Every action of ours is driven either by fear or by love. We work either for the love of it or for the fear of survival. One can identify fear or love that guides action and response. This is not only true for our faith in God but for our life events as well.
Some worship God because they are devoted and some others worship God because they are just afraid of Him. They fear that if the God is enraged, losses for them are inevitable.
Some don’t fall into any category. Even as this insidious coronavirus is taking a massive toll of humanity, our actions are determined by fear or devotion (Bhay or Bhakti).
Interestingly, both factors here are governed by the fact that the origin of the virus is not ascertained; and there are various stories on its date and place of origin. It affects all irrespective of boundary, age, profession, class and so on. There is no cure discovered to treat this virus.
And there are a lot of theories on immunity, temperature and openness of democracy. Uncertainties related to the pandemic and its aftereffects bring both the factors at play.Fear: Most of us abided by the advisories of the Government for lockdown because we were afraid that we are not immortal. We wanted to keep us and our families safe. Even the coercion by the Government to enforce lockdown for the common good is feared, making people stay back in their homes.
We are definitely more informed and educated to fight the virus; and this information or lack of correct information and the plethora of fake news keep the fear intact.
The lethal combination of an interconnected world and a deadly virus taking humanity to uncharted quarters keeps the pace going. Most developed nations and progressive regional organisations were clueless when the virus started and continued spreading like wildfire.
Devotion: Most of those staying back at home even now want to keep their region and country safe. Nobody wants to be the super-spreader. Some have had to make impulsive decisions to reach their native territories, but it can be blamed on poverty or homesickness.But these two factors, one more than other, at play had kept 1.3 crore people or a majority of them indoors and now adopting the new normal.
One more question springs from here: Is the state becoming the last refuge for the citizens with its power, legitimacy and surveillance technologies that have been losing control due to global economic forces. Only time can tell.
(Dr Samanta is MP, Kandhamal, and founder, KIIT & KISS)