Recently, a reader of the 2016
book “Karmasutra The Karma of Sex” asked me whether in the light of Covid-19 pandemic,
all these prayers, meditation, mantras and yantras “have proven to be COMPLETE BULLSH*T?” (italics for the verbatim
quote of the reader). After all, in the book (in chapter 11, on page 227 under ‘Mid-course
corrections’), I had mentioned about use of prayers, meditation, mantras, yantras (devices/amulets) and other such
methods.
I am sure this question is presently
running through the minds of millions of believers of different religions.
After all, even some clergy and religious people have died. Did they not pray
enough? Do mantras or yantras (for example, taveej - metallic or other amulets etc.) have any use against
this virus? There are no easy answers,
which will satisfy staunch rationalists. However, my answer might be useful for
those who are struggling to hold on to their faiths in the light of the severe trauma
of this pandemic.
Let us look at some analogies:
When a house is on full blazing
fire, is a jug of water sufficient to extinguish the fire? The answer is no. Does it therefore imply that water has no use
against a fire and therefore ‘complete
bullsh*t’ against fire? Someone who thinks
YES, has obviously some level of reduced grasp of the whole situation.
Let us look at another one – Can a
small candle light up every corner of a pitch-dark football stadium? The answer
is obviously no. However, does it therefore imply that candles are useless in providing
light? Again, someone who thinks yes, has some lack of knowledge/understanding.
Hence, what is needed in these
dark times, are not doubts about the efficacy of prayers, meditation or mantras,
but a deeper understanding of the force and magnitude of the problem. Taking the example of water and fire, even
though a jug of water is ineffectual, can hundreds of jugs of water thrown
quickly enough, quell the fire? (The
answer is YES !! …. Although we will keep
aside for the time being, the logistical
difficulties of gathering hundreds of jugs of water and the fact that there may
be more effective solutions than this …)
(I am keeping this blog short and simple, not going further into the details of ‘hard’ karma and ‘soft’ karma which have been discussed in chapter 2 of the book. Also, perhaps more specific, nuanced questions can be taken up in comments
section.)
For the time being, let us just
share this message of hope and strengthen our faith in prayers, meditations,
mantras and genuine other cosmic interventions.
©Staju Jacob, 2020.
