Even if we can’t flatten the pandemic curve we can flatten the panic curve Gita 18.35

Hare Krishna even if we can't flatten the pandemic curve we can flatten the pandemic curve when the world is caught in the throes of a pandemic, the government often issues orders for social distancing or even lockdown we can and should do our part to prevent the spread of infection but we alone can't control or flatten the pandemic curve because we can't control others who may behave irresponsibly but such times if we start feeling helpless or frustrated then we can remind ourselves that we still can do something important, that is flatten the panic curve, how many crisis panic often causes as many problems if not more problems than the world crisis seeing things going wrong people often get overwhelmed by fear and go into a flight or sleep mode in the flight mode they unwittingly impulsively act in ways that make things worse and in the sleep mode they become so overwhelmed and paralyzed that they don't do the things that they could have done to prevent things from becoming worse preventing panic is vital to minimize the consequences of any crisis the same principle applies to the pandemic the pandemic curve needs to be flattened the panic curve also needs to be flattened this is where our individual initiative and agency can play a significant role we can manage our emotions more effectively and learn to avoid panic and for this the Bhagavad Gita stands as a ready resource explaining the topology of our inner world the Gita states that fear arises from an over identification with things that are intrinsically changeable and it is ignorance that makes us overidentify it makes us believe that things that are changeable will actually give us steady security the Bhagavad Gita states that fear and its associated extreme expressions like panic are results of a mind severely affected by the mode of ignorance they are so familiar the Bhagavad Gita says that fearfulness is one of the characteristics of a mind affected by ignorance the pure form of ignorance in the Gita helps us to realize that we are at our core we are souls and we are parts of a whole Krishna who is expert enough to bring good even out of the bad by just meditating on our indestructibility as souls involves omnibenevolence we can start experiencing inner stability and security and thereby we can resist panic and when we stay calm amid fearful situations we can by our words and actions also inspire others to become calm and thus we all can play a significant part in the solution.