The outward-looking economy of the world has paralysed; nations around the globe are facing lockdown. In the era of globalisation, social distancing is now the norm as the world is at war with an invisible enemy, the deadly virus known as SARS-CoV2, which is responsible for the disease known as COVID-19. This disease has sent a powerful message to humanity and reminded us that anything against nature could have a devastating effect on our lives. The need of the hour is to understand this and work towards establishing harmony with nature through investment in our spiritual growth to balance the equation.
There has always been a struggle between contemporary economic growth and the ecology, they are inversely balanced. For example, rising human settlements, rapid industrialisation and the demand for energy leading to clearing of many forests and wildlife settlements. Due to such encroachments there is no barrier left between humans and wildlife. Possibly the desire to consume such animals is the reason behind the spread of deadly zoonotic diseases, for which the world is now facing consequences. Apart from that, we have recently witnessed several extreme weather events like cyclones, floods, heat-wave and earthquakes with an increasing frequency. These sort of incidents are an indication that humans have crossed their limits and they need to stop crimes against nature. To progress sustainably, we need to balance the economic growth and the ecology in such a way that neither is adversely affected. For balancing such a complex equation, spirituality matters in everyone’s life.
We all have worldly obligations and with those we need to blend spirituality in our daily lives and gain spiritual experience. It is with this ultimate experience that one can attain a balanced life with the path towards goodwill and humanity, and the end of greed and hatred. This is the supreme investment that one can make in our current situation, starting at the individual level but having the potential to spread at the national and global level. Once Mahatma Gandhi said, “Religion cannot be separated from politics.” – that the moral values or ethics drawn from a religion should be the guide in the conduct of politics, whose ultimate aim is the welfare of humanity. One cannot deny the fact that the year 2020 is not the best of what we expected. This is just the beginning of uncertain times, nobody knows what lies ahead, therefore it is essential to gain spiritual knowledge from the living Spiritual Master for the betterment of the individual, society and the world.