CORONA PANDEMIC: The challenge and lessons

Humanity has not witnessed a Pandemic so virulent as now created by the Covid-19 since the devastating Spanish flu in 1918-1920. Generations have passed by and the lessons learnt then, have been erased from the minds of people. The present pandemic has shaken the world from its roots establishing the facts that human beings, the so-called crown of creations, are not immune to the calamities created by the micro-organisms like Coronavirus.

There are several aspects to this issue which need to be understood and tackled. Humanity should learn lessons from its own greed, selfishness and failures. The crisis today is not the crisis of material resources but human resources–human psyche. It is the crisis of value. Body, mind and spirit form a continuity in the evolutionary scale. A selfish, crude psyche does not permit the manifestation of spiritual refinement as a result, brings crisis in the physical realm. It is imperative now to change our erroneous perception of ourselves and the world by living a holistic life. When we are transformed, we’ll be able to see the New World–a better world.

This compilation intends to give different perspectives of the present Pandemic by eminent authors from India and across the world. Their analyses and suggestions will be of much value in the present and post-Covid time, particularly, for the coming generation.

About the Author: Dr. Deepa Padhi is a retired Professor of Philosophy. She currently lives in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Dr. Padhi was awarded the D. Lit degree in 2007 by Utkal University for her thesis on “Live and Let Live: An Analytical Study in Holistic Ethics”. She has to her credit a book titled The Ethical Philosophy of the Bhagavad Geeta and she has edited “Yes, She Can”, a book based on women’s issues. Recently she has been nominated as a Member of the Senate of R.D. Women’s University by the Governor ofOdisha. She writes articles on social, philosophical, Theosophical and spiritual issues for magazines and Journals.

Dr. Padhi is the President of Theosophical Order of Service, Odisha since 2016 and continues in the assignment. She is actively engaged with projects for women’s empowerment and education, and is associated with several orphanages, homes for the aged, and Institutions providing care to women in distress and helps rehabilitate them. She is founding member of Drustidaan–an eye-bank organization for corneal transplants and research. She continues as a member of its executive committee. Presently Dr.Padhi is the International Vice- President of Theosophical society.