Overcome the darkness
India has a population of 1.3 billion, and it's growing rapidly. Any problem is thus magnified manifold. Spiritual work helps to purify the environment.
Because of the fear that the present situation of the Covid-19 pandemic could get out of control, the Indian government has introduced very stringent measures to ensure that the rules of the lockdown are far worse than getting infected by the virus itself.
In my city of Mumbai, with its population of 25 million, there are crowded slums where the people live very close to one another and there is no question of social distancing. Also, the daily wage earners and migrant labourers from other states, who have come to Mumbai in search of work, now find themselves without any money and are keen to get back to their homes far away, mostly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. However, that is easier said than done. The trains are filled to capacity, the inter-state buses are limited and the poor find no way out but either to walk hundreds of kilometres without proper food and drinking water, or to hitch rides on the highways in order to get back to their homes and families. Often they meet with police brutality. Many have died in traffic accidents on their way to their villages – and most recently sixteen workers were run over by a train near Aurangabad.
No doubt help is also forthcoming and there are ngos and kind-hearted individuals who do what they can to ease the situation, but the sheer magnitude of the problem and the apathy of those in power make the entire picture bleak.
One does what one can to purify the environment. Eurythmy exercises like Halleluiah, walking the form of the Crown, certain meditations and lectures by Rudolf Steiner and a lot of singing help to overcome the darkness. On the other hand, every cloud has a silver lining. Skies are clearer, nature is more vibrant and the air is less polluted. The incessant noise of the traffic is also lessened, making one more aware of the environment.