An analogy to this situation in real life is when we are faced with a deadly disease which has occurred to a near and dear one and the person is in hospital. Now, as long as the person is at home, there is a comfort level as we can speak to the person and be next to the person, but the moment the person shifts to the hospital, there is a separation which happens which can be devastating for the person who has tendencies of Arjuna. Because this person expects quick results and actions, and the hospital treatment is always a patient and long one, especially when the case is a disease like "COVID pneumonia" which is not very well understood by the entire medical fraternity and the hospital doctors follow the SOP( Standard operating Procedure). Now there is a "dwandha" or dilemma in the mind of the person at home, whether to call up every day twice and speak to the patient and the doctors and keep taking inputs, or will it be against the norms in the hospital, especially in a situation where the doctors are overworked with all beds full and continuous streaming in of patients, with many in the critical stage in the ICU. At the same time, a fear of calling up and listening to the negative news that the patient is deteriorating is looming large in the mind. These thoughts run wild and for a person of the temperament like "Arjuna" aka "Kshatriya" will be anxious and try to move ahead of the medical system. Some venturers have taken the ultimate risk of taking full responsibility of the patient and getting them off the hospital. I do not know whether in Mahabharata, Arjuna would have the guts to do something like that, maybe Bhima would have been the right example for such an action. A Yudhishtira or dharmaraja has more "Brahman" tendencies who will take decisions with lot of calmness and composure and stable in approach as compared to the other two viz. Arjuna and Bhima.
So what is the right approach? Lessons learnt are the following:-
(a) We only have to perform our actions, results are not in our hands!
(b) Detach yourself as much as possible from the situation and take positive productive action, like speaking to the doctor and getting the facts right. Take the right decisions, however hard they may be.
(c) Mentally be strong to take up any negative news which comes, because life and death is not in our hands and we all come into this world with our "expiry dates" already stamped.
(d) Make the most of every moment, try to talk and make the patient feel good each day, if it is possible. At times, hospital rules don't allow personal mobile communication also. Which is even more frustrating!!
(e) If you have the tendencies of a Kshatriya like Arjuna, then you have to learn to listen to the Krishna within and build a strong mental energy to take actions and not get affected emotionally. This is very tough and there is bound to be an emotional residue in this case. If you are like "Bhima", the chances of emotional residue is lesser and actions that you take could be very drastic too. An Arjuna cannot act like Bhima, so don't even try!! A yudhishtira like temperament is the perfect example as to how one must react in such a situation.
(f) Accept things and have faith and trust, and be positive till the end. Spread positive news and keep talking positive hopeful talks to the patient each day.
(g) Work selflessly and with a spirit of Surrender to nature, but try to remove the attachment and take actions that are needed to be taken.
The emotional upheaval is bound to be there in all irrespective of their temperament and tendencies, but the intensity will be different in different individuals. However, the realization of the tendencies can build awareness and consciousness in all of us, as to what we should be doing in such situations. I have seen people of different temperaments, for eg. I was action oriented and anxious and took proactive action and was always in a sense of urgency( Arjuna like tendencies). On the other hand, another relative was calm and composed and also took proactive action, but was very cool( Yudhishtira like tendencies)! I admired and respected the quality a lot. A third relative was critical and skeptical of the medical authorities and grilled the hell out of the specialists, and was too thorough and went too much in detail about the treatment and what all could be done in addition to what was being done( A mix of Bhima and Yudhishtira). A fourth person just went and got his family discharged forcibly and treated her at home with all facilities created inside the house, even when the patient was critically ill. Surprisingly, the fourth person was able to successfully revive the person with a lot of confident talk of how human beings are much more powerful than a virus. ( The fourth was like Bhima)
But one cannot really say which is the right approach because the factors are too varying in each case for eg, the age of the patient, the co-morbidities etc.. could govern the survival chances, also the fitness of the person who is ill. There have been contradicting cases of very fit people also succumbing surprisingly. But what is more important is how each one of us handles this situation and accruing losses, if at all, it leads to that. Spirit of winning and hope is most important for any patient and that fighting spirit can only create miracles also in case of any disease.
My two pence for the Medical System at large( I have a lot of respect for the medical community and this is not intended to find fault or show them down but just some suggestions) :-
(a) Therefore, any hospital system must have positive counsellors who sit next to the patient and give them that "urge" to fight and win! Someone like a 'Sports psychologist' should be hired for all ICU patients who can help them visualize the "win" and "victory" against the disease and going back home happily back to the near and dear ones. The doctors should also be talking in a tone of victory and win and not despair or "yard arm" clearance to tell the people that anything could happen and they are doing their best. A winning streak of a sportsman is essential for anyone in the medical fraternity handling serious patients.
(b) The environment of an ICU or hospital should be made more positive with hopeful music of a victory song, or josh filled environment should be created. Every patient should feel like a sportsman entering a tournament to win. Change the vibrations in the environment.
If this happens, I feel the number of survivors are bound to increase and also the hospital will be a more positive place to visit rather than a fearful environment where every patient feels that he may not come out alive from there. Again, I could be criticized for giving such suggestions, but I feel psychology plays a cardinal role in recovery.
