| 24th March, 2020 | Sharp 8:00 PM | All the Indian citizens hooked on to National news |

Anticipation: Important announcement from the Prime Minister!

And then… the Prime Minister suddenly declared the unexpected and unprecedented ‘Lockdown’ of the entire nation for a whopping 21 days to curb the spread of the COVID-19 in the nation. And that’s when the ‘grand panic mania’ began in the minds of the people! Since this was never heard of before, people found it difficult to even come to terms with the reality that they cannot step out of their cocoons for what seemed like ages now. And for the kind of fast paced lifestyle we are accustomed to these days, 21 days did really seem like a long, long duration to be caged! What happened next was a sheer chaos as a result of this sudden reluctance in the minds of people.

First thing that gripped the streets was the greed of ‘panic buying’ of some misinformed populace who imagined the closedown of all the services, including food and medicine. Next thing was the anxious look on most of the faces not knowing what to do next with all the idle time in hand. Funny, how the human mind works! All these days, mind was running out of time all the time and cribbed about how it badly needed a break from daily humdrum for rest and other errands. Now, when there is an imposed break, the mind panics about the same daily routine being put on hold and badly wants to revert to it!

While I totally acknowledge the severity of the situation without undermining it, the need of the hour is definitely to be prudent and vigilant about this global phenomenon of medical crisis, but without getting overwhelmed or pushing our panic buttons.

Let us follow what I call, ‘The 2P Rule’ – Don’t Panic, just take the necessary Precautions!

All this mental and emotional gymnastics happening inside simply bogs down to just one bottom line – our world always revolved around the ‘accessories’ of life like work, school, gym, malls, movies, clubs, outings, restaurants, society and not the ‘essentials’ of life – food, sleep, home, family, body, mind, safety, wellness etc. Goes out to show how we have profusely neglected our inner world in the erratic mindless errands of the outside world.

The entire globe is fighting a war in unison today against a single rival – the deadly COVID-19!

Finally, the realization is dawning that we are all part of the One consciousness that this whole world is made up of and every thought, action and inaction of ours affect each other in ways more than we can comprehend. So much so, that whatever is ringing in our minds the most is what will reflect in the world outside and at this brink of time, we better become cautious of our choices and actions henceforth.

On a brighter note, if we decide to frankly introspect within rather than get frustrated and breakdown, this whole phenomenon of a prolonged lockdown period can mysteriously unlock a lot of knots in our concepts and bust many of the myths we have been cherishing for a long time. The dearth of readymade or packaged fancy foods has made us realize the importance of hygienic, nutritious and immunity boosting food for survival. The acute restriction of home quarantine has awakened us to the value of freedom and mobility that the Mother Nature has bestowed upon us with her resources.

The innumerable online lockdown resolutions and movements going viral on the social media have made us aware of the creativity, talent and untapped potential that solitude can bring forth in us when we give enough time for it.The fact that the global economy has reached its abyss and the stock exchanges have taken a freefall is stirring up the blatant reality head on – that money is a relative security and the absolute security is the one most ignored and least attended to – our own ‘health’ and ’life’. Only if this body remains intact, will the question of money and all other accessories of life come!

If our mind is unable to comprehend all these sweet little luxuries of life we have taken for granted, and only reel in the notion of disturbance and insecurity due to lockdown, all the pent up anger will slowly lead to violence or the subdued disappointment will ultimately lead to depression. Thus, a golden opportunity of sincere contemplation that the wheel of time has presented us with, will result in an utter chaos and loss!

With uncertainty looming across the globe in this dire situation, one thing that it certainly reminds us is the fact that life itself  was, is and will be uncertain!

No matter how much we convince ourselves of this illusion that everything is under our control, these kind of events serve as eye openers that nothing is fixed and universe is free to take charge of anything at any time! The only constant in this creation is change and what seems eternal for us is all just a transient ephemeral phase, be it matter, life or events. The sooner we confront this ultimate truth of the universe, the easier our transition into and out of such tough times would be!