Struck by Covid, I Realised How the Pandemic Is Creating a Wave of Awakening in Humanity

By ZikrShoneeka

I have just come back to my senses after two weeks of intense Covid-vipassana. Of course, with so many steroids in the body and such brain fog, one is automatically beyond the senses – in a meditative state. That is why I felt like sharing the realisation I have woken up to.

I feel Covid is here to make a huge energy shift. We could call it a conscious shock or a kind of awakening for humanity. I truly feel we are experiencing change of a yuga (era).

We never thought 2020 would bring in such a wave of change. Who knew the New Age woman or man would be pushed into the kitchen only to realise how therapeutic cooking is and how beautifully it nurtures one’s feminine side. Who knew we would find back the joy of connecting with family, playing board games, developing patience, developing empathy, baking together, eating together, finally making it a ‘home sweet home’.

Who knew we would learn to prioritise what matters and what doesn’t. Who knew we would actually learn to be ‘atma-nirbhar’ in the true sense.

With the first lockdown and the fear of death, we finally saw ourselves picking up good habits. Many of us finally started caring not only for our own wellbeing but also for the wellbeing of those who mattered to us. Anxiety of not going to work and just being home created havoc in most of us. We saw our fears grabbing us unaware. Fear of missing out. Fear of losing ourselves. Fear of not being productive.

And to overcome these monsters, we were forced to surrender to yoga, taking time to breathe, connecting intimately with our own souls, connecting with family and friends, investing time and effort in cooking, taking up art, signing up for online classes and upgrading ourselves.

We replaced long commutes to meaningful Zoom meets. We were forced to find peace in the place we chose as ‘home’ for ourselves. Actually, there are many who realised that the stress of paying EMIs or high rents for fancy homes was not worth it now that there were no guests or parties. “I could have settled for a smaller, simpler house,” they regretted.

Covid has made us gasp for breath. But don’t you think before Covid, we were gasping for humanity? Our bank balance was multiplying but our karmic balance was rapidly declining in our greed. Materialism had become the way of life. The health of our finances was our only agenda.

Cut to February 2020, the pandemic brought in the churn. It shook us in the way we were forced to focus on our own health, good immunity, building our own balance and a positive mindset. Too bad, many of us are still gasping to accumulate more wealth.

Cut to 2021, the second wave, and a little more dirt has brushed off us humans. The mutant virus now attacks the senses worse and longer. With names and losses becoming our own, our hearts have melted further, and our egos have been crushed, until we are forced into utter humility. Even intelligence and wealth could not get our loved ones a hospital bed or oxygen in time.

There’s only one option we are left with: to surrender to His will.

Many of us are trying to help howsoever possible. In my case, my friends picked me up and dropped me to the hospital in the same car, not caring about the risk they had to face. Entrusting their faith on a face helmet and mask, they chose humanity over their own life. In the hospital, so many health workers attended to me so closely. My heart filled with faith in humanity once more.

A little selfishness seems to have been dusted off from our systems. Autos have turned into ambulances, gurudwaras are offering oxygen langars. Volunteers are updating public Google docs with verified leads for cylinders, hospital beds, ICUs. People are donating plasma with an open heart. Countries are coming to rescue us with aid.

I read a news item that a couple who had tested Covid-positive left their six-month-old baby with a cop before getting into isolation. Faith is the only way out. And this so-called bad time is building that muscle in us – the muscle of faith that makes our spirit stronger.

For cases like mine, Covid attacks the senses. It makes them numb. With no sense of smell, taste, touch (I felt that also), it’s a trance-like state for days. It’s an automatic resetting of the consciousness. It’s a meditative state like being on auto-pilot.

With so much happening around us, it seems like a conspiracy of nature (God) to upgrade us. Not allowed to nurse our loved ones, pamper them, not even give them a final goodbye, we can only pray for them, and shower them with love that is beyond the physical. Many people who never had an opportunity to pray, sat down, closed their eyes and went within. They were forced to surrender. Forced to let go. Forced to release attachment.

Covid has silenced all guilt, defences and attacks of the mind. Mind and logic won’t work here. The only thing that I see getting activated is the heart. When we suffer, we awaken to the truth. And that’s when we step up for others. That’s when our egos shatter and the hearts break open.

I can now see this wave of Covid for what it is: a wave of empathy, a wave of transformation, a wave of humanity, a wave of rebirth, a conspiracy of nature. Can you see it too?  

ZikrShoneeka is the pen name of Shoneeka, an advertising creative director and filmmaker with a deep interest in mystical sciences. She is a certified yoga teacher and chakra healer. She has spent seven years studying Gnostic science and the philosophy behind religion. You can find her on ZikrShoneeka.