The Corona Lesson

Prafulla Kmar Mohanty

If my memory is not been quarantined by Corona, it was Boris Pasternak who asked after he saw children play in the streets: Children which century is this? Today an alien visitor moving around the world may wonder : What is this planet where the humans have lost their freedom? The birds fly as their wont, animals move even into human territories. But man is in chains not by chance or choice, by fear; fear of an invisible virus. The virus kills at will, fearlessly moving  all over the planet without any trace of curtailment  slowing it down. If Corona has negatived human Free will, man must rethink his destiny. He is no more his own destiny maker, for , to carve out his own destiny he needs freedom. Any society which believes in human rationality assumes freedom as the essence of the human being. Since the Greeks this reasoning faculty in man is primarily worshiped by civilizations as the prime material of all human institutions. The Indians call Dharma(not religion)the moral responsibility of a citizen or human being to determine life's course of action. The infected will was more harmful to the life system in the world than the vile energy abroad.  Dharma controlled this will for man's freedom to infect it to make the human will freely operational . This Dharma was Moral Reason. But Dharma often failed to reign in the irrational desires . Man used his freedom not within the confines of reason but beyond the pale of reason. Dreams, desires, ego trips  too supersedes the limits of possibility make freedom of man an instrument of defiance. The display of power to conquer the harmony of the eco system and raise his own towers of glory made nature a devastated field of human exploits. Freedom became  a super Enlightenment too big for its own boots.

In our Corona captured world today, this irrational freedom  which man overplayed is now in prison, a prison of a new order of reason to tame man's arrogance. The entire world today is in a lock down. Man has surrendered his freedom to survive . He has done this willingly as he has realised the consequences of his own excesses. But can we call this an anagnorisis? Has he been enlightened afresh that the irrationality with which Man has used his freedom  has now been punished. If the Corona virus has made its home in the plentiful space of human body, it is because man has irrationally entered into all space hailing it  as the triumph of his reason.  Corona too is using its freedom irrationally to teach humans that if you are free to interfere with the freedom of nature's multitudes, the other free agents have the same freedom to lock you down. If man has learnt this lesson from the crisis of his own making, it would mean that reason still is supreme.

This crisis will blow over like the great wars, Spanish Flu , H1N1 and other such reminders of human unreason. But what will happen to his overleaping ambitions ? The individual now is more powerful in democratic countries and considers himself  as the state. The social media gives the individual the power to use expletives at the leadership or another individual or origination with self - declared impunity. One can denounce justice, law, policies with all irrational crudities as though he/she is god. Every social media user is playing god. The basic reason is each individual has his own idea of a country and  knows how best it could be administered. The individual decides economic policies and decides what justice is. The people are now free to hate. Openly one can express hate for love has no meaning in public life. Religion too is blamed. Countries denounced. Trump can lay the blame on World Health Organization and choke its funds. The response of countries  in this crisis is individualistic. China is blamed for this Virus and naturally China accuses the USA with more sinister things. The Islamic countries blame the Christian countries . India blames  the Nizamuddin religious conference for aggravating the crisis. Hate, mutual suspicion are faces of unreason. If man fails to recognise these faces in this crisis, he has learnt no lessons.

What is required today is a united approach to this Corona crisis. This is not a Chinese or Italian or an American crisis. This is a human crisis. The fate of humanity will be determined the way we approach the crisis. If we think that each country will evolve its own way of solving the crisis, it will be the height of unreason. If China would try to capture the health  care market of the world that too will be irrational. The world must come together to save man by  a rational approach . And this rational approach now should  mean human togetherness. Science,  economics, politics and welfare system must now be shared freely between all countries. The world should not allow any country to face ruin. The depression- recession that will certainly follow this  crisis must be tackled by a united human effort. A new human globalization should emerge after this crisis  which should be moderated by all our efforts put  together. Man is one, despite clime, colour, language and religion. This world is meant for man's temporary sojourn. Let man live his time with some happiness and fulfilment. This should be made possible by united effort. Boundaries and differences should be de-fenced. Freedom should be used for man's happiness selflessly. This is the New Reason. Freedom is never individual for it leads to defiance of nature. Freedom is an attribute of humanity