Spiritual vaccine for the soul
Spiritual vaccine for the soul
My COVID experience:
It was sometime in december of 2019 I first came across the word Coronavirus. Little did I know the huge impact this tiny virus could have on our lives. It is probably the only pandemic which has caused such wide scale disruption, illness and death. Irrespective of country, region, sector, gender it brought the world to its knees. Lockdown in many places meant spending entire days in the confines of our homes, shortage of essential supplies and a general vibe of fear and stress surrounding us. Despite schools, universities and companies trying to do the best they can to keep the motivation high, not everyone was in their best spirits. In the first wave of COVID-19, Governments also acted as quickly and effectively as they could to ensure citizens safety. It did bring some relief for a while but it was only short lived and now we are again in an even more aggravated situation. Despite all the measures and reassurances, there is a foreboding sense that the new normal might be something very different and difficult to face.
When such wide scale negativity pervades, it is natural to feel stress and anxiety for the safety and wellbeing of ourselves and our loved ones. However, amidst chaos, if one dares to look into oneself we find that we are inherently powerful beings and our natural state is to be at peace. If we take some time out for self introspection then we will realize that this is something worth fighting for and brings strength and light to others in need.
But how do we fight? What are the weapons we have? How can we become more resilient and mentally immune to negativity? These were some of the questions I was pondering over initially when the pandemic set in. I realized that the first step in this fight is to calmly accept the situation and silence my mind. I did not have all the answers to the whys, hows and whats, but deep down I knew that it will all come to settle once I have silenced my mind and lifted my consciousness above chaos and confusion. This is the knowledge I had received as a part of rajayoga meditation and the lockdown situation was the time to really put it into test to understand my strength. Once my mind accepted the situation then it became easy to figure out how I should handle myself and with others in similar situations. One of the best things this lockdown did to me was to regularize my daily routine, right from my morning meditation followed by spiritual study and then dispensing family responsibilities and office work and evening meditation to ending the day with a reflection of my thoughts and actions of the day. This was not something I used to follow on a regular basis but now I see the benefits of a solid routine. It gave me more clarity, depth of understanding spirituality and most importantly removed all the unnecessary distractions from my life. It helped me immensely to focus and progress in my spiritual path which had a positive impact on my family and work life as well. The relationship that I nurtured with my Supreme Father gave me strength and courage to face whatever that is in store for me and the world. I believe that without this support and love from the Divine, I would also succumb to the fears and pressures that the world at large is facing today. I now not only feel good and secure about myself but I also extend it to others especially when I see them getting depressed or insecure. With my connection with the supreme, I feel like I am becoming a repository of good wishes and benevolence which is so nurturing for the self and to others around me. As we are now facing the second wave of coronavirus, it is just the appropriate time to rebuild, reconnect, return to the source to get the spiritual vaccine which gives us protection from negativity not only in the current moment but also for many many births to come.
By Madhuri Muralidhar
Project Coodinator at Vestas
Sweden