INTERVIEWS

SATISH KUMAR ON THE RECORD

Climate change is most frequently presented as a problem with a possible solution, but one that will cause pain and cost money. But this need not be the case. Erika Yarrow met Satish Kumar and learnt that a sustainable future could not only be safer for both ourselves and the planet, but offer a way of life that is healthier, happier and more spiritually fulfilling.

Satish Kumar has been the Editor of Resurgence since 1973.  He is the founder of Small School in Hartland, a secondary school that has established ecological and spiritual values firmly into the curriculum and is the Director of Programme at Schumacher College, a residential centre for the study of environmental and spiritual values.

Satish grew up in a spiritual home and committed to faith at an early age, joining a brotherhood of wandering Jain monks at the age of nine. 'The Jain religion is similar to that of Buddhism,' explains Satish.  'They are contemporaries. Jainism was founded 2,600 years ago. The reason Jainism and Buddhism became popular was because, at the time, the Hindu philosophers were very much into animal sacrifice, so non-violence was not so strong in practice.  The Jain and Buddhist leaders said that the cardinal principle of their religions would be non-violence.  This extends beyond humans to plants, animals, rivers and forests - all life is sacred and has intrinsic value.  Jainism and Buddhism became champions of non-violence to nature.  Jains will not do any large scale farming using tractors, machinery or fertilisers. They are always vegetarian.  And not eating meat is also better for the environment and uses less land.'

Satish left the monastic order at the age of 18 and became a campaigner for land reform and a follower of Gandhi's vision of a renewed India.  He undertook a remarkable peace pilgrimage, walking from India to America with no money, surviving on the generosity of those people he met along the way. 'Walking leaves a light footprint on the Earth,' says Satish.  When you are walking you are at one with nature. When you are in a car or train or aeroplane you are separate from nature.  So walking is the most ecological, spiritual and noble way of travelling.'  He goes on to explain that Jains do not travel overseas as they believe that the sea is a living thing that should not be violated.  'So you see I am not practising true Jainism,' he admits, adding that this was something of which his mother did not approve.

Despite his mother's opposition, the pilgrimage allowed Satish to spread his message of peace across continents.  'We need to reinstate the culture of hospitality,' says Satish.  'Pilgrimage is a way of connecting with nature and connecting with people, so you start to know nature and know people more.  When you are in nature, you know that you are nature too.'

The myth of consumerism is at the forefront of Satish's environmental message. 'Jains have a great principle of restraint.  Jains say that there is enough in the world for everybody's needs, but not for everybody's greed,' Satish explains.  'Climate change is being precipitated by our unrestrained economic growth.  The economic growth that our society pursues is not to meet human need.  Climate change is coming about because of our wasteful way of life.  We have the idea of the economy for the economy's sake.  You produce something not because you need it, but for the sake of the economy.  Then the economy becomes master. Economic growth for its own sake produces a vast amount of waste and carbon and that leads to global warming.  We need to bring back the idea that the economy is for the sake of human beings and the sake of the planet.  The economy must be a means to an end and not an end in itself.' 

He continues: 'Human beings, for their growth, need more than the economy, they need time.  We need to reduce working hours.  Rather than working an eight hour day, we should have a six hour day to reduce production.  Sunday should be a carbon-free day,  a day when people go for walks, meditate and spend time with their family and friends.  We are brain-washed into consumerism.  We are told all the time that happiness and progress depend on consumerism.  Consumption has become a religion.  You should consume only to meet your need.'

Reducing working hours would allow more time not only for friends and family, but also more meditative and fulfilling pastimes, such as growing vegetables and preparing meals from scratch.  'Food is fundamental to our existence and when we are in touch with food we are in touch with our existence,' says Satish.  'Knowing where your food is grown connects you with nature.  Food is the bridge between humans and the earth.  Through food we know life, because life feeds life.  So caring for the earth, growing your own food, cooking and sharing that food is a spiritual activity.  Ecology and spirituality are not just ideas, they are a way of life, and there can be no proper way of life if you are not connected with food.  If you are not connected with your food then commercial interests will tamper with your food and turn it into a commodity.' 

Realising that on its path to a green renaissance society will need to find a way of filling the gap left by consumerism, Satish is hoping to rekindle the embers of the arts and crafts movement. 'Arts and crafts are essential ingredients for a sustainable society.  If you take retail therapy out of people's lives and you want people to produce less and use less, then there will be a vacuum. Arts and crafts feed the imagination and encourage creativity; they bring the fulfilment and satisfaction of making something. I want to see a revival of arts and crafts because I want to see a shift from the paradigm of consumerism.  We need to move from being consumers to being makers.'