Kindness was the buzzword during Covid-19. People have shown unprecedented empathy and generosity towards each other. The Hobbesian view that the natural condition of mankind is a state of war in which life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” because individuals are in a “war of all against all”, was proven wrong. Mankind’s softer side emerged formidable. During the time of, let’s say ‘common suffering’, people united, largely followed the rules and cared for each other. We realised that kindness to others is kindness to ourselves.
The situation has proven that there are no boundaries when it comes to health and well-being. Political and geographical separations cannot divide humanity when there is an existential crisis. Our fight for survival is common and shared. Therefore, the ancient Indian concept of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam’ was proven powerful and universal. Ultimately, people acknowledged and accepted that ‘common good’ is the ultimate good for mankind. It is expected that although COVID is not completely gone, we have learnt to live with it. The virus seems to be milder and humanity much stronger. Our collective will to survive, fight and handhold each other has won. The two powerful weapons for this victory were kindness and empathy.
Incidents of self-sacrifice and selfless service filled thousands of pages of newspapers, and streamed for millions of hours on social media videos, giving inspiration and hope to everyone. It was shown that those who suffered were not alone, but their pains were shared by others. The willingness to part with own wealth and comfort, to be helpful to others, was evident from the amount of donations made during the Covid period. At that moment, everyone realised nothing was permanent, everything was transitory. It provided a much-needed lesson of spirituality and value system to the society which had become too materialistic. The lost concern for human welfare was restored and once again kindness won over selfishness. Let’s hope this will continue forever.