THE RELEVANCE OF SATI AND SAMPAJANNA DURING
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
INTERNATIONAL WEBINER ORGANISED BY NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL
WORK AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, BHUBANESWAR
The covid-19 pandemic is one of the most greatest threat for entire humanity. It has taken a lots of valuable human life on massive scale across the world. Besides it has destroyed the economy of the world, and number of people have lost their source of income and option of livelihood.
This pandemic originated from Wuhan city of China? Why such pandemic takes place on earth? Who is responsible for it? One of the biggest cause is perhaps the mindless consumerism. Money and matter has of occupied so important place in our life that we have almost forgotten the moral values like compassion, kindness, friendship, cooperation; and in place of that, dirty difficult competition has taken place in most of our life. We don't take care of even our nature. In order to fulfil our material needs, we mindlessly exploit our natural resources.
Within fourty years, Americans alone have consumed the same quantity of natural resources as had been consumed by all humanity in previous 4000 years. The dynamics behind this consumerism is human greed, lust, attachment and short sightedness, which compel human beings to artificial pleasure and exciting adventure, for this, nature is ruthlessly exploited.
The jungles of wood are being cut and jungle of concrete is appearing in their place and the surface of the earth is changing rapidly. Our greedy mind set is responsible for environmental problems such as ecological disorder, pollution, population blast, hole in ozone layer, acid rain, global warming and above all covid-19.
Now let discuss the relevance of term sati and Sampajanna in the context of covid-19 pandemic. What is sati? In Buddhist terminology sati means to live in the present. Besides, it also means to be aware about good and bad, right and wrong. The term sati was existing even in pre-Buddhist days, during Vedic and Upanishadic period. But in those days sati meant having a capacity to memorizing the whole Vedas, Upanishad and grammar. This sati may be helpful for a person to enhance intellectual capacity. But Buddha did not give much importance to this type of sati, which does not have potentiality to get rid of suffering and to attain nibbaha. The Buddha gave more importance to the purification of mid rather than intellectual capacity. In Buddhism the term sati means to know about 8-fold path, Seven Bojanala, Four Salttipatthana, Walking on the path prescribed by the Buddha one may be able to remove one's defilements like lobha, dosa and moha and become pure. The teaching of sati and sampanjanna taught by the Buddha in an important means for human being to develop the correct understanding about the worldly things; that everything, howsoever beautiful it may look, is impermanent we would not hunker after it. Sampanjanna means to realize that everything is impermanent, 1. (Anitya) 2.suffering (Dukkha) 3. Anatma(No-self).
Therefore the sati and sampanjanna is relevant in the context of covid-19 from two points of view.
1. It helps person to develop the correct understanding about the worldly things which in turn may be helpful for a person from ignorance to wisdom and from darkness to light. It is an inward journey. When there will be a great transformation in one's life, people will not attach themselves in exploitation of any things, When our mind is pure and we will not exploit our natural resources and any kind of things, there will be a peace, harmony and cooperation in society and there will be no covied-19 and any kind of pandemic.
2. The second importance of sati and sampajjana is that, It teaches person to live in the present when, we learn to live in the present, We would take care of our physical movement that how to move, How to sit how to walk. When we get control over our physical movement, it will prevent deadly pandemic like covide-19.
Keeping significance of sati and sampajjana in mind, the Department of Buddhist studies; National Institute of Social Work and Social Sciences (NISWASS) propose to organize International Webinar on 16 th & 17th October 2020. On the theme (The relevance) of sati and sampajjana during coved-19. With following subthemes:-
1. Origin of mindfulness and its relevance in the era of covid-19.
2. The eight-fold path and its significance in globalizing World.
3. The mechanism, of Vipasana and Sammattha and difference between two.
4. Sila, Samadhi, Panna means of global well being.
5. Concept of Panna and its type in Buddhism.