The whole world is seized with an unprecedented crisis caused by an invisible virus out to stall the progress of human civilisation. The human race is fighting against the common enemy in form of Covid-19 and marching towards victory, which is inevitable. The typical war has its own warriors, who are fighting with grit and gumption in various uniforms. They deserve our salutations for their indomitable will and selfless service defying Yama and out to save the human race. These yogic warriors speak through their actions which is supreme as well as sublime.
In Bhagavad Gita, Srikrishna advises Arjuna to act in yoga: “Perform your duty equipoised, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga.” (Ch.2 48). Equanimity is of two kinds; one is of the mind and the other is of the self. Equanimity of the mind means even-mindedness in success and failure, in favourable and unfavourable situations; in honour and dishonour; the sameness of mind denotes discipline of disinterested action. Equanimity of the self is union with God. “When your mind is no longer disturbed by the flowery language of the Vedas and when it remains fixed in the trance of self-realisation then you will have attained the divine consciousness. (Ch.2 V.53). It is the merging of human consciousness with the cosmic consciousness. Here the observer and the observed converge like that of the wave and the ocean; the ray of the Sun and the Sun; merger of the Soul and Super Soul, the Self and the Super Self and the Man and the Superman are resulted.
“Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the condition of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman; and, thus, they are already situated in Brahman.” (Ch.5. V. 19). Further, Bhagavad Gita defines a yogi as one who sees inaction in action and action in inaction; and he remains in the transcendental position although engaged in all sorts of activities. The yogi performs action for the purification of the self.
Every endeavour is covered by some fault just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore, one should not give up the work born of his nature even if such work is full of faults. The corona warriors fighting in the front on behalf of the human being, performing their ordained duty have signaled the world that they are the whole and the Supreme; they are the nature and the universal man; they are eternal, integral and fragmental parts of Lord Jagannath.
In ‘Yoga Vasistha’, sage Vasistha speaks of yoga as the separation from the assumed union with the travails of world life and exhorts Ram to live in the world like a lotus in water completely restraining the senses from all sides with a calm mind and subdued passion as the affinity with the world is not natural. The yogi considers all is one as the same self is in everyone irrespective of artificial boundaries imposed by the man, which is known as transcendental anxiety.
The universe is built on existence of delight; and all are self delight, which is the very nature of the transcendental and infinite existence. All are the children of bliss, beatitude and spiritual ecstasy. The great Indian mathematician Ramanujam says that zero, God and infinity are interrelated. Bhagaban Buddha is for the liberation of all and everybody. Prahallad prays to Lord Narasingha: No liberation, unless and until each and everyone attains nirvana. Swami Vivekananda declared emphatically that I would go to the last man to speak that he has a right to attain God.
The corona warriors are couched in transcendence with the unflinching and inexhaustible faith in yogic actions. Harmony is visible all around. The Mother Nature is back to centre-stage with love and adoration. The walls, barriers, barricades and all divisive dogmas are collapsing. The Tapasya of the warriors may result in yoking separate countries to a great human empire; the unification of East and West may become the new religion of tomorrow; the religion that shall be governed by a new consciousness, which will preach we are the whole; we are the Light, Beauty and Peace. Man will be converted to the new religion where each will be acquiring spiritual force and divine guidance from his work, where the dragons and the doves, the ants and the anacondas, the bats and the beasts would live together in peace. The new religion will integrate and assimilate all forms of religions in practice to the fundamental base, heralding new world order, which would be spiritual in nature.
We must appreciate and bow before the warriors for their peerless service inculcating twelve attributes as defined by Sri Maa; which are sincerity, humanity gratitude, perseverance, aspiration, receptivity, progress, courage, goodness, generosity, equanimity and peace. “To bloom for the sake of blooming, Soul’s ethereal firmament, Beauty, Love, Light, Help, Guidance and Grace, Essential vibrations of Love, No egoist calculations, Consciousness of the Divine, Adorable in simplicity” are the bewitching and captivating passions of the warriors. They are waging a war against a deadly enemy, determined not to be defeated and to vanquish the enemy from the earth. It is only a matter of time. My humblest salutations to yogic warriors in sacred action!
(The writer is Governor of Odisha. (govodisha@nic.in)
