We live in troubled times, in a dangerous and destabilized world that has coarsened our sensibilities and constrained our capacities for goodness. The world presents a baffling conundrum. It questions the history of peoples, places, and cultures to create wedges between faiths.

Despite its detractors, religion remains firmly embedded in our universal consciousness. Those who do not subscribe to any organized religion also now see scriptures as candlelights in their personal and professional lives. The philosophical outlook also underpins attitudes in corporations.

The coronavirus put us through long spells of isolation and mental distress. Loneliness is the nightmare of the social animal. It is a taboo state in our social world. The need for connection is so central to our being that to experience its lack plunges the body into a state of a minor emergency.

The short essays in this book are a compilation of spiritual columns the author wrote for the Asian Age. The pandemic ennobled these pithy ideas into a profound philosophy. The author hopes they will resonate with the readers because they represent the sentiments of most of us who experienced several behavioural challenges during this crisis.