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In Pursuit Of Kairos . . .

7/16/2020

43 Comments

 
Picture
The sky is grey and I catch a glimpse of a solitary bird flying high among the darkening clouds. As I watch it, I am reminded of the remarks of Robert Lynd, “In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”

The house is still and silent. Ahalya and myself have been part of that silence for the past five months, rarely venturing out.

It brings to mind Emily Dickenson who confined herself to her bedroom, shutting herself from the outside world. Later in her life, she would only speak to visitors from behind the half opened door of her room. Hers was the greatest literary engagement with isolation: “I have appetite for silence,” she wrote, for “silence is infinity.”

The appetite for silence has increased exponentially ever since the virus took hold of us.

Every virus tells us a story.

The narrative of Covid 19 is one of uncertainty and unpredictability.
In outlining the uncertainty principle Heinsenberg pointed out the limits of our knowledge by stating that the more precisely we know the position of a given particle, the less precise our measurement of its momentum. What if that particle were to be a virus? More disturbingly, we know very little about it and what we know is often uncomfortably contradictory.

We knew it was coming and we were not prepared, medically, scientifically, and socially, despite all the dystopian pandemic movies and literature that have been circulating for ages! Covid 19 was not a black swan but a grey rhino. Michele Wucker described grey rhinos as “highly obvious, highly probable, but still neglected dangers,” as opposed to “unforeseeable or highly improbable risks, as envisioned in the black swan metaphor.” The hunt is on to trap that greys rhino which keeps eluding our grasp.

Talking of uncertainty, two kinds have been described: epistemic uncertainty (due to lack of knowledge) and aleatory uncertainty (due to randomness). Covid seems to be a heady combination of both.

Infective agents, whether it is bacteria or viruses have always been lurking around, waiting for a time and space to surface. They don’t just attack weaknesses in the human body. They also exploit changes in the world we live in. As wilderness dwindles with large scale environmental degradation, zoonotic infections jump easily to infect humans.

Health is not a static condition. Mechanisms are continually at work to maintain a constant internal environment termed as milieu interieur by the French scientist Claude Bernard (whose painting used to hang outside our lecture theatre in JIPMER). It is a crucial component in maintaining homeostasis which is essential for health. As physicians our focus and commitment is to sustain that. Yet at the same, the internal environment cannot be viewed in isolation of the environment in which we spend every day of our lives.

What we fail to perceive is that we are all part of a large ecosystem and any disruption in it has implications for our health. The emergence of COVID-19 has challenged the human-centered relationship between us and nature. As much as Covid 19 infection is a medical emergency, it is also an ecological calamity.

Isolation is not just about endurance, but of our survival and of our environment as well.

With the forced slowing of life granted by the coronavirus, we can re-think our involvement with and management of time. The ancient Greeks had thought along this line long back. They had two words for time: Chronos and Kairos. Both the words stand for time in the English language, but with different connotations. While Chronos refers to numeric, chronological time, Kairos refers to a proper and appropriate time of action. Chronos measures time in such terms as seconds, minutes, and hours, but Kairos views time terms of periods for rest and reflection. Unfortunately in the midst of our preoccupations in everyday life we don’t have space for Kairos. The virus has impacted the Chronos time, but we can still explore the Kairos! It provides an opportunity for us to slow down to restore our inner self.

We need that unstructured, beckoning time to imagine, to discover the meaning of our lives afresh which disease has taken away, 

True, the journey in the valley of uncertainty can be a daunting task.

Sometimes when we amble along the seashore, the waves advance and erase our footsteps. Undeterred and hardly noticing it, we walk ahead. In the journey of our unfathomable lives, darkness will engulf us occasionally. All that we can do is to strike our matches of meaning to dispel it.

There are many differing narratives about Covid 19. The ones we choose to believe and tell will reflect and affirm what we value personally as an empowering one. 

As I write this, I hear the splatter of rain on the leaves outside. The sky has turned tar black with large rain bearing clouds. Unmindful of the growing intensity of the drizzle, the black kite is still soaring in the sky. It is confident of negotiating the dense, menacing clouds and the downpour with faith in its feathers.

I keep wondering as to when I can grow wings and venture out of our nest . . .

Feel Free To Post Your Comments Here!

43 Comments
Shabbir Amanullah
7/16/2020 06:13:40 am

Indeed - Becoming a part of silence every so often is essential to enjoying life

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 06:15:47 am

There are some positives with the covid too:-)

Reply
Malathi Swaminathan
7/16/2020 06:15:48 am

What a grand mix!! The visual treat with that Haiku triggers reflection. The rest adds on to this pondering? I like the empowerment the whole piece echoes about. Choice to make is ours! Now, for different aspects of life. Kairos holds a key, begun the finding process!

I loved the language, your writing style, and learnt about so many!!! Thank you so much, Sir!

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 06:47:05 am

Covid is one of the most defining moments in our lives and pursuit of Kairos offers us timely, deeper insights

Reply
deepa
7/16/2020 06:20:31 am

coincidentally pitch dark here too.. but then every grey is a light too? wings of hope we cling on to in these times. musings enabling click..liked it!

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 06:48:09 am

Loved your mentioning "every grey is a light too:!

Reply
Lakshmi V Pandit
7/16/2020 06:40:12 am

Never in our wildest imagination did any of us imagine we would live at a time a pandemic raged the world!! Yes, it has taught us a lot, and introspection is what it has provided abundant time for. Hope humanity comes out of this, better than the way it entered! Sad that we needed this to open our inner eye! Wonderfully written piece sir! A delight to read it....

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 06:48:53 am

Thanks Lakshmi..indeed it will be a new beginning!

Reply
Bharathi Mani
7/16/2020 07:59:48 am

I'm enjoying my white space...

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 08:06:48 pm

Didn't know that you are a poet too! White space is the place where a poet chooses to end one line and begin another!

Reply
Brunda Amruthraj
7/16/2020 08:37:01 am

Beautifully written Raghu. I hope atleast now we learn to appreciate the beauty of nature and realize that this virus is only the beginning of many such viruses to come if we are not careful

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 08:08:15 pm

Thanks Brunda. Hope we learn the lessons well!

Reply
Dr vinod kulkarni
7/16/2020 08:43:50 am

Excellent write up dear dr raguram saheb. Your writings always reflect your keen sense of a disciplined observation and an altruistic thinking.Had you not been a psychiatrist, you could have blossomed into a good writer in English ! Even now you can collect all your articles and compile them in a book format. Hearty congrts. Dr vinod kulkarni, Hubli.

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 08:10:13 pm

Thanks Vinod. I am amazed at your literary talents!

Reply
Mahadevan
7/16/2020 09:22:26 am

We are mute witnesses to the "Epistemic uncertainty and aleatory uncertainty" of the Covid wave . I did enjoy this musing and reflection of yours .
Being kind is more important than being right is a lesson this "ecological calamity" has taught us ..

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 08:10:45 pm

Absolutely true Mahadevan

Reply
Rajendran link
7/16/2020 09:47:29 am

This is amazing. Sir!
I am reminded oc the Jonathan seagull......
Hats off !!

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 08:11:27 pm

Thanks Raj! There are so many of them to watch and feel inspired!

Reply
Parameswaran
7/16/2020 09:56:50 am

The old adage survival of the fittest looms large now.with advances in medicine we made survival possible even for the weak but the new virus has hit us bad and made us think again.the happenings tell only one lasting thing life is unpredictable lead it in a way that suits one best and be of use to the society.

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 08:21:31 pm

As much as we focus on individula health, it is time for us to turn out attention to the environment which is getting denuded alarmingly

Reply
K.S.Shaji
7/16/2020 11:07:33 am

Yes....we need wings to venture out,to see the world through with our own eyes,

Well written....👌

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 08:21:49 pm

Thanks Shaji!

Reply
Rangarajan
7/16/2020 06:36:49 pm

Wonderful reminder for Kairos. You are gently waking up the giant!

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 08:22:16 pm

It is a sleeping giant in all of us:-)

Reply
Joshy
7/16/2020 07:12:35 pm

Chronos & Kairos remind me of the Retrocausality, a quantum phenomenon in which the present action (Kairos) can change the past (chronos)! That will be really, a true New beginning and magnificence of Human being.

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/16/2020 08:22:44 pm

Really hoping that it heralds a new beginning!

Reply
Shripathy M Bhat
7/16/2020 11:44:46 pm

A gentle touch to wake us up to live and experience the 'kairos' and drive away the 'covid' blues. Rightly suggested to equip ourselves with eagle's wings and its vision. You keep soaring higher and higher without losing the slight below. A wonderful way to get past the 'swayamkrith' blues. Flying in a different kairos, moving away from the 'watch' of the chronos. Thank you Ragu, for the wonderful piece of wake up call. Remembered the Eagle song of our time by ABBA.

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/17/2020 05:56:25 am

Thanks Shripathy. That song by ABBA had some memorable lines:
They came flying from far away, now I'm under their spell
I love hearing the stories that they tell
They've seen places beyond my land and they've found new horizons
They speak strangely but I understand
And I dream I'm an eagle
And I dream I can spread my wings
Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky
I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze
High, high, what a feeling to fly

Reply
Jagdish
7/17/2020 05:58:57 am

Excellent prose.Reminds me of George Orwell.

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/17/2020 07:27:46 am

Thanks Jagdish...but I pale in comparison:-(

Reply
Joy Bandekar
7/17/2020 11:06:37 am

Cairos Kairos combined by you to give us a reflection of the effect of Covid with a splash of your love for birds. Nice

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/20/2020 12:29:04 am

Kairos took wings with the bird!

Reply
Arun
7/17/2020 09:56:24 pm

I liked your view on the possibility of creating our own narrative of the pandemic. That uncertainty can throw up opportunities for personal growth. The virus (as a metaphor itself) has slowed down our personal sense of time, thrown families together and taught us to value that ability to live together again. Your prose flows like Kali's sword cleaving reflective space in the midst of this pandemic. Loved it.

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/20/2020 12:32:28 am

Thanks Arun. Interesting that you mention of Kali's sword. Though she used it to vanquish the demons, yet at the same time she is a symbol of Mother Nature herself – primordial, creative, nurturing and devouring in turn, but ultimately loving and benevolent

Reply
Saranya Devanathan
7/20/2020 12:06:15 am

I was wondering whether you have joined Kairos - the face recognition company. But it was the bird, flying and philosophy of Ragu as usual.

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/20/2020 12:32:54 am

Thanks Saranya!

Reply
Lata
7/23/2020 07:26:27 pm

As always, reading those lines of prose puts us in a contemplative spell. Makes us have Kairos moment. I most appreciated your focus on silence. A glimpse of the internal silence which Vedanta exhorts as Nirvana.

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/27/2020 07:06:53 am

Thanks Lata. Internal silence is one aspect of Nirvana. Buddha described it as the highest state of profound well-being a human is capable of attaining. It is a state when the mind is liberated from bondage, is cleansed of all its defilements, becomes entirely at peace, experiencing the complete cessation of suffering

Reply
Puja Rao
7/27/2020 08:32:37 pm

It's a beautiful piece, with nuggets of wisdom Dr Ragu . Makes one think, we have been treating the outer world the way we treat ourselves irresponsibly and with neglect . And if we practice compassion, and nurture and nourishment our inner selves, everyday, without waiting for an opportunity, but by creating them, we will do the same towards everything and everyone. It'll be so obvious. Because, like you said ,we are one . Not seperate, inside and outside , but part of a whole. The Only seperation, is shapes and forms created by our senses and understanding. If the heart's intent is honest. We will dance with abandon, in harmony to this rhythm. We will then soar, not with our bodies , but in our minds. And what greater power and freedom are we looking for.

Reply
Dr Raguram
7/27/2020 08:48:08 pm

Thank you Puja...I can see the creative dance in your wonderful work!

Reply
Puja Rao
7/29/2020 11:06:06 pm

Thankyou :)

Swaminath
8/1/2020 10:02:18 pm

ನೆನೆನೆನೆದು ಗಹನವನು, ಜೀವನರಹಸ್ಯವನು ।
ಮನವ ಬಳಲಿಸಿ ಸೋಲಿಸಿರುವ ತತ್ತ್ವವನು ॥
ಮನದೇಕಾಂತದಲಿ ಮೌನದ ಧ್ಯಾನದಲಿ ।
ಮಣಿಮಣಿದು ಕೈಮುಗಿಯೊ - ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ॥ ೯೧೮ ॥

Sakkath piece. Loved every bit.
When one keeps reminding oneself of being a player in this world with our small role and lines, one contributes rather than destroys the world.
And silence opens this realisation.
Awaiting many more reflections.

Reply
Manju
7/21/2021 11:25:25 pm

Such an alluring piece of writing. Loved the grey rhino metaphor.
Sir you have beautifully captured a reader's state varying mind between chronos and kairos.

Reply



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