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Hindu Perspective on the COVID-19 Emergency

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, secretary-general of the Interfaith WASH Alliance and president of the Divine Shakti Foundation, focuses on three central Hindu beliefs and practices as they apply to action during the crisis.
 
Seva, or service, means that “We serve others as we serve ourselves, because literally others are a part of ourselves, and because all are Divine. A spiritual practice that does not manifest as service is seen as incomplete.”  The COVID-19 pandemic, she argues, brings both challenges and opportunities for service in local and global communities. Two organizations, Parmarth Niketan Ashram and the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA), are among those providing basic necessities, from food items to masks, to communities. GIWA works to educate and inspire behavior change around sanitation and hygiene, training people as sanitation ambassadors and toilet entrepreneurs. Faith leaders take information to their communities to keep them safe and connected. It also advocates against anti-social behavior, taboos, and hate speech, as stress deepens divisions between friend and foe, us and them. 
 
Hinduism’s foundation is rooted in oneness. “The tradition does not condone any sort of discrimination,” Sadhvi says, and he has developed video messaging on Facebook that aims to reinforce right information and noble thought to one another. “The concept of karma in Hinduism includes the premise that energy is circular. What I put in, I get out—there is a cause and effect relationship to my actions. If I put negativity and hate into the environment, this comes back to me in some form. Hate speech and stigma is not only bad for others, but it also directly impacts ourselves.” 
 
“Yatha pinde tatha brahmande,” another core Hindu belief, means, “as is the microcosm inside of us, so is the macrocosm outside of us”: as we think, so we create. When our own minds and beliefs change, our behavior and the world we co-create changes. This is the basis of a spiritual argument for positive messaging. Parmarth Niketan Ashram and GIWA have also developed and broadcast spiritual content such as uplifting yoga sessions, advice for navigating the lockdown peacefully, meditation classes, and spiritual discourses called Satsang.

(Based on: June, 2020, Faith in Development Monitor article.)