After Covid-19, almost the complete population of the world is in lockdown. Almost all of us are at homes. With this phenomenon, we now see animals coming out and living their lives as freely as we used to a few days back.

While I am writing all of this, I see two langurs sitting besides each other and eating on a terrace adjacent to mine. In the background, I am hearing chirping of birds. I see nature taking control of things now. 

It seems that nature is taking revenge from us. For a long time, we, the humans, have taken so much control of everything around us that we started to feel as if everything is in our control. For quite some time, we have been living a life under the impression that we are the masters and everything around us is our slaves be it birds, animals, etc. 

Even if we had not assumed this, one thing is pretty sure. For a long time, we have been taking everything around us for granted, be it sunsets, sunrises, afternoons, evenings, nature, sky, stars, housewives, etc. This whole COVID-19 lockdown has really made a difference.

It has made us realize the fact that even if we do not step out of house, even if we do not go out for work and even if the whole world is locked in doors, then also the sun would still rise, then also the afternoons would still happen, then also the evenings would still happen, then also the sun would still set, then also the stars would still sparkle, then also the rainbow would still happen. In essence, things which are beyond us would still occur. Natural phenomenon would still be in force. Therefore, we really need to stop exaggerating our survival. At the end of the day, we are just one of the creatures on this earth whose significance and presence is not beyond any other creature on this earth. So, just chill. Stop taking yourself so seriously. In fact, I would go on to the extent of saying that your presence is inconsequential to this earth. 

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Why is your existence inconsequential to this earth?

Whether we are alive or dead, the universe would go on. If we can actually realize, feel and look at this fact, then it would be our biggest takeaway from the present crisis. The ongoing crisis has made us realize that the existence of the human race is inconsequential to this earth. 

But the question is why am I saying so? Why is it the case that your existence does not matter to this world? 

You might be feeling that I am saying bullshit. You might be saying silently to yourself, “I am super important for this world. You know, I have to do so much. And one day, the world would remember me for that, etc., etc.”

My friend, for a moment, please keep all your thoughts aside and hear me out, at least for a few minutes. I humbly request you to please understand what I am trying to say.

So, yeah, coming to the point. I am saying that your presence does not matter to the world. Your presence is inconsequential to this world, earth or universe (whatever, you wanna say). And, the question is why am I saying so?

Because, if we (the whole human race also) die, then also the earth shall remain, then also the universe shall remain. In that situation, the earth would be inhabited by different forms of life (be it soil, insects, birds, animals or other forms). If there would be absence of anybody in that situation, then it would be only humans.

Even if the whole human race extincts, then also the sun would rise, then also the moon would come into the sky, then also stars would shine. Maybe, animals would come out and take over all the roads, buildings and institutions built by us. And then after a while, every such human made thing would collapse and the earth would be restored to its original form.  

Now, you might be thinking, “If this is the truth, then why the hell do I give such importance to myself?” In fact, this is the time in the history when we as a whole human race really need to ask ourselves, “Why do we consider our existence to be super important to this earth?” We need to pause and reflect upon this question. 

I have reflected upon this question. Let’s see what I found.

Why does the human race consider its existence to be super crucial to this earth? Why do humans think that they are the masters/ dons of this earth?

• It is because we are the only form of life on this earth which has the ability to use and/or control the things on this earth (be it land, soil, animals, water or any other thing available on this earth).

• It is because of the immense progress made by humans over a couple of years, decades and centuries. In the present times, we have progressed to such an extent that life has become far more comfortable than ever. To feel this comfort, our dependence upon nature and other people has been considerably reduced. This is one of the primary reasons which has caused us to not give a fuck about others whatsoever and somewhere also start assuming the greatness of human race as a whole .  

There was a time when we were dependent on nature for our survival. Despite this, we never stopped growing and progressing. In the last several years, we have reached a state where we think (and feel this way) that our lives are not dependent upon nature for our survival. 

From morning to evening, whatever we do has very less connection with our surroundings (forget nature). We are living our lives either in our minds or in our electronic devices (be it phones, laptops or TVs). As a result, we have reached a level where we have forgotten the existence of people around, stars around, skies around, etc, etc. We have become so self engrossed in our lives that we feel that everything is in our control (at least in our own lives) despite being out of touch with everything around. Over time this perception has become stronger (especially after the advent of internet age). 

Apparently, it may appear that our progress has made us merely selfish and self engrossed. It has no connection with humans thinking that their existence is super important to this earth. This conclusion may appear to be right if thought out superficially.

However, if we go into the depths of our minds, then we would realize that coupled with our selfishness, there has been a consistent rise in our egos, thanks to our material progress. This collective ego of all human beings has risen to such an extent that we all have somehow come to believe that nothing is beyond humans. We can conquer anything. A sort of superiority complex has been born and the same has been growing with time. It is this which has given birth to the idea that humans are the masters of this earth. This belief, with time, is getting deeply rooted into our minds. And the same is visible in our actions.

If this is not the case, then tell me how many of you ever thought that scientists would not be able to quickly come up with a vaccine for a disease in the 21st century. How many of you thought that, even in the 21st century, thousands would die across the world because of cold and cough? 

We used to think (until this Covid-19 happened) that death is vincible. We, the humans, have progressed at least to a level where we would not die because of pandemics. Epidemics and pandemic appeared to be things of the past which used to happen because of inadequate/ no scientific progress. In the present times, when science has progressed to such a level, we never expected mass dying. The idea of masses dying because of a health disaster never appeared to be real. Leave apart real, it never appeared to be a potential threat to most of the humans living on the earth at this point of time. People dying in the 21st century because of a pandemic was beyond our imagination. In the last several years, we have witnessed insurmountable scientific growth that we were anticipating living forever (humans becoming immortal). In such a scenario, how would anybody expect people dying in thousands and that too because of health emergencies!!  

The extent of all this progress, somehow, started to overshadow our limitations as a human race. With too much progress, the fear of death never faded. However, the ability to face death definitely got better as we became capable of avoiding death until the age of 60 to 70 years. This boosted our confidence to a substantial level. Added to this, mankind’s achievement in space and technology resulted in overconfidence. If not overconfidence, then at least somewhere this belief that we, the humans are the rulers/ masters of this earth. If not that, then at least too much of our progress made us feel that we are the most important creature on this earth. And, it is this belief which has led to the present crisis. (We are important for the earth but not to the extent that our existence threatens the existence of earth as a whole.)

What were the repercussions of this belief?

This belief has led to several repercussions. Some of them being:- 

1. We started treating nature as a subordinate and separate body to ourselves (although the fact is that nature has allowed us to inhabit and take use of this earth). We forgot the fact that we are just a part of nature and not the other way round.
2. We became indifferent to the rest of the species on this earth (who equally have the right to occupy and use the resources of this earth). 
3. We showed indifference to all the other things which happen in nature without our interference. If not indifference, then at least, we stopped acknowledging and appreciating the automatic natural phenomenon.  
4. Showing indifference became a part of our nature/ habit/ attitude. In present times, it has reached to a level where being super-selfish has become the new normal way of living life.

Can’t we spend days and days just in our rooms with our phones without even acknowledging the existence of the other person sitting around?

The repercussions of this way of life are:-  

• Our thoughts about self have increased to such an extent that we have become oblivious to the existence of things, life, people beyond this self.
• We have gotten so engrossed in ourselves that everything in our minds just revolves around this SELF. 
• I, me and myself have become a very dominating force. 

5. We developed our own notions about death. We believed that we could die only because of some specific set of reasons and that too at a particular age. We also believed that death is a phenomenon which could be controlled by human beings. 
6. We did not want to see death as a reality. A reality which, no matter what, is beyond the control of human beings. Owing to this, rather than acting in light of this reality that death has to happen, we were living a life where there was always a fear of death.  
7. In essence, owing to this enormous progress, the humans started considering themselves to be the gods/ dons/ masters (whatever you wanna say).
8. We gave so much importance to ourselves that we started to assume that this world cannot continue without us. We started to assume that the world needs us and not the other way round. The more we assumed this, the more we believed that the human race is driving this world. The more we thought this way, the more we forgot the existence of a power which was beyond us. The more we did that, the more we emphasized upon the sole power of humans. The more we did that, more we became incapable of handling things like death which were beyond us.    

Unfortunately, most of us were not even aware of this incapability of ours till Covid-19 happened. We had no idea as to how to deal with this incapability. We did not know how to face death.

And then Covid-19 happened……..

When Covid-19 happened, it shattered the whole world for the following reasons:-

1. It took substantial time for the world leaders to realize that death is very easily available now. By the time they realized this, Covid-19 had already spread across the countries. 
2. It forced the governments to use force so that people stayed back at homes. People did not realize the fact that their death was standing right outside their homes.

Above incidents happened because we did not want to believe that death could happen to us and that too, without a notice and that too, with such ease. It really took some time to sink in the fact that yes, death can happen to any of us, that too at such short notice and so easily. 

Now, when we have realized/ realizing all of this, let’s use this time to acknowledge this eternal truth that humans are incapable of avoiding death. If we do not acknowledge it now, then we would never be able to deal with this incapability of ours. 

Hence, let’s acknowledge the fact that death is beyond us (no matter how much we progress). Let’s acknowledge the fact that we cannot control death. Let’s acknowledge the fact that death doesn’t discriminate. Let’s acknowledge the fact that we can control the way we live but we cannot control the way we die. Let’s acknowledge the fact that we can choose the timing of our wedding, family planning, etc., but we cannot choose the timing of our death. Let’s acknowledge the fact that we can prepare our best to fight against death, but we cannot defeat death if it is destined to happen. Let’s acknowledge the fact that we can control what happens between life and death, but we cannot control the timing of these two events. Let’s acknowledge the limitation of the human race in terms that it cannot win death, no matter what. Let’s acknowledge the fact that we may become capable of dying comfortably, but we cannot eliminate DEATH altogether. Let’s accept the fact that we cannot conquer death. Let’s do this despite all the pain which this fact is giving to us. Let’s not only accept this but also find out a way to deal with this fact.

You must be wondering how can we make us capable of dealing with the bitter truth/ fact that death is inevitable. How to deal with this fact that the timing of our deaths cannot be pre-fixed? How to deal with this fact that the way we would be dying cannot be pre-fixed? How to deal with this truth that the timing of our deaths cannot be postponed? 

We can deal with this truth/ fact through following:-

1. Rather than thinking and expecting death to happen in future at a particular point/ at a particular age/ at a particular place/ at a particular event/ along with a particular person/ after a particular achievement/ after a particular success, EXPECT death to happen today in this very moment/ in this very day/ in this very year/ in this particular situation/ in this place/ along with these very people whom you are living with/ in these very seconds.  

(Please note that your expectations about death can change if your perception towards death changes. This cannot happen by merely reading this article.)  

2. Once you start to expect your death in this very moment, you would be living your life to the fullest at this very moment. You would not postpone living a wonderful life to future because there would be no more future. Whatever is there, it would be in this moment. That’s how you would start feeling. You would be living every moment of your life to the fullest. So much life would be added to every second of your life, that death would also be scared if it does come to you. Death would be like, “How come this person is so happy. S/he is not scared of me. I am Death. Seriously. How is it possible?” 

3. If this happens, then trust me this would be your biggest victory. Death, which scares the whole world, would be confused by your fearlessness, your liveliness, your cheerfulness and your delightfulness. Death won’t be able to scare you. You would be able to face death without any fear. This fearlessness would be visible in your eyes. Your sparkling eyes would convey everything. Your eyes would convey to everybody (including death) that you are okay with death happening to you. You might even share this ease with people around. 

4. Most likely, people will be shocked. They fear death. And here you are, who is saying, “I am chill with death also. Let it happen. I have no regrets. I have lived my life to the fullest. There was nothing in life which I had postponed to the future. Whatever my biggest desires were, I really did well to fulfill them. Whether they got fulfilled or not is not my concern. But the way I lived my life was really phenomenal. It was just so amazing. I had experienced everything which I wanted. Although not everything, but yes, whatever happened was just so awesome that it does not really matter what did not happen. Now this death thing is happening to me. Let it happen. Just like I thoroughly enjoyed every happening of my life, whether good ones or bad ones, let me enjoy this happening also. Let me enjoy my death also.” 

5. Looking at your sheer enjoyment, Death might also wonder, “What the fuck? Have I lost my ability to scare people? Have I become incapable of making people fear? How come this person is not at all scared of me?” 

6. In Spite of everybody (including death) being confused about your response to death, you would be the only one who would be at ease with your very death. Such an ironic thing it would be. Isn’t it?   

7. If you really want the above things to happen in your life, then change your lenses towards death. (I have said enough about it in the earlier part. So, I will not repeat here.) This is the lesson which every human being can try to learn from the Covid-19 Crisis.

8. The lesson which human civilization, collectively, can learn from Covid-19 is understanding that we should progress yet not forget the inevitable truth, i.e. death. This can happen only if our scientific progress takes us towards this truth. However, our present direction of progress is distracting us from the eternal truth. It is falsifying the bitter truths about life in the name of science. 

9. The scientific community is working upon this idea of making humans immortal. It is nothing but an attempt to cloud our minds. It is an attempt to make us believe that death is not inevitable. It is an attempt to make us believe that death can be avoided. It is an attempt to make us believe that we can live forever on this earth. It is an attempt to take away the value of our limited years on earth because now we are going to have so many years on earth! 

10. This type of scientific progress causes a lot of problems. It creates an illusion in the minds of people that we are not going to die. That death is not going to happen. These types of beliefs (if occur on the basis of science and reason) have the potential to destroy human civilization. 

11. What if something like Covid-19 happens again in future? How would we deal with it if we do not change the direction of our scientific progress by that time? 

12. We would be crippled and we won’t be able to act at all in that situation. The number of deaths would be far more than the number of deaths which have been happening owing to Covid-19. This would happen because our belief about ‘death not happening’ would have strengthened so much by that time (owing to the present direction of our scientific progress) that we won’t be able to act at all. We (the entire human race) would be undergoing a lot of pain as our collective beliefs about death would be failing in reality. Our beliefs would be failing so badly that our ability to mitigate/ reduce the number of deaths would get reduced considerably. Resultantly, the loss in numbers to humans would be far more than the loss which is happening/ happened due to Covid-19. In essence, we would be losing a lot if we do not change the direction of our scientific progress and something like Covid-19 again happens in future. Therefore, we should be using Covid-19 as an opportunity to change the direction of our scientific progress. 

13. Any scientific progress which takes humans away from the ‘reality about death’ should not be pursued. Rather, those scientific endeavors which remind us and keep us in touch with this ‘eternal truth about death’ should be encouraged. If the scientific community feels that the present progress is separating us from the truths about life, then at least an endeavor should be made to discontinue such progress and pursue that type of progress which brings humans closer to inevitables about life, i.e. death. Such an attempt would seriously make humans capable of dealing with eventualities like Covid-19, if happen in future again. 

Such an attempt would force governments to spend a larger amount on its health infrastructure. Such an attempt would make us internally capable of dealing with death. Such an attempt would make us realistically fearless. Such an attempt would compel us to find out the better ways of dealing with the pain of death rather than just brushing aside this pain of death. Such an attempt would infuse positivity in us not because we would not be dying ever but because we would be knowing how to deal with the physical and psychological pain of death. Such an attempt would make us face to face with death. This would be our biggest victory from Covid-19.

That’s why the entire human race should be thankful to Covid-19. Can there be a victory bigger than this? Can there be a conquest bigger than facing the fear of death? 

Think about it. Post your thoughts. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to post your thoughts. 🙂