This is the story of two sisters and how they cared for their ailing parents since 2019 and had to fight the pandemic that is claiming victims daily in current times. The younger sister had tested positive and was asked to self-quarantine in her in-law's home. On discovering that she was positive, she asked the divine that her father whose state was worrying be around until her quarantine ended when she could be at his bedside to serve him. Meanwhile, their father was admitted for health issues followed by their mother. Their parents later tested positive too. The elder sister who is a doctor was equally helpless when both the parents were found to be positive. She had lost her father-in-law to the virus earlier. She shuttled between attending the patients at the hospital and her parents and her child. Lord Shiva came in the younger sister's dream and told her to recite the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra and the Dhanvantri Mantra. He told her that he shall extend and prolong her father's life another 15 days. Immediately after her quarantine, the younger sister rushed to be at his bedside. She sat with him day and night as he required continuous monitoring. If it was at any other time they could have managed well, but the pandemic took its toll on the sisters. But amidst all this chaos, there were moments of consolation too. Their parents were lucky to get beds and medicines. The younger sister had asked that her father should acknowledge their presence as she wanted him to know that they were there with him during his last days. The father who all this while could only show some gestures spoke a couple of days later asking if she and her husband had eaten. If she had asked to be with him just for a day the good Lord held him back for another five days. He was cremated yesterday. May his soul be placed in a high place.
When a prayer is said for an individual the divine is seen to act immediately. When it concerns humanity as in this current times of the pandemic, I guess as many chess pieces have to be moved there seems to be a long delay. Lord Shiva told us that it shall take time for the pandemic to go away. Agathiyar assured us that it will subside, but there was no date nor time frame given. What they gave us was a task and a responsibility. We were to chant the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra and the Dhanvantri Mantra daily and perform a Homam weekly which we have been doing diligently. Just as an individual needs to put in a concerted effort and maybe carry out certain remedies to bring about a change in his life, when it involves the public and world at large, we are being brought together (in these times of lockdown in our individual homes) to make the change happen through collective prayer. I guess they want our participation too rather than sweeping it away by performing miracles. They want us to actively participate and give it all our full attention. If in lighting the Homam in a public place or a common venue, as the chant or recitation is carried out, those sitting around and attending to the fire pit would be on alert, placing the offerings in a timely manner as the mantra ends with Svaha translated as "so be it." One has to be on the alert that the flame does not die down. Another has to refurbish the wood, ghee, and other stuff when it is emptied into the burning fire. If those feeding the flame are focussed on the ritual, the gaze of the passive participants at these rituals in normal times would begin to roam around the venue after a while and their thoughts move away and linger on personal matters. Even before the ritual begins the hosts are all focused on its preparation making sure nothing is left out. The thought and action revolve around the ritual days before it is carried out. In active participation, our mind does not wander but is focused on the task at hand. Hence, carrying out the Homam with the family is effective in delivering our prayers and the message across, for each one gets to actively participate in all manners hence their attention and thought fixed on the ritual. Just as we are told that we only remember things later if we are attentive at the moment, the collective action, thought and attention of all gathered is required to produce the desired results.
If there was a time that we were asked to give back to the Prapanjam what we had taken from it, in current times we are asked to collectively cleanse it of all the debris that we have hurled onto it and to heal it. It is satisfying to learn that we too have a small role to play in praying for the pandemic to come to a close. Lord Shiva came to endorse through these sisters that what we were doing currently is right. We are and shall all engage in reciting both these mantras. Those who are able to shall carry out a small homam or lighting of the fire pit in their individual homes with their family returning what is provided by the Prapanjam back to it in the form of fire and smoke to cleanse and heal it. Those who were shown the way to tap into the Prapanajam its pranic energy, and shown the relevant techniques of pranayama to enhance it, shall induce the said mantras and energize it further, and return the renewed energy back to the Prapanjam to cleanse and heal it. Our prayers are now directed towards and for the Prapanjam. Now it has to open its doors and show some mercy on us.
As Agathiyar said of any healing, the doctor's procedures amount to two-thirds of the process while the other third is dependent on our karma, remedies, prayers, reaching out to the Prapanjam, and finally, the divine's mercy, let us support the researchers, health officials and scientists who are burning the midnight oil developing enhanced vaccines to combat the virus that is mutating aggressively. WHO reports that "Vaccines may need to incorporate more than one strain when in development, booster shots may be required, and other vaccine changes may be needed." Let us support the medical profession that is toiling day and night to treat victims knowing too well that they shall be in danger of contracting it too, with our prayers and rituals and in all ways possible. Most importantly let us step forward to take the vaccine and adhere to the preventive measures given thus reducing the workload of the medical team by staying safe. WHO appeals to all that "While we are learning more, we need to do everything possible to stop the spread of the virus in order to prevent mutations that may reduce the efficacy of existing vaccines." They say that if "Current measures reduce transmission; stopping the spread at the source remains key." Read further at https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-effects-of-virus-variants-on-covid-19-vaccines