HOPE is the centre of today’s Mandala! I remember studying a संस्कृत सुभाषित in school.

आशा नाम मनुष्याणां काचिदाश्चर्यशृङ्खला ।
बद्धा यया प्रधावन्ति मुक्तास्तिष्ठन्ति पङ्‍गुवत् ॥

This can be roughly translated as
“Hope is the name of a mysterious chain binding men. Those tied to it keep running, but those free from it are stranded as if lame”
As a medical doctor, I have experienced the truth of this, especially in severe illnesses. A patient with a life-threatening disease can survive if he has a strong willpower and his hopes of a recovery remain high. On the other hand, patients with even minor problems can succumb to the illness if they give up Hope. Here I remember a story by O Henry, ‘The last leaf’; in which a young seriously ill patient miraculously starts recovering when his hopes are aroused by seeing that the last leaf on a tree refuses to fall. In the present situation, Hope is very important to maintain our sanity, to ensure that we are not carried away by the flood of unnecessary information. Hope is an elixir that nurtures the Tree of Life. But at the moment, we can see many people who are so bogged down by the onslaught of negative news and doomsday predictions, that they are losing all hope in life. On the other hand, there are sane people who are choosing to stay away from the media and its negativity and they are enjoying Quality time with their families. In the present circumstances, we will have to nurture the seeds of Hope in us, by protecting the seeds from negativity and surrounding them with Joy and Peace. Though this may sound very difficult, I can assure you that it can be achieved if you are aware and taking care! Let us all hope that once this calamity is over, once the whole world has been cleaned of its impurities, we can see a bright future ahead of us and a better world, which is more loving, more grateful and in which all living beings have an equal chance to thrive.

The centre of today’s Mandala is INSIGHTS! All of us are facing various difficulties at the moment. Some of us have to go out to work braving the risks of catching the infection; while most others have to stay confined to the house giving rise to frustration in some, but also giving us opportunities like spending quality time together or getting the house in order. Most of us have more time on hand than we normally have, and this can lead to boredom at times. We all have been trying various means to keep ourselves occupied meaningfully like cleaning, cooking, reading, exercising, listening to music, dancing etc. But all this is on the outside…. what are we doing inside ourselves? Are we stopping for a few minutes and peeping inside ourselves, reflecting on what has happened and why it has happened? I am sure if we take some time to  do that, we will be able to get many NEW INSIGHTS every day !………continued

Did you read the story of the 93 year old Italian ?…..the one who recovered after being on a ventilator and was asked to pay for the ventilator….it was at that time that he realised that all these years, he has been breathing without any support only by God’s grace ….and also realised how much he really owes God ! All of us are in the same boat, taking all God-given gifts for granted, not offering Gratitude for the fact that we are alive, that our hearts are pumping ceaselessly, that our lungs are breathing in fresh air, that we are intelligent…..this list is endless!

If calamities like this can give us such wonderful insights, isn’t it worth going through these difficult times, so that we are better Human beings ? I think it is time to sit back a little, and look inside to see what each one of us has learned during this Pandemic.

Speaking for myself, I have realised anew that all of us connected to each other! We may at times think that we are superior to others, but actually, all of us are children of God and each one of us has been given a job which we have to do sincerely. We are not isolated beings who can survive alone (unless we are staying in the Himalayas!). In any society, we are all dependent on each other. When things are going smoothly, we don’t realise it; but when some services are not available and we have to make extra efforts, only then do we realise the importance of every person who is making our lives comfortable….right from our maids, our zaduwalas, paperwalas, watchmen, grocery suppliers, fruit and vegetable vendors to Police, bankers and healthcare workers. All of us are a part of a giant web and the society can run smoothly only if each one performs his / her duties responsibly. No one is superior and no one is inferior! I only hope that this Insight stays with me even when the world assumes Normalcy.

What are the New Insights for you? Do look inside yourself and share them. …