Written 14th April 2020

These days the way of life which so many of us took for granted is collapsing with an unforeseen speed. After free travelling borders get closed. After years of economic prosperity shops and restaurants, fitness places and schools and universities are closed down. Such a fast and big impact on the life we got used to I have not experienced in my lifetime.

The measurements governments in Europe and other places in the world now take are drastic. I understand the importance of slowing down the infection wave, in order to prevent the health care system from collapsing. But this does not address the most important aspect of the whole situation at all. According to some major virologists the wave of infections will continue until approximately two thirds of the world population will have been infected. Then it will abide, not before. How long this will take we don’t know. But we will live with the virus for some time.

When I travelled to India for the first time, the world population was around 3 billion people, now we are more than double of that. We invented penicillin, but we didn’t responsibly put birth control into effect. We continued on the path of bigger, more and faster. We know since the 1970 ties, the club of Rome, about the ecological consequences of our lifestyle, we continued making it worse.

As humanity we have behaved highly unintelligently, egoistically and shortsightedly. And we face the consequences of it now. This is not only about the covid virus. Even if all the efforts to contain the virus now would be successful, it does not mean that we are safe again, and that we can continue as before. This planet has come to its limits, we have pushed it there. Overpopulation and our agressive way of life are destroying this planet. What is happening now with the virus is only one expression of that. We are facing now that the loss of control over the situation around us is a reality. And our governments react with panic and more control.

I don’t say that preventive measures are wrong now, not at all. It makes sense to slow down the wave of infections. But when we stay on that level nothing will be solved. We need to address the egoistic and aggressive life style of modern humanity. We need to accept death as a natural part of our existence again. We need to meet death with love and awareness, not with panic. We need to accept our vulnerability, and feel again instead of covering feelings with more consume. We need more awareness, more love, not more control. We are in this crisis because of our unconscious efforts to have control over life and have more and more. Once I heard Bert Hellinger talk about how our efforts to eliminate dangers and insecurities and make life safer and easier, have ultimately created bigger threats than anything before, nuclear weapons.

Osho has talked about what is happening now in such clear words already in the seventies also. Telling us to create awareness and celebrate life in its totality, and to be ready for anything, foreseeing the ecological damage done to our planet, and the consequences this will have on peoples´ lives.

Here is a quote by Osho on fear:

Try To Understand What Fear Is

“The question is not of getting rid of anything; the question is only of understanding. Understand fear, what it is, and don’t try to get rid of it, because the moment you start trying to get rid of anything, you are not ready to understand it – because the mind which thinks to get rid of is already closed. It is not open to understand, it is not sympathetic. It cannot contemplate quietly; it has already decided. Now the fear has become the evil, the sin, so get rid of it. Don’t try to get rid of anything.
“Try to understand what fear is. And if you have fear, then accept it. It is there. Don’t try to hide it. Don’t try to create the opposite. If you have fear, then you have fear. Accept it as part of your being. If you can accept it, it has disappeared already. Through acceptance, fear disappears; through denial, fear increases.”

Osho, The Book of Secrets, Talk #60

What does this mean for us now in every day life? Whenever we are willing to see the reality of death, it makes us feel humble and grateful. In this way, the virus crisis now can be a huge zen stick reminding us, that the future is never guaranteed. It can remind us to love more, and treat ourselves, others and the planet more respectfully. And it can remind us to celebrate life instead of trying to control it. This actually can be one big gift of this virus crisis.

This is why we here in Shangri La have decided to continue with our programs. As for now activities up to 30 people are possible, we do not have bigger events anyway. So we continue with our programs, unless even more rigid restrictions would make this impossible.

What we ask people coming here is being extra perceptive for symptoms of possible sicknesses. We want to act responsibly, but with love and awareness.

This is for now. And how the now will look like tomorrow we will see only tomorrow.

This after all is what living in the moment is about