Karma & Covid......

- By Atul Sathe

We Indians, had heard about SARS;

and Ebola, Swine Flu and biological wars.

    Then in 2020, the demon came knocking;

    Covid-19 was like an intrigue of ‘health hacking’.

Disease, tension, death and despair;

the country was gripped by an invisible fear.

    While the calamity spread the world over;

    quick response came from Indians and their leader.

Lockdowns, masks, Ayush kadha and medicines;

the battle was won with discipline and vaccines.

    More waves may come, the war is still on;

    with right Aahar and Vihar, we can take it head-on.

But, most important is the writing on the wall;

time to wake up as this was a close call.

    It’s necessary to care for environment and air;

    and forests, fellow humans and atmosphere.

‘Learned’ translated into Samskrit is Kovid;

let’s be wise to avoid catastrophes like Covid.

    The ancients said, ‘One’s Karma strikes back’;

    Vedic philosophy advocates the middle track.

Remember the Newton’s Third Law of Motion;

Maharshi Kanad’s principle on action and Atman.

    New world order - how it should be?

    satisfy the need and live greed free.

Little sacrifices for coexistence sake;

sustainable thought & action to undertake.

    So that other plants and animals survive;

    them of their habitats, we should not deprive.

Can we save that huge hoary tree;

by realigning our architecture copy?

    Can we get over the plastic fetish;

    opting for choices that don’t leave blemish?

Can we desist from ‘use and throw’;

by reducing and reusing for years in a row?

    Can we stop gallons going down the drain;

    from tub baths and shower baths, if we refrain?

Can we open those blinds and window;

to allow sunlight and breeze to flow?

    Can we reduce the night time glare;

    and enjoy the moon in a sky that’s clear?

Can we avoid the concrete on the ground;

to allow rainwater to percolate underground?

    Can we halt killing in the name of taste;

    where gentler options prevent resource waste?

Can more buses and trains we seek;

to avoid the car most of the week?

    Can we request for highway overpasses;

    where the animal in the jungle daily crosses?

The list is endless, wide and long;

but required, if to the Earth we belong.

    Judicious utilization is what is called Dohan;

    unlike the plunder and torture of Shoshan.

Corona virus was perhaps with a mission;

to force us to stop and take a U-turn.

    Animate and inanimate, all forms divine;

    let’s relearn, to make our Karma sublime.

Material and spiritual go hand-in-hand;

that’s India’s teaching, for us to understand.

© Atul Sathe - All right reserved – atulsathe@yahoo.com