Vice President asks people to properly define the purpose of life besides revisiting the course, nature and pace of modern life with suitable alterations for a harmonious and measured living

Introspect on the life during the last few months under corona virus induced confinement and assess if right lessons have been learnt to deal with such uncertainties, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu urged people in his Facebook post on Sunday.

Seeking to engage with the people on the causes and consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, Naidu in his Facebook post, “Musings of Life in Corona Times,” posed 10 questions to the countrymen.

According to him, answers to these questions would help in assessing the lessons learned and the transformation brought about by the demands of life in confinement over the last four months.

The Vice President stressed that the pandemic needs to be looked at not only as a disaster but also as a ‘corrector’ for making necessary changes in the perspectives and practices of living so as to live in harmony with nature and culture and the attendant guiding principles and ethos.

He said, “Constant evaluation of the course of life in all its manifestations and in the totality of context is an essential pre-requisite for a higher living. One such opportunity is now as we live with coronavirus”.

The Vice President’s write up lays thrust on defining the purpose of life besides revisiting the course, nature and pace of modern life with suitable alterations for a harmonious and measured living.

The suggestions made by Naidu for anxiety free living include; thinking and acting right like looking at food as a medicine that sustains healthy life; acquiring a spiritual dimension to life going beyond material pursuits; adhering to the principles and practices of right and wrong; sharing with and caring for others; nurturing social bonds and repurposing the life for a meaningful living.

Dwelling on the causes of frequent disasters, Naidu said, “The planet does not need us while we need the planet. Claiming sole proprietor over the planet as if it is meant only for humans has upset the natural balance triggering adversities of different kinds' '.

The matrix suggested for self-assessment further to the experience of living in the pandemic times include, if one is aware of the causes of the pandemic; willing to make amendments to the ways of living before the corona outbreak; has redefined the meaning of life; has identified the gaps in playing out different roles like taking care of parents and other elders; has equipped to face the next adversity; understood the dharma of life; understood the need for spiritual awakening; identified what has been missed out the most during confinement; is aware of the causes and consequences of differential vulnerabilities to the impact of the pandemic and if one sees the pandemic only as a disaster or as a corrector as well.

On the differential impacts of the pandemic with some sections being hit the most, Naidu said; “We are born equal and end up being unequal as time flows. The pandemic has exposed the heightened vulnerabilities of some sections which are not of their making. They are more systemic and need to be adequately addressed. Your way of living could be one of the reasons for enhanced vulnerabilities of others”.

Alluding to the larva slowing down its life as a cocoon and emerging from it as a butterfly, Naidu urged the people to emerge as butterflies by properly reflecting on the experiences of life during the current pandemic and drawing the right lessons from them for a secure future.