In India, where religion plays a major role, even in politics, the word of a religious leader will go a long way to help contain the pandemic. It is a welcome measure that they have joined the fight against the virus along with their followers

What is the impact of Coronavirus on religion? As the well-known German philosopher and economist Karl Marx said, “Religion is the opium of the people.” For believers, world over it provides psychological, emotional as well as moral support. However, the Novel Coronavirus is a pandemic, which threatens believers and atheists alike. And it respects no religion.

But the fact remains that Coronavirus or no Coronavirus, worldwide religious leaders have a major moral hold over millions of believers. And irrespective of the faith they belong to, almost all of them have risen to the occasion to contain the Coronavirus pandemic. From Mecca to the Vatican, the doors are shut to the public.

This is quite a commendable achievement for the Church in particular, as Christians are observing the Holy month of Lent that ends on the eve of Good Friday. The number of Christians attending services around the world swells exponentially during this time. But now all services and prayer meetings during the Lenten season are being held online, live streamed or pre-recorded to keep the faithful confined to their homes and help stop the spread of the contagion. Even the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem was closed after a Coronavirus case was confirmed in the area.

However, Pope Francis has urged the priests to “have the courage to get out. Going to the sick to bring them the comfort of God,” after taking due precautions and support the healthcare workers, too. Many countries like Japan, Israel, South Korea and Iran have also shut their religious institutions. In an unprecedented move, Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended Umrah (the non-mandatory lesser pilgrimage made by Muslims to Mecca). Riyadh also briefly shut the Great Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.

India, which believes in religion, spirituality, gurus and godmen, has also followed suit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon the religious leaders in the country to take the lead and ask their communities to adhere to the Government’s guidelines to contain the pandemic. Roping in Chief Ministers, too, Modi asked them to convene a meeting of religious leaders across all faiths and urge them to convince their people to adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Significantly, Modi’s appeal came in the wake of the recent religious gathering in Nizamuddin in violation of Government guidelines, which had turned into a major hotspot for spreading the Coronavirus. Nearly 2,100 people were evacuated from Markaz Nizamuddin, the Delhi headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat group and over 1,100 are now quarantined in different parts of the city near the religious centre.

Prior to that, at least 15,000 people might have caught the virus from a Sikh spiritual guru who had returned from Europe and went about preaching in more than a dozen villages in Punjab. He later died of the Covid-19. All the 15,000 attendees are now under quarantine. It was indeed fortunate that communal clashes did not follow this event.

So, how have the religious leaders and institutions responded to Modi’s appeal?  For many religious leaders, the decision to shut the doors of their institutions was difficult but they had realised the severity of the pandemic had responded positively. The Christian community in India closed all churches and even held its services on Palm Sunday, which herald the beginning of the Holy Week leading up to Good Friday, services online in keeping with the Prime Minister’s plea for social distancing.

This was a significant move, as with Good Friday, Easter, Ramzan and other festivals approaching it is imperative that communities recognise the need for preventing large  gatherings, even after the lockdown is lifted. Thus, despite the belief across all faiths in the country that people need God more in times of trouble, the religious leaders have heeded Modi’s call.

In an unprecedented manner, several temples in India have also closed darshan (viewing) for the devotees. These include the Siddi Vinayakswamy temple, Kamakhya temple, Tirupathi Balaji temple and Puri Jagannath temple among others.  Even the Ganga aarti (worship) at the ghats of Varanasi and the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) of Kashi Vishwanath temple

have been made off-limits to the public.

Setting aside their differences and responding to the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s appeal, the religious leaders in the State, including Cardinals, Bishops, Muslim religious leaders and leaders of Hindu communities issued a joint statement on March 20, asking the people to “stand together with determination and to overcome the trauma caused by the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus.”

Hundreds of people from various religions came together in Patna to offer an all-religion prayer, to stop the outbreak of Covid-19. They offered prayers in their own ways on March 17 to seek divine intervention.

Spiritual gurus and godmen, who depend on huge political support, are also not lagging behind in their efforts to do the Government’s bidding.  Spiritual leaders including Amritanandamayi, Jaggi Vasudev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar have shut their ashrams and asked their followers not to congregate until the pandemic is over.

“The virus knows no caste, creed or religion. Let us beat the virus,” is their dictum to their followers.

They also offer remedies like yoga and meditation to their followers. They are gurus of the rich and the poor, alike. Many of them command huge following at home and abroad. Their followers include politicians, actors, sportsmen and bureaucrats. Many like the Baba Ramdev are also successful entrepreneurs and run massive business empires.

Hence, the role that spiritual leaders can play in getting the word out about public health measures is considerable.

In India, where religion plays a major role, even in politics, the word of a religious leader will go a long way to help contain the pandemic. It is a welcome measure that they have joined the fight against the virus along with their followers.

After all India is home to innumerable gurus and god-men — both genuine and fake.

(The writer is a senior journalist)