Your true character is revealed by the clarity of your convictions, the choices you make, and the promises you keep. Hold strongly to your principles and refuse to follow the currents of convenience. What you say and do defines who you are, and who you are…you are forever^[1]

“All over the world, people are being quarantined and are being compelled to practice social distancing. We are trying desperately to remain sane in a world that seems bordering on the insane. So, the time is just right for us to ponder, reflect, meditate, and discover the world within our own minds.”

― Avijeet Das

Fear of the unknown

While the many events of the past century including the host of inventions and discoveries liberated society from captivity and slavery, a new climate of fear – a fear of the unknown came into being by the middle of the last century. There came about the “Cold War” era – a euphemism to describe the post-World War II geo- political tensions that built up between the Soviet Nation and its satellites on the one hand and three other powerful nations of the world in those days-the U.S.A., Britain and France on the other. The latter were allies with the former during the World War II but fought over the spoils of the war.   It was clear that the world had learned “nothing” from the past and instead of oneness, nations’ practiced “brinkmanship”. During this period (the Cold War epoch), the world again stood witness to periods of terrifying and heightened tension.[2] International crises arose one after the other:[3]

Berlin Blockade (1948–1949);

Korean War (1950–1953);

Berlin Crisis of 1961;

Vietnam War (1959–1975);

Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–1989);

1962 Cuban Missile Crisis (1962);

NATO exercises in November 1983.

The world breathed a sigh of relief with two major events that took place in the last two decades of the century. Firstly, the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 11 1989 largely liberated people from types of confinement and suppression unknown to the world before. This one event in itself brought about a physical change in the constitution of world governance and economies of a kind not experienced prior to that time. The world became more democratic and consensual in outlook. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen observed thus:

The Berlin Wall was not only a symbol of keeping people inside East Germany- it was a way of preventing a kind of global view of our future. We could not think globally about the world when the Berlin Wall was there. We could not think about the world as a whole…

If I celebrate the fall of the wall, it is because I am convinced of how much we can learn from each other. Most knowledge is learning from the other across the border. [4]

The second occasion was the ending in 1990 of the Cold War. The increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressure by the United States on the Soviet Union, which was already suffering from severe economic stagnation and the co-operation on the part of the new dispensation in the Soviet Union, which saw the introduction of such drastic reforms as the “perestroika” and “glasnost”, led to such a result.

Just about the time when the global society began comprehending the simple logic underlying the proverb “united we stand and divided we fall” coinciding with the dawn of the New Millennium, the world got shattered by cataclysmal events which could neither be condemned as war or regarded as some sporadic reckless acts by misguided people. These were simply frightening-even to describe. It is impossible to know if anyone could have dreamed that the world would be witness to the kind of gruesomeness of 9/11, 13/12 or 26/11 to name a few of the disasters. All that remained after the happenings were the debris- of men, women, children and materials and DUST.

Although globalization and 21st Century technology for communication have made countries realize the futileness of war in the traditional sense, yet, there is an eerie silence regarding the potential use of the same technology for destruction purposes-for obtaining Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The nomenclature adopted now to describe such acts is “terrorism.” These are acts on the part of a few malevolent people diabolically intent on destabilizing any attempt at unification of peoples around the globe. If left unchecked it will start consuming one by one the four pillars upon which the security of people and nations rests- food, energy, water and climate.[5]                                                                                               

Professor Yehuda Bauer (born 1926) is a historian and scholar of the Holocaust. He says:

“Never be a perpetrator. Never allow there to be victims. And never, never allow yourself to be a bystander—to be indifferent.”

Never before have had so many people so much in common, but never before have the things that divide them also been so obvious. The world is full of opposites. Those who live in the rich industrialized countries of the north have labeled the twentieth century as an era of economic miracles. However, the average value of goods and services has risen by leaps and bound, as is the case with the growth of the rich. It is said that if in 1989 there were 157 billionaires and 2 million millionaires there are now more than 300 billionaires. The poor see it in a different way. There are 100million homeless, 400 million people undernourished, and two billion people drink and bathe in contaminated water. 40 million more people around the world have been pushed into hunger in 2008.[6]

With less than 400 billionaires holding assets equaling the total worth of 45 percent of the world’s population, the developing countries want to see a change in the flow of resources for reduction of the divide between the rich and the poor. The world has realized that no nation can live in isolation to enjoy the luxuries of their prosperity. They have come to believe that redistribution of their national wealth among other nations for rebuilding or development has become necessary albeit for mutual benefit.[7]

Culture shock

An article on Culture Change and East West Cultural Differences   attempts to trace the origin of the term “migrant” or an ‘expatriate’ (abbreviated to “ex-pat or expat”). While the term is commonly used to refer to a Westerner who resides in a ‘foreign’ country, it comes from the Latin ‘ex patria’. Translated, it means ‘outside the native land’. Its origin is said to have appeared in Latin texts for more than 2000 years and refers to “Roman soldiers who left their homeland to fight battles for the expansion of the Roman Empire”. Anyone who lives away from their home country can be described as a foreign resident, expatriate, ex-pat or expat. People of Thailand call them “farang” or aliens and Indonesians call them “bule”. In fact, “firangi” is a term used in Hindi or Urdu language. The term “Videshi” (the opposite of “deshi”) in Hindi speaking regions signifies a foreigner.

Life is difficult and not a bed of roses. A realization of this fact helps us concentrate on finding solutions to problems rather than mulling over difficulties. An expatriate must accept the fact that there are bound to be differences in the way of life at ‘home’ and in a ‘foreign’ country just as a bride realizes that she has to accept the new environs of her life in her new found home. Some might encourage a student (as is happening in Australia) to get back home but the same thing could apply to a newly wed bride too. In both cases, life might not turn out to be as well as planned and might end up in grief. There is wide divergence in the way people handle life’s challenges and its realities. This depends on the type of education, tradition, one’s religion, faith and their philosophies. In general, effective communication is the most important tool one can have to get along with people. Usually, a common language gives helps greater ability to communicate effectively with the people around us – our family, friends, work colleagues and even with strangers in public. Besides, what we have learned of our country’s history, our people’s habits, likes and dislikes, politics, religion, traditions; legal and judicial systems including our rights as a citizen and our own social norms influence our relationships and associations with foreigners’ in their countries. What happens to us applies equally well to foreigners’ who come to our country. This phenomenon is described as “cultural shock”.

Kalervo Oberg a world-renowned anthropologist is said to have travelled the world and written about his experiences so that others could enjoy them as well .

His cross-cultural comparisons led to him to understand the “shock” or anxiety felt by migrants while experiencing an unknown or new culture which he termed as a “culture shock”. This term expresses the lack of direction, a feeling of not knowing what to do or how to do things in a new environment, and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate.

Oberg discovered that the feeling of culture shock generally sets in after the first few weeks of coming to a new place and manifests itself in several ways:

“when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to give orders to servants, how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not. Now these cues which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, customs, or norms are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of these cues, most of which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness”.

Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded or full of good will you may be, a series of props have been knocked from under you, followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety.[8]

I have felt this syndrome very often on my trips abroad including the U.S. where I spend a longer time with my children who live there. A favourite preoccupation when on my daily constitutionals would be planning an early “return” notwithstanding the fact that I am with my kin there. This ought to be happening to many others too excepting for those compelled by circumstances to remain there due to professional commitments or otherwise. This phenomenon is inexplicable and it is so universal. This cultural shock is nothing but “home sicknesses”. P.G. Wodehouse, in one of his books describes the ‘misery” of an American’s enforced sojourn in France dreams all the time of “baseball” and a “ham burger” and of his glee upon finding a fellow American albeit a fraudster. The home environment suddenly assumes a tremendous importance. Everything of “home” becomes irrationally glorified. To a south Indian, the aroma of “home” food including its “filter coffee” becomes compelling

Culture shock takes many forms. Its major symptoms are loneliness, inattention, irritation and of unknown fears including hypochondria and in the main, a loss of identity of one’s self.

Kelervo Oberg describes some of the symptoms thus:

Excessive washing of the hands; excessive concern over drinking water, food, dishes, and bedding; fear of physical contact with attendants or servants; the absent minded, far-away stare (sometimes called the tropical stare); a feeling of helplessness and a desire for dependence on long-term residents of one’s own nationality; fits of anger over delays and other minor frustrations; delay and outright refusal to learn the language of the host country ; excessive fear of being cheated, robbed, or injured; great concern over minor pains and eruptions of the skin; and finally, that terrible longing to be back home, to be able to have a good cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie, to walk into that corner drugstore, to visit one’s relatives, and, in general, to talk to people who really make sense”. [9]

We can therefore describe culture shock as the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to live in another country or a place different from the place of origin. Often, the way that we lived before is not accepted or considered as normal in the new place. Everything is or looks different – language, accent, semantics, transport and communication. Utilities like their public telephone booth, their banking machines or a “flush” in the bathroom (or for that matter, not being aware of bathroom protocol or etiquette itself) baffle us.

Dr. Carmen Guanipa in an article on cultural shock while admonishing people over this syndrome as lack of understanding prefers that we take hold of ourselves and take the opportunity for leaning and acquiring new perspectives. In his view, “culture shock can make one develop a better understanding of oneself and stimulate personal creativity”

Gaining understanding of the new culture replaces our anxieties, distress and confusion by a new feeling of pleasure. A total metamorphosis takes place we begin to accept the customs of the country as just another way of living. The new milieu does not deter us anymore. We develop greater enthusiasm and self-confidence. Indeed, we have now begun to like the new environs and the earlier wish to ‘go back” recedes. Pre-occupied with things at hand to the exclusion of all other diversionary thoughts migrants begin to like the malls; the banks; the orderly “line’ or queue; the “way things work”; the cars; the traffic signals, the policemen and wardens and the communication system to name a few. It all boils down to our attitudes.

Charles Swindoll, acclaimed contemporary author and philosopher of our times says how attitude influences life:

“Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say, or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string, we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it”.

And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.

Winston Churchill emphasized on attitude as the most important attribute in one’s life and “that makes a big difference” just as happiness itself is an attitude:

We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same. [10] 

In the “State of Happiness-simply a matter of choice”[11] the first in the series of books, Dr. Jois talks of life that is riddled with complexities and complains of the dilemmas really on the part of people on how to react to them. Unfortunately, the trend is to give it up as a hopeless task.

Happiness comes through making the right effort and not just by luck. Dr.Jois tells us how a human derelict, Maxim Gorky(1868-1936) in the course of an aimless life discovered how to read and write at the hands of a friendly cook while working as a dishwasher on a Volga steamer and literature soon became his passion. Aleksey Maksimovich Peshkov adopted the pseudonym Maxim Gorky, meaning “the bitter one” to convey the bitterness of his life’s early experiences. He described the lives of people in the lowest strata and on the margins of society, revealing their hardships, humiliations, and brutalization, but also their inward spark of humanity. Gorky continually struggled to resolve contradictory feelings of faith and skepticism, love of life and disgust at the vulgarity and pettiness of the human world”. He left the following message to humankind:

“Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands,

but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is.”

I think we have left out for the last but not the least, a very imperative aspect of our discussion. That is about our great front runners whose individual and collective efforts are what are keeping the unknown Dracula in check. We did not mention about our doctors’, nurses, paramedics, drug manufacturers and suppliers, grocers and others.

Armed forces during World War I depended on a range of methods to relay messages between units in an era when wireless communication was still primitive. Options ranged from the telegraph to telephones to colored flares, mirrors that reflected flashes of sunlight, bugles and trained dogs and pigeons. But the most reliable means of communicating along the front was in the form of one of the war’s most dangerous roles: the runner.

Human runners were more dependable than staticky connections on phone lines. They could memorize complicated messages in case papers they were carrying were destroyed or became illegible. And they could locate hard-to-find places.[12]

Now, we have virtually everything needed to communicate with each other, but that in itself has brought in several disadvantages needing governments of the day trying to prevent if unable to stop gossiping and fake news reporting to our own detriment.

The 2016 US election was marked by malicious uses of technology, including new forms of “fake news” on social media platforms designed to sway voters. Since then, there has been a striking number of cases of commercially and politically driven disinformation, foreign interference in elections, data breaches, cyber-attacks, the proliferation of harmful speech, data exploitation and surveillance abuses.

At this inflection point — in which democracies are strained by technologies — there is a pressing need for policy makers, civil society and the private sector alike to put forth a coordinated effort to govern the digital public sphere…[13]

LET US ALL RESOLVE ONCE AGAIN TO COMPLY WITH ALL DIRECTIVES ISSUED BY OUR GOVERNMENTS AT THIS WORLD DEVASTATING CRISIS.

With regards and wishing you all good health and cheer,

PVJois

[1] https://www.successories.com/products/Posters-Art/Motivational-Posters/Essence-of/18/3703/The-Essence-of-Character-Motivational-Poster-251217@11116am

[2] Dr.PV.Jois – Global Oneness-a matter of understanding” by Dr.PV.Jois,1^st Ed; October,2009; ISBN 978-81-907906-1-1; Vijaya Publication, Jwalamukhi Mudranalaya, Bangalore-

When this book was published the following calamities were still unknown:

[3] 1. The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 Iraqis were killed in the first three to four years of conflict. US troops were officially withdrawn in 2011. However, following the spread of the Syrian Civil War and the territorial gains of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Obama administration decided to redeploy US forces to Iraq in 2014. Many former soldiers are employed by defense contractors and private military companies. The U.S. became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition; the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion occurred as part of the George W. Bush administration’s War on Terror, following the September 11 attacks. –

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War

10042020

2.The September 11 attacks (also referred to as 9/11)[a] were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda[3][4][5] against the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities, over 25,000 injuries, and caused at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage.[6][7] Additional people have died of dust-related cancer and respiratory diseases in the months and years following the attacks. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks-10042020@1253pm

3. The 2008 Mumbai attacks[10] (also referred to as 26/11) were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist organisation based in Pakistan, carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai.The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday 26 November and lasted until Saturday 29 November 2008. At least 174 people died, including 9 attackers, and more than 300 were wounded. –

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Mumbai_attacks -10042020@1255pm

4. The present Corona Virus of 2019-2020 crisis where the world got shattered by cataclysmal events which can neither be condemned as war or regarded as some sporadic reckless acts by misguided people. These are simply frightening-even to describe it.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=jPKsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA93&lpg=PA93&dq=If+I+celebrate+the+fall+of+the+wall,+it+is+because+I+am+convinced+of+how+much+we+can+learn+from+each+other.+Most+knowledge+is+learning+from+the+other+across+the+border.&source=bl&ots=TMMOCbiWTp&sig=ACfU3U0UM-DGX53F6mwaniF6WOxvbA0RTg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVt6T05d3oAhVm4zgGHZGaCQ8Q6AEwAHoECA8QKw#v=onepage&q=If%20I%20celebrate%20the%20fall%20of%20the%20wall%2C%20it%20is%20because%20I%20am%20convinced%20of%20how%20much%20we%20can%20learn%20from%20each%20other.%20Most%20knowledge%20is%20learning%20from%20the%20other%20across%20the%20border.&f=false

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[5] Dr.PV.Jois, Global Oneness-a matter of understanding”, op cit.

[6] Today, some 821 million people suffer chronically from hunger. And although this is significantly fewer people than the numbers we saw a decade ago, hunger still kills more people than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. On May 28th, we observe World Hunger Day – https://www.google.co.in/search?dcr=0&source=hp&ei=_WCQXqXkPJmS4-EPxdW1yAw&q=how+many+people+have+pushed+into+hunger+today&oq=how+many+people+have+pushed+into+hunger+today&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzoCCAA6BQgAEIMBOgcIABBGEPsBSjMIFxIvMGcxMTFnMTA2ZzExMWcxMDFnMTAwZzExMWcxMDZnMTAzZzExOGc5OWcxMDlnOTlKHggYEhowZzFnMWcxZzFnMWcxZzFnMWcxZzVnNWcyNlC0EVi-wQFgg8kBaABwAHgAgAF1iAGjH5IBBDM3LjiYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjl1u7f6N3oAhUZyTgGHcVqDckQ4dUDCAo&uact=5#spf=1586520346620

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[7] Global Oneness-a matter of understanding” by Dr.PV.Jois,1^st Ed;October,2009; ISBN 978-81-907906-1-1; Vijaya Publication, Jwalamukhi Mudranalaya, Bangalore-at Pp.12-14

[8] Ibid at pp.43-45

[9] ibid

[10] ibid

[11] Vijaya Publication, First Ed., 2008: ISBN978-81-907906-0-4; Jwalamukhi Mudranalaya, Bangalore

[12] https://www.history.com/news/world-war-i-runners-1917

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[13] https://www.cigionline.org/interactives/2019annualreport/disinformation-and-social-media-a-global-governance-challenge?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIo-fvwqXd6AIVShSPCh0P_AYPEAAYASAAEgJcx_D_BwE

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“Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it.” ~Brian Tracy

Indeed, in the realm of infectious diseases, a pandemic is the worst imaginable calamity because it spreads beyond a country’s borders. We can have a bird’ eye view of the kind of pandemics that ravaged humanity in ancient times too. These examples may serve to illustrate that they had great similarities like the one we are presently witnessing.[1]

430 B.C.: Athens

The earliest recorded pandemic happened during the Peloponnesian War. It is said to have crossed boundaries and is claimed to have killed as much as two-thirds of the population.

The symptoms included fever, thirst, bloody throat and tongue, red skin and lesions

1350: The Black Death[2]

Responsible for the death of one-third of the world population, this second large outbreak of the bubonic plague possibly started in Asia and moved west in caravans. Entering through Sicily in 1347 A.D. when plague sufferers arrived in the port of Messina, it spread throughout Europe rapidly…

England and France were so incapacitated by the plague that the countries called a truce to their war. The British feudal system collapsed when the plague changed economic circumstances and demographics. Ravaging populations in Greenland, Vikings lost the strength to wage battle against native populations, and their exploration of North America halted.

1492: The Columbian Exchange

Following the arrival of the Spanish in the Caribbean, diseases such as smallpox, measles and bubonic plague were passed along to the native populations by the Europeans. With no previous exposure, these diseases devastated indigenous people, with as many as 90 percent dying throughout the north and south continents.

Upon arrival on the island of Hispaniola, Christopher Columbus encountered the Taino people, population 60,000. By 1548, the population stood at less than 500. This scenario repeated itself throughout the Americas.[3]

There have been epidemics, endemics and pandemics of varies genres and descriptions since then with fatalities of humongous dimensions. Notably, the 1665: The Great Plague of London killing over 20 per cent of London’s population; 1817: First Cholera Pandemic being the first of seven cholera pandemics in over the next 150 years. This wave of the small intestine infection originated in Russia, where one million people died spread to other countries Spain, Africa, Indonesia, China, Japan, Italy, Germany and America, consuming thousands of people for want of medicine. Although a vaccine was created in 1885, history tells us of the continuation of pandemics throughout the universe. The Third Plague Pandemic in 1855 started in China and moving to India and Hong Kong, the bubonic plague claimed 15 million victims;

The Russian Flu of 1889:

The first significant flu pandemic started in Siberia and Kazakhstan, traveled to Moscow, and made its way into Finland and then Poland, where it moved into the rest of Europe. By the following year, it had crossed the ocean into North America and Africa. By the end of 1890, 360,000 had died.

1918: Spanish Flu:

The avian-borne flu that resulted in 50 million deaths worldwide came to called as the Spanish Flu since it was a neutral country in the First World War and strict press Censorship was in vogue in several countries including England where it was quite widespread. At the time, there were no effective drugs or vaccines to treat this killer flu strain. Wire service reports of a flu outbreak in Madrid in the spring of 1918 led to the pandemic being called the “Spanish flu.”

1957: Asian flu:

Starting in Hong Kong and spreading throughout China and then into the United States, the Asian flu became widespread in England where, in a short period of about six months thousand became victims and soon thereafter a second wave followed in early 1958, causing an estimated total of about 1.1 million deaths globally. It was a great relief when scientists developed a vaccine was developed, effectively containing the pandemic.^[4]

2003: SARS

First identified in 2003 after several months of cases, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is believed to have possibly started with bats, spread to cats and then to humans in China, followed by 26 other countries, infecting 8,096 people, with 774 deaths.

SARS is characterized by respiratory problems, dry cough, fever and head and body aches and is spread through respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes. Quarantine efforts proved effective and by July, the virus was contained and hasn’t reappeared since.

SARS was seen by global health professionals as a wake-up call to improve outbreak responses, and lessons from the pandemic were used to keep diseases like H1N1, Ebola and Zika under control.

And now, in the present era we have what is come to be known as “2019: COVID-19” an abbreviation for ‘corona virus Disease of the year 2019’.

On March 11, 2020, The World Health Organization announced[5] that the COVID-19 virus was officially a pandemic after barreling through 114 countries in three months and infecting over 118,000 people. And the spread wasn’t anywhere near finished. The WHO declared:

COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus—a new coronavirus strain that has not been previously found in people. Symptoms include respiratory problems, fever and cough, and can lead to pneumonia and death. Like SARS, it’s spread through droplets from sneezes.[6]

India has been in the forefront in its battle to combat the deadly virus and rigorous implementation of “SOCIAL DISTANCING” has been thought of as one of the more effective prophylactic in addition to including the closing of schools and workplaces, isolation, quarantine, restricting movement of people and the cancellation of mass gatherings.

There are laws in each of the countries prescribing punishments of varying degree for violation of any such stringent law. It is tragic to see hundred and thousands of people, mindless of consequences, openly defying the laws. Most of the people, if not all, are aware that the spread of the disease is far and wide and has overtaken the previous day’s number of cases. As of date, the number of corona cases has exceeded 1100000 and the number of fatalities are nearing 100,000 the world over. People across the world do not know the significance of expressions like ‘lockdown’, ‘social distancing’ and the scope and content of the host of rules and regulations issued by governmental and quasi-governmental authorities with a view to containing the spreading of the earth shattering pandemic.

I remember that in early times and in fact, even as of today, in parts of South India women (not necessarily elderly and those who are widowed) practice what in a South Indian language is referred to as “MADHI” meaning strict social distancing and seclusion (not to be likened to any sort of exclusion or ostracisation, please note). Under this training such women after their morning ablutions and subsequent to their Prayers or “POOJA” do not permit even their own children and other family members to come very close to them nor touch them (and in case they do, they would have (the women, I mean) to take a bath again and change their sanctified clothes which they have washed themselves). They only mix and intermix with similarly placed women (whether in the household or elsewhere). Indeed, they do not even partake food or refreshments proffered by other members of their own family including their own daughters or daughters in law. They come out of their seclusion late in the evening after they have had their “tiffin” (light refreshment) cooked or made by themselves or another lady (married woman) temporarily practicing such distancing until the refreshment has been partaken.

Social Distancing has been practiced by people from the earliest times both during normal times as well as in extraordinary circumstances such as in times of epidemics or pandemics of the kind the world is going through present days by the dreaded corona disease.

Isolation, seclusion and quarantines  

The Floodwaters Arrive[7]

…In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened…And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights…On that very day Noah entered the ark, along with his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife, and the three wives of his sons—…

Berean Study Bible [8]

“Through which the world of that time perished in the flood.”(Peter 3:6)

Genesis 7:4

“For seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.”

Genesis 7:17

“For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and the waters rose and lifted the ark high above the earth”

Genesis 8:2

The springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained.”

The Bible says:

“Forty days was the period from the resurrection of Jesus to the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:3). According to Stephen, Moses’ life is divided into three 40-year segments, separated by his growing to adulthood, fleeing from Egypt, and his return to lead his people out (Acts 7:23,30,36).” [9]

Stevens Crawshaw[10] says that even before the arrival of the plague, the biblical notion of a 40-day period of purification had crossed over into health practices. After childbirth, for example, a new mother was expected to rest for 40 days.

Professor Emil Verner of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has warned:

“Pandemics Depress the Economy, Public Health Interventions Do Not: Evidence from the 1918 Flu”

“The pandemic itself is just so destructive to the economy, so any policy that you can use that directly mitigates the severity of the pandemic can actually be beneficial for the economy,” Mr. Verner said. Stricter interventions “actually make it safer for economic activity to resume, and they mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic itself on mortality.” [11]

As recently as March 26^th, 2020, together with his esteemed colleagues Sergio Correia and Stephan Luck explain the economic benefits of NON PHARAMACEUTICAL INTERVENTIONS (NPI). They not only result in less number of fatalities but also “mitigate the adverse economic consequences of a pandemic”[12]

It is therefore of a very high importance and indeed, it is CRUCIAL that each one of us regulate our self and practice social distancing, quarantining or isolating as the circumstances might demand of us not only in our own self-interest but more importantly in the interest of the nation at large. Among other things let us pay attention and adhere to governmental and or of its agencies guidelines in this regard some of which are enumerated below:[13]

1. Practice good hand and sneeze/cough hygiene;
2. Avoid handshaking and regularly disinfect high touch surfaces, such as tables, kitchen benches and doorknobs;
3. Increase ventilation in the home by opening windows or adjusting air conditioning;
4. Visit shops sparingly and buy more goods and services online;
5. Avoid needless outings and travel;
6. Care for the sick person in a single room if possible ;
7. Both the sick person and the people caring for them should wear a surgical mask when they are in the same room;
8. Protect other vulnerable family members, such as people over 65 years or people with a chronic illness, including, if practicable, finding alternative accommodation for them;
9. Defer large meetings and in any case do not attend any such gatherings;
10. Promote strictest hygiene among food preparation (canteen) staff and their close contacts;
11. If your child is sick, do not send them to school (or childcare);
12. Instill the habit of sanitizing their hands at regular intervals;
13. Hold essential meetings outside in the open air if possible;
14. Limit food handling and sharing of food in the workplace

[1] https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/pandemics-timeline

-05042020@1921

[2] ibid

[3] ibid

[4] ibid

[5] On March 11, 2020

[6] Without a vaccine available, the virus has spread far and wide and has become universal and is estimated to have infected people in about 163 countries.

[7] https://biblehub.com/genesis/7-12.htm

04042020@1821

[8] https://www.google.co.in/search?dcr=0&ei=wcGJXv_VB9PZz7sPhLud6AU&q=is+the+berean+study+bible+accurate&oq=Berean+Study+Bible+&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgBMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjIGCAAQBxAeMgYIABAHEB4yBggAEAcQHjICCAAyAggAOgQIABBHOgUIIRCgAUoOCBcSCjExLTEyOWcxMTlKCggYEgYxMS0xZzNQy5EVWP-7FWCFshZoAHABeACAAbYBiAGPEJIBBDIuMTaYAQCgAQKgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=psy-ab#spf=1586086707714

05042020@1710

[9] https://www.google.co.in/search?dcr=0&source=hp&ei=pMWJXrv7BIuO4-EP-7yX4A4&q=%E2%80%9CForty+days+was+the+period+from+the+resurrection+of+Jesus+to+the+ascension+of+Jesus+%28Acts+1%3A3%29.+According+to+Stephen%2C+Moses%27+life+is+divided+into+three+40-year+segments%2C+separated+by+his+growing+to+adulthood%2C+fleeing+from+Egypt%2C+and+his+return+to+lead+his+people+out+%28Acts+7%3A23%2C30%2C36%29.%E2%80%9D+&oq=%E2%80%9CForty+days+was+the+period+from+the+resurrection+of+Jesus+to+the+ascension+of+Jesus+%28Acts+1%3A3%29.+According+to+Stephen%2C+Moses%27+life+is+divided+into+three+40-year+segments%2C+separated+by+his+growing+to+adulthood%2C+fleeing+from+Egypt%2C+and+his+return+to+lead+his+people+out+%28Acts+7%3A23%2C30%2C36%29.%E2%80%9D+&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQA1DDHFjDHGCHNGgAcAB4AIABAIgBAJIBAJgBAaABAqABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwi73Yvgm9HoAhULxzgGHXveBewQ4dUDCAo&uact=5#spf=1586087342145

05042020@1719

[10] Dr.Jane Stevens Crawshaw is a Renaissance Italian historian with research interests in the relationships between people and the places they inhabit. Her current project explores the impact of developing ideas about ‘cleanliness’ on the public health, urban and environmental policies of Venice and Genoa. Before this, she developed a holistic and contextualised institutional study of plague hospitals, which were first established in fifteenth-century Venice.

https://www.brookes.ac.uk/templates/pages/staff.aspx?wid=&op=full&uid=p0075724-05042020@1801

[11] https://www.google.co.in/search?dcr=0&q=%E2%80%9CThe+pandemic+itself+is+just+so+destructive+to+the+economy,+so+any+policy+that+you+can+use+that+directly+mitigate+the+severity+of+the+pandemic+can+actually+be+beneficial+for+the+economy,%E2%80%9D&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi1-OnVn9PoAhVTxjgGHT6cA-4QBSgAegQIAxAp&biw=1085&bih=544#spf=1586157113746

06042020@1242

[12] https://twitter.com/emilverner?lang=en-060420230@1253

[13] www.health.gov.au/covid19-resources; useful https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html

with best wishes,

PVJois

“Government didn’t say you must stop worshiping God;

You must stop praying or preaching the word of God;

You must stop believing in God or exercising your faith;

You must stop your religion, but what is asking for is everyone should stop human contact and should social distance themselves, because the virus spread easily in a group of people. By limiting contact, it means not going to church, Easter, clubs, Tavern, events, malls, gym, school, work. I need you to do your part in order for me to survive.”

― De philosopher DJ Kyos[1]

“The sprouting of the seeds of creativity, intuition and wisdom takes place in a relaxed mind. Only anger, greed and ego require a disturbed mind.”

― Shivanshu K. Srivastava

Social distancing or more appropriately physical distancing (because in the digital age we can still be “in touch” socially) is a more pertinent way to stop, prevent or slow down a pandemic infectious disease among people. It means less physical contact or closeness between people. This is all important at the present times since it has been established by scientists that COVID-19 is most likely to spread from person-to-person through or by direct close contact with any infected person or one who is suspected to be infected. A person is suspect when he or she is subject to coughs or sneezing or complaining of fever, for example. So, it is believed that the more space between people makes it harder for the virus to spread.

Social distancing, or physical distancing, is defined as a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) or measures taken to prevent the spread of a contagious disease by maintaining a physical distance between people and reducing the number of times people come into close contact with each other. It involves “keeping a distance of six feet (two meters) from others and avoiding gathering together in large groups.”[1]

During the present (2019–2020) coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has “suggested the reference to “physical” as an alternative to “social”,” in keeping with the notion that it is a physical distance which prevents transmission; people can remain socially connected via technology.[2]

To slow down the spread of infectious diseases and avoid overburdening healthcare systems, particularly during a pandemic, several social distancing measures are used, including the closing of schools and workplaces, isolation, quarantine, restricting movement of people and the cancellation of mass gatherings. Such measures have been successfully implemented in several previous epidemics. For example, it is believed that in America, shortly after the first cases of influenza were detected in the city during the 1918 flu pandemic, authorities implemented school closures, bans on public gatherings and other social distancing interventions. The death rates in places where such measures were implemented were definitely lower than in places which had not imposed any restrictions on such inter public movements and other restrictions.[3]

Public authorities believe that social distancing measures are more “effective when the infectious disease spreads via droplet contact (coughing or sneezing); direct physical contact, including sexual contact; indirect physical contact (e.g., by touching a contaminated surface); or airborne transmission (if the microorganism can survive in the air for long periods).The measures are less effective when an infection is transmitted primarily via contaminated water or food or by vectors such as mosquitoes or other insects.” [4]

Under these circumstances, public health authorities monitoring the situation intently (as a result of thousands in the hospitals and the number of fatalities on account of the disease) have introduced strict ‘lockdowns’ of communities in one or more cities or the entire states in country inclusive of all modes of transports, markets or stores and shops (subject to certain exemptions like essential goods and supply, medical outlets and the like), schools, colleges and other teaching institutions, congregations or meetings for whatever purpose may be.

Consequently, if one feels sick or unwell it is expected (as a moral or legal obligation) to voluntarily seek medical help and subject oneself to isolation or quarantine as the case may be or as may be advised. Under such situation one is morally responsible to fellow citizens (inclusive of one’s own family) to stay away from others. Quite naturally one is obliged to practice personal hygiene in one’s own interest as well as his or her immediate family and surrounding people. As a Rule of the Thumb it is expected that the social or physical distancing would mean a minimum distancing among people of at least 3 to 6 feet.

As well as these, one could practice simple common sense actions to help reduce or mitigate hardships to oneself as well as others of the community. These simple, common sense actions help reduce risk to oneself and to others. They will help to slow the spread of disease in the community and therefore one can readily understand why schools, educational institutions, examinations, workplaces and public events for example, are closed. Each day and or periodically public authorities in consultation with experts (in addressing public health issues), regulates through orders and regulations called advisories answering and guiding queries from curious public seeking any clarification relating to the virus. They seek advice on what they should or ought not to do things under any given circumstance.

It is relevant to point out that as of date no definite cure has been found to alleviate the present calamitous and hazardous state of affairs. This disastrous condition has affected very severely the economic health of every nation in the world including small and big destinations.

Many people even in the most sophiscated countries are skeptical and mock at the restrictions placed upon them to contain the deadly virus. Perhaps this arises out of its drawbacks (social distancing) which include loneliness, reduced productivity and the loss of other benefits associated with human interaction.[5] Such cynics or critics do not realise that the present impasse gives them opportunities in various ways, chiefly, of practicing solitude which can be used to develop self-esteem and self- confidence; develop character, courage, enthusiasm, passion, and creativity. Solitude “issues in thought, conscience and creativity” These, in turn, “rebuild the world.”[6]

The more civilized humans became, building cities and forging trade routes to connect with other cities, and waging wars with them, the more likely pandemics became.

Jack London^[7] in one of his books on the ‘Human Drifts’ talked of the pre-anthropoid “crossing a mountain divides in quest of better berry bushes beyond” always in search of more food and thus expanding more space.

Communicable diseases existed during humankind’s hunter-gatherer days, “but the shift to agrarian life 10,000 years ago created communities that made epidemics more possible.^[8]

People ought to know that Social distancing measures date back to “at least the fifth century BCE…The biblical book of Leviticus contains one of the earliest known references to the practice..[9],

‘Further Jewish writings built upon this foundation… Rabbinic literature — as universally shared before the advent of germ theory — did not recognize the origin of contagious diseases, but did show that there was knowledge of the value of social isolation in preventing their transmission…During the Plague of Justinian, emperor Justinian enforced an ineffective quarantine on the Byzantine Empire, including dumping bodies into the sea, blaming the widespread outbreak predominately on “Jews, Samaritans, pagans, heretics, Arians, Montanists …”[10]

…to be continued in Part 3

Wishing all my readers good health,

PVJois

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_distancing

05042020@1808

[2] ibid

[3] ibid

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Johanna “Hannah” Cohn Arendt, also known as Hannah Arendt Bluecher, was a German-American philosopher and political theorist. Her many books and articles on topics ranging from totalitarianism to epistemology have had a lasting influence on political theory. https://www.google.co.in/search?dcr=0&source=hp&ei=St6JXsGrBOGU4-EPp5CKkAs&q=Arendt%2C&oq=Arendt%2C&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCABKCQgXEgU3LTExOEoHCBgSAzctMVCBEliBEmC3LWgAcAB4AIABU4gBU5IBATGYAQCgAQKgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjB-Pags9HoAhVhyjgGHSeIArIQ4dUDCAo&uact=5#spf=1586093651270-05042020@1905

[7] John Griffith London (born John Griffith Chaney;January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916was an American novelist, journalist, and social activist.- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London-05042020@1843

[8] https://www.google.co.in/search?dcr=0&source=hp&ei=vNqJXrS2IOTCz7sPicekwAQ&q=but+the+shift+to+agrarian+life+10%2C000+years+ago+created+communities+that+made+epidemics+more+possible&oq=but+the+shift+to+agrarian+life+10%2C000+years+ago+created+communities+that+made+epidemics+more+possible&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQA1CbGFibGGDiKWgAcAB4AIABAIgBAJIBAJgBAaABAqABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwi0hJ3vr9HoAhVk4XMBHYkjCUgQ4dUDCAo&uact=5#spf=1586092741186

05042020@1850

[9] ibid

[10] ibid

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/quarantine

04042020@1419-De philosopher DJ Kyos(Kyos Magupe), Author and Motivational Speaker