HOW DID MAN’S WRONG WAY OF LIVING CAUSE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE?

The virus which originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 has spread around the globe sending billions of people into lockdown as healthcare workers struggle to cope. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization categorised COVID-19 as a pandemic. As at 10.07 p.m. April 12, 2020, there has been 1,833,685 confirmed cases, 420,917 have recovered, 113,296 deaths, thousands more fighting for their lives in hospitals worldwide and the figures keep changing.

Consideration of the spiritual aspect of this monumental episode led to the recognition that the real germ causing the continuous global catastrophes including this pandemic is the germ of disobedience to the laws of the Almighty which man has reared over thousands of years.

How did the germ of disobedience and wrong way of living cause a disease now terrorising mankind? Where is the link?

Before we proceed, I wish to enter a caveat here. Indeed, we should all be remorseful, sober and humble at this time with our eyes turned upwards in humble supplication. And since the earth-shaking repercussions of our past are still ongoing worldwide, the present answer may not be considered complete and conclusive.

Events on earth follow a natural course, made possible through the Law of the Working of Creation, bringing us the experiences we need at this time for our redemption, for purification, or for our advancement.

Man is endowed with the power to shape his own earthly conditions with the all-pervading Power of the Creator. Just as in the life of every individual, the spiritual aspirations, thoughts, words and deeds that dominates amongst mankind are capable of shaping subsequent global events and conditions.  The consequences of man’s activities will react on him when the time for it is ripe and these consequences are always similar to the preceding human actions. Since the general conditions and the happenings on earth are the precipitation of the world of thought forms that surrounds us, we can understand that thoughts and acts of love will bring peace and thoughts of envy and hate will bring similarly evil outcomes. The consequences of every thought and action will exert their force on man for good or evil through his circumstances, his environment, or directly on his body.

To illustrate the effect mankind has on what happens in this world, let us picture to ourselves a potter sitting at his wheel with the clay that can be moulded into any shape. The potter’s wheel operates independently with the power of an engine. The potter applies the pressure of his fingers and his artistic talents to mould the clay placed on the wheel as it rotates thereby creating shapes of pots, dishes, mugs, vases, and other types of artwork of his choice. Depending on the pressure exacted by the potter’s fingers, the shapes may turn out beautiful, plain or ugly. That is exactly how the human spirit works in this world! Man, whose core is spirit, is capable of impressing its desires upon certain animistic (the substantiate) which then shapes matter. For man, the animistic is the finger that exercises the pressure according to the spiritual decisions of man, and the clay is the material physical substance while the movement of the potter’s wheel is like the automatic movements of the laws of creation which drives everything formed by man’s deep inner wishes towards development and manifestation. Therefore, the wishes of the human spirit are answerable for much that develops on earth. Man’s desires, his thinking and his actions take on form and becomes visible on earth through the mechanism of this world and his ignorance of this does not alter the effect.

A quick look at the predominant thoughts of men over thousands of years reveal that in the main, instead of engaging in good, loving, and peaceful thoughts, the thoughts favoured by the majority of men and their leaders are those of distrust, envy, hatred, greed and wickedness. Some world leaders precipitate needless wars and enrich themselves at the expense of their countries. Many followers secretly admire such leaders, and in turn think of how to cheat and harm their fellow men or enviously take for themselves what belongs to another.

Talking of wars in the context of our subject, we need to mention here the use of bio-weapons in warfare. Even in the olden days, elementary forms of biological warfare were practiced. Thus, one of the earliest documented cases of the intention to use biological weapons is recorded in Hittite texts of 1500–1200 BC, in which victims of tularaemia (an infectious disease) were driven into enemy lands, causing an epidemic.

In modern times, fingers have been pointed at Japan and Britain for having made plans to use plague as bio-weapon at one time or the other. The US President, Richard Nixon terminated the production of biological weapons only just before the emergence of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention in 1972.  However, the Soviet Union continued research and production of massive offensive biological weapons and to this day at least nine countries are still suspected (not proven) to possess offensive bioweapon programs.

Let us now consider briefly the attributes of viruses. According to the National Human Genome Research Institute a United States Research body, a virus is an infectious agent that occupies a place near the boundary between living and the non-living. They are sub microscopic and can be described as parasitic as they can only survive inside a host cell in order to survive and replicate, thereby harming the host. Virologists say that you should think of the interaction between the virus and your body as a war. This battle can cause all sorts of problems in the body. Depending on the virus and its location, inflammation, fever, mucus and more can occur and in the case of COVID-19 the lungs can be affected leading in the extreme to mortalities.

Are there any similarities between the way viruses operate and the actions of men? Is it not the case that many men through their greed and materialism are just like parasites? If viruses precipitate wars on entering the human body, is this not an imitation of the attitude of the majority of men who are coarse, lack consideration for others and cause disharmony everywhere they go?  Today, a virus is at war with the entire world population, as all of us are affected in one way or another.

The basic answer to our question therefore is that if mankind’s former actions require that a global pandemic should break out in reciprocity, then the inflexible weaving of Creation is bound to bring about the natural conditions that will give rise to it! Once man has called for it in thought and action, the animistic takes it up and ensures that these desires manifest in the material world, for good or evil just as man has desired earlier on. Perhaps a study of how past pandemics start can help us make a link of how the non-observance of creation laws can bring about disease to bring us back to our senses. 

During the final months of World War I, the Spanish flu broke out and historians now believe that the conflict may have been partly responsible for the spread. Some report that the men in the Western Front were cramped together in dirty and damp conditions. Coupled with low immunity and malnourishment, the men got sick. The sickness spread worldwide, 500 million were infected and the death toll is estimated to have been anywhere from 17 million to 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million. If the higher figure is accurate then this pandemic killed more people than the two World Wars put together. Another factor in this occurrence was falsehood and denial by governments, leaving people ill-prepared to handle the outbreaks. This is a clear example of a disease bringing home the repercussions of engaging in a war based in part on distrust and imperialism, living in unhygienic conditions and lies at top governance levels. The little cause: infection of some soldiers led to a great effect: a tragic pandemic.

Another little cause, great effect examples worth mentioning are the unwholesome interaction between man and animal, eating animals that intuitively we should not consume and eating raw meat, uncooked poultry and raw seafood. These can lead to the transmission of disease-causing pathogens from animals to humans. Some researchers are suggesting that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the cause of the current Covid-19 pandemic, might have been transmitted from animal to man. Same has been said concerning HIV.

Let it be noted that the little causes such as the ones mentioned above may not spiral to having global effects unless such a large-scale retribution is due in accordance to the creation laws. But when a global reciprocal action is due, a small cause might suddenly snowball to having a tremendous effect! When the time comes when the effect of the evil thoughts that have come to reality falls back on their originators, then retribution will first of all strike those who through their thinking had been producers and constant supporters. However, it is inevitable that this destructive rebounding force will also touch wider groups of people and affect even those who only have tendencies similar to that of the real wrongdoers. 

All said, we may wish to attach a deeper significance to the precautionary measures prescribed for us to avoid infection. Let us isolate and tear ourselves away from all base thoughts. As we wash our hands let us engage them for noble deeds and as we practise social distancing let us voluntarily offer each other respect, compassion and understanding. We can make the best of the present circumstances by embracing an attitude of remorse for our past wrong doing, agreeing to make a permanent change for the good and resolving to come out of this experience stronger, unassuming and ready to mediate only love, happiness and peace to our neighbours.