As we begin a new year, a new strain of virus, and a new lockdown, some of us may think 2020 was not so bad after all.
What is clear is the fact that isolation and social distancing are a new reality we can’t avoid.
We know that sages and sadhus have made a virtue of social distancing, often abandoning society altogether to meditate in the Himalayas. But that seems not to be an easy option for mere mortals.
Happily, there are many ways to meditate, and hearing stories of dharma, avatars, and sadhus – katha – is a most popular form. Meditating on these stories can touch our lives with their spirit and lift us from our own isolation and social difficulty.
This talk by OCHS Director, Shaunaka Rishi Das, draws from the Ramayana and the Bhagavata Purana to explore a Princess’s year long isolation; the lockdown of an entire community, and the spreading of disease that threatened to destroy the environment.
The talk was hosted by the Leicester Friends of the OCHS. For over a decade, this group has held monthly talks by OCHS staff and scholars and have been a great support to the Centre.
Like so much of the world, these talks have gone online, so you don’t have to make your way to Leicester to hear them.
To accompany the video there is a downloadable short booklet compiled by Anuradha Dooney of the OCHS.
After this you may like to see what else is happening at our YouTube channel.
