'Positively negative' and 'Social Distancing': misnomers

 

'Positively negative' and 'Social Distancing': misnomers

 

 

 

Connotation of many words have changed in the recent times. It brings melancholy in everyone’s life, if they come to hear that he is found ‘positive’. Quite logically, the mention is about COVID test. How a term like ‘positive’, which has been glamorized heavily and become a part of sermon of each guru, spiritual or management, has come out with a totally different connotation is baffling. Everyone wants to hear that he is ‘positively negative’. A melody to ears, and a sigh of relief to all kith and kin. How the two opposite words, depicting a state of mind, which is poles apart, have come together is interesting. Can we somehow keep negativity out of our life and keep positive a solution to all ills? Let us not be positively negative but stay positively positive. And, let the report be read ‘infected or not’. Let us remain positive and let not 'positive' become a negative word and 'negative' a new positive. 

 

Another catchy phrase, which has found a lot of significance is ‘Social distancing’. This has been projected as panacea to pandemic. The term ‘Social distancing’ was a measure taken to sustain class differences and was to mark, emphatically, the distancing of elite with the lower-class strata in the society. Sociologist Karl Mannheim, in 1957, described it as a means to maintain power hierarchies. In India, this phenomenon could also have been witnessed in strong caste discriminatory demonstration in the past. But, in pandemic, this term ‘Social distancing’ got unnecessary prominence and has been wrongly interpreted. What, rightly, should had been ‘physical distancing’ has been popularized as social distancing! If we literally maintain social distance in the pandemic times then it is going to be more dangerous than the virus itself.

 

Humans are social animals, and if they are forced to stay in isolation, without any social contact, then the propensity of them getting insane is high, unless they are Sage. The best way to keep one’s head leveled and to survive when physical contact is totally prohibited is through social interaction. With the technological advancement, now there is no need to be in physical proximity to entertain and interact. Another term ‘Social Media’ has filled the gap of physical distance, and turned the whole globe into an accessible village. In fact, the social media do not let anyone maintain Social distancing. Everyone is in a virtual room now, so social distancing is a misnomer. Hence, prevention in the pandemic is not through social distancing but instead through physical distancing. So, why not we switch on to ‘physical distancing’ and stop the usage of a highly contentious term ‘social distancing’.  Hope, by picking wrong terms or giving a negative meaning to a positive term we are not letting cynicism overpower us.

Self Image Perception

 

Was hearing Jiddu Krishnamurthi, the great philosopher, about how to protect oneself from ‘hurt’ and how to avoid ‘habit’. In most of his discourses he emphasizes on being attentive. He speaks about image one creates of oneself and anything going ‘against’ or ‘for’ the image leads to those strong feelings. And, attentiveness towards the interaction with external factors- speech, action or environment, can save one from getting affected, leading to eruption of strong feelings within. This is in a nutshell the gist of some of his speeches.

 

To my limited understanding, the three main things he emphasizes on is ‘Consciousness’, ‘Mindfulness’ and ‘Self Image Perception’. First two would come by practice. More than half of life activities, daily chores, are mechanically performed, driven by habit. Can we consciously and mindfully get into these actions. It would need lot of practice but no doubt the quality-of-life changes. Can we imagine ourselves not thinking anything else while brushing our teeth and seeing how our tooth is cleaned? Or realize the water rinsing our skin while taking a bath. Honestly, I had not noticed any of these actions ever. It seems I would never be able to get to act so carefully and consciously. However, a try is worth a life.

 

I reiterate, it is worth a life, because, lack of mindfulness makes us oblivious of ourselves and of our surroundings. They directly and indirectly affect and effect our present, though we foolishly presume it is the past and the future, which ordain our life. Current can be controlled, if we are conscious and mindful, but neither past nor future is controllable. But, how many of us live our present. Again, admitting honestly, I do not, even though sometimes I try to catch up with my present. So, is it not worth experiencing what is happening than what has happened and what will happen?

 

Above all these experiences, what intrigued me most was the actuality of ‘Self Image Perception’. This is amazing. It is ‘us’- to be precise ‘me’ or ‘I’, which is the culprit. ‘I’ interpret everything the way ‘I’ perceive my self-image. No doubt, everyone has to have their image, but how conscious we are to the factors that we presume to be bruising or massaging our image is important. Mindfulness towards these factors can prevent ‘I’s image from getting affected and thus save from outburst of strong feeling, which necessarily may not be real to the intention. This would bring peace and harmony around. 

 

Sri Ramana Maharashi, a great saint, in his book ‘Who am I’ has vividly defined the role of ‘I’. The perception of ‘I’ is so strong in everyone that it dictates our action. The false identification of self can be done away with, and that requires practice. The saint puts it so well, “When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer” and he says, “When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear”.

Certainly that is quite saintly, and we the worldly animals can only strive to achieve that goal. But even few steps in that direction would bring lot of peace and harmony in oneself and surroundings. Let us revisit our ‘Self-image perception’ and control from getting affected by the world.