Author: Satish Kumar
Publisher: Viveka Foundation
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 179
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8188251062
Description
This book traces the spiritual journey of Satish Kumar - child monk, peace pilgrim, ecological activist and educator. In it he traces the sources of inspiration which formed his understanding of the world as a network of multiple and diverse relationships.
You Are, Therefore I Am is in four parts. The first describes his memories of conversations with his mother, his teacher and his Guru, all of whom were deeply religious. The second part recounts his discussions with the Indian sage, Vinoba Bhave, J Krishnamurti, Bertrand Russell, Martin Luther King, and E F Schumacher. These five great activists and thinkers inspired him to engage with social, ecological and political issues. In the third part Satish narrates his travels in India, which have continued to nourish his mind and reconnect him with his roots.
The fourth part brings together his world-view, which is based in relationships and connections between all things, rather than the philosophy of dualism, division and separation which found in Rene Descartes famous maxim I think, therefore, I am. Satish Kumar holds an emergent world-view, encapsulated in a fundamental Sanskrit dictum, So Hum, well known in India but not in the West, which can be translated as You are, therefore I am. This mantra underpins all the experiences brought together in this book.
REVIEWS
Satish Kumar is, for me, the sage of the deep ecology movement.
FRITJOF CAPRA, author of The Tao of Physics and The Web of Life.
Satish Kumar is among the most important educators of the 20th century.
THEODORE ROSZAK, author of The Making of a Counter Culture
The life of this vigorous, wise, compassionate and humble man is an example to all of us about how to make the most of our gifts and create our own opportunities to serve humanity’s future.
HAZEL HENDERSON, author of Creating Alternative Futures
Contents
PART ONE: ENCOUNTERS WITH MEANING
Learning From Nature
A Hindu Mind
Mother Principle
The Joy of Making
Going to Ladnun: Meeting the Guru
A Jain View of Reality
Dharma Practice
The Five Practices
Self and the World
PART TWO: QUEST FOR WHOLENESS
Return to the World (walking with Vinoba Bhave)
Soil, Soul, Society
Learning from the Sun
Truth is a Pathless Land (conversation with J Krishnamurti)
No Birth, No Death
Rationalism and Non-violence (encounter with Bertrand Russell)
Justice before Order (meeting Martin Luther King)
Poverty and Progress (insights from e F Schumacher)
PART THREE: TRAVELS IN INDIA
Islam, a Religion of Peace
A Land of Contrasts
Temples of Delight
A Culture of Crafts
To Be a Pilgrim
In the Footsteps of Gandhi
Seeds of Renewal (visiting Vandana Shiva)
PART FOUR: A RELATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
You Are, Therefore I am: A Reverential Ecology
A Declaration of Dependence
Notes
Index