us. She has taken it upon Herself now to discipline us, to make us behave as responsible inhabitants of this planet.

We listen to Her or perish - the choice is entirely ours. Let us make a vow to ourselves, to Her, that henceforth we shall mot abuse her anymore, that we shall live in peace with all other inhabitants of the planet, this common home of all living beings…

Author is a Spiritual Humanist born in Indonesia, is the author of more than 180 books in Indonesian and English. He is also the founder of Anand Ashram (www.anandkrishna.org, www.anandashram.asia)

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