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The following article talks about how it is difficult to maintain being religious and spiritual during these trying COVID days and gives easy methods to maintain one's religious and spiritual balance.
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Being Religious in the Times of COVID The people from Varanasi can swear by the fact that the ghats have never been so empty during the Ganga Aarti. A walk into the temple for Somnath darshan? That’s a first too. When life gives you times like this even a non-believer will turn to God for mercy. Devotees really seem to miss visiting their places of worship. Several people find solace and peace there. They think it's therapeutic. And when you’re taken away from therapy the outcome is not pleasant. Sadly, the end does not seem close. So what choice do we have? How can worshippers go to and fall in the feet of their dear Nand Lala, cross their heart in front of Jesus, or offer chaddars at the shrine? What is the way out here? Six months and counting. An invisible organism has wreaked havoc in our lives for six months and counting. This is one of the very few times that has thrown the entire human race under the bus. A time that no one will forget. A time that will go down in history. A time, that if we defeat, will be celebrated for years to come. The novel coronavirus has caught everybody by the neck, or should we say throat this time. In these testing times we’ve forgotten what routine is. We’ve had a new normal come up. An entirely different way of life. No stepping out, no socialising, no domestic helps, no office, working from home, working FOR home, no eating from take outs… we can go on and on. The list of no’s seems never ending. I mean if GOD himself can take a hit what are these mere fancies of us mortals. His abode has been shut for six months now. Devotees cannot go and draw in strength from the Almighty when they need it the most. Such is life. No Somnath Darshan, no Ganga Puja, no Haj, no Sunday masses, no going to the Agyari. This too doesn’t end. On the date of the puja, you will be able to view it live through a video call and it will also be recorded in case of poor network. This video will be shared with you post the completion of the puja. So in this way you can have a puja performed for you anywhere in the country. May it be Somnath Darshan, Ganga Puja, Durga Puja, Laghu Rudra Puja, Ganga Aarti or anything else. You can do it all even while you’re sitting at home, in another part of the country. There’s only one answer. Just one thing that the future holds. And the answer is technology. When the world is going online why shouldn’t God too? Online puja portals are gaining services and it is a great idea to help devotees feel a little more connected to the spiritual
beings. How do these work you ask. It is fairly simple and very similar to the process you would follow should you be taking a trip to the holy place in reality. It starts by deciding the type of puja you want to conduct and the place where you’d like it to be performed. Then you zero down on a date. It could be your ancestors death anniversary, your birthday, a day of great religious importance or just any day. Once the date is in place, you also have the option to select your priest post which you can make the payment and voila, your puja is booked.