By Deepa Majumdar
Perhaps the most unexpected catastrophe we have seen in recent history, the pandemic caused by Covid-19 appeared at a critical juncture in History – at the cusp between two ages, as one ends and begins melding into the next – as if emerging from one macro-cycle of History and entering the next. We were already caught in an extraordinary historical moment when this pandemic appeared, with no warning whatsoever. Speaking superficially, this pandemic therefore seems like a biological crisis that reflects our political and moral crises, through the medium of an echoing Nature. It appeared at a moment of historical dredging that was raising to the surface, through a world-wide turbulent politics, all personal and political iniquities. Like lancing a boil to heal it, History was exposing our moral iniquities, so they could be dredged – as if purifying us in preparation for the next age and the next historical cycle.
What does all this imply about History and Nature, the two backdrops to this fearsome pandemic? Although the two are distinct, they share some common features. If History possesses a slaughter-bench that expresses our warring propensities and iniquities, then Nature too possesses its own slaughter-bench – which expresses two types of non-moral violence – that of natural phenomena like earthquakes, and that of non-human beings (insects, birds, fish, animals, etc.) towards one another. Moreover, in both History and Nature, man stands at the summit of a Great Chain of Being – which western thought enunciates historically and existentially, and Vedānta, eschatologically, in terms of a procession that evolves through cycles of reincarnation. For, man is Nature’s intelligent creature. Unique in the order of Nature, man alone is morally culpable and therefore capable of divine awareness. This is not to deny man’s destructive capacities, but to point to his divine potential. It is Aristotle perhaps who states best the stature of man compared to other animals – “… as man is the best of the animals when perfected, so he is the worst of all when sundered from law and justice.” (Politics, Book 1, Section 1253 a)
Besides sharing these common features, History and Nature are interlaced. History transpires within Nature, and Nature ensconces History. Inasmuch as Nature has a longer history than man, she comes with her own independent history. Yet, Nature also falls within the theater of human history. Even as she ensconces mankind’s history, Nature transpires within it. Moreover, Nature herself exists within something larger than herself – namely, divine Immanence. As is the case 2 of 3 with Matryoshka Dolls, here too the higher contains the lower – with Immanence containing Nature, and Nature containing History, so that Immanence contains both. This means that this devastating pandemic, which transpired at an extraordinary historical moment, also transpired in Nature and Immanence. Moreover, God, whether transcendent or immanent, had to have permitted this catastrophe. Otherwise it could not have happened. Yet, Nature, the handmaid of God, also played a role. Governed by transcendental non-moral laws, Nature bred this pandemic, which is therefore law-bound. All this raises questions about the nature of Nature.
In the context Covid-19 and even otherwise, our first encounter with Nature is the body. Our discourse on Nature therefore should begin with the human body and its connection with mind and soul. Body and mind are fundamentally related, with body, a corporeal echo of mind. Inasmuch as the mind itself is an instrument, the body is a twice removed shadow – or, as the Buddha (Passage 4, Dhammapada) says, a mere “foam of a wave, the shadow of a shadow.” This mimetic character that the body bears towards the mind implies a profound body-mind relationship, of special relevance to understanding disease. We may claim of many ailments – that they are means of purifying the mind – so that mental impurities express themselves as corporeal ailments. As a result, the body becomes a silent burden-bearer for the soul and mind. Thus great saints and sages fall ill when they take upon themselves the sins of their votaries. This profound body-mind relationship means we can control our bodies and its ailments, by controlling our minds. We can avert ailments by keeping the mind pure. But does this line of reasoning apply to all ailments? Does it apply to Covid-19?
This pandemic could not possibly be an echo of the human mind and soul, as are many ailments – for it came from entirely outside the human person. Nor could it be a direct echo of Nature. Even if Nature bred it in accordance with her laws, Covid-19 did not come directly from Nature. Even if natural in origin and transmission, Covid-19 is not a natural calamity. Relying for its transmission on human agency, whether intentional or not, a virus differs significantly from natural catastrophes – like cyclones, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Unlike an earthquake, Covid19 is transmitted through human persons, who possess free-will, and therefore the choice, whether or not to transmit this virus by obeying or disobeying necessary medical injunctions. Barring unknowing and accidental transmissions by those who do not know they are infected, and those who do, respectively, all other transmissions depend on the will and agency of the pandemic patient. Thus, Nature is not directly to blame for this pandemic. But did she play a role?
Covid-19 cannot be a punishment of God, unless one believes in an angry punitive God. For, God’s punishment is individuated and in accordance with His own transcendental laws – like the Law of Karma. While it is true that God lashes us in the severity of His mercy, this lashing is not lawless. As an act of mercy, it is proportionate and just. But Covid-19 is neither individuated, nor proportionate and just. It does not spread in accordance with moral conduct. We catch this virus when we are physically vulnerable and careless. Although lawful – unfolding in accordance with the laws of Nature and science – this pandemic does not abide by the Law of Karma. It is not as if the wicked alone catch this virus. This pandemic therefore cannot possibly be a punishment from God.
This world-wide tragedy, which hit us at a historical moment when death-denying, desire drenched modern man was exulting in his own hubris, with Technology for his handmaid, therefore raises tantalizing questions about both Nature and God – questions that Technology cannot answer. (To be concluded)