Satish Kumar: "unity, not uniformity"
By Jayne Warren - 19/12/2007
Satish Kumar's new book, "Spiritual Compass", addresses the issue of spirituality in an increasingly materialistic world. Using his usual wisdom and insight, Satish argues that spirituality should be part of our everyday existence, in business, politics, farming relationships - and even cooking.
Using the ancient Indian Ayurvedic tradition to illustrate his ideas, Sataish speaks about our multicultural society, the role of mature people, the wisdom of Gandhi - and his vision for the future.
So how important does he think it is for our multicultural society to re-find a common spirituality? "The universal values of spirituality are manifested in many forms - but I am not advocating uniformity. Unity and uniformity are not the same thing - and in our modern society we need unity, not uniformity. In "Spiritual Compass" I am proposing that our multicultural society can embrace certain universal spiritual values which are common to all religions and traditions.
"All of us can practice our own religious traditions and rituals and yet meet on the common ground of spirituality, which illuminates our common humanity without undermining the uniqueness, particularlity and individuality of each culture. For example we can wear ten different types of jewellery made of the same gold, and even though each piece of jewellery has its own individuality, all the pieces are made of the same gold. In the same way, spirituality is the gold, and cultures, traditions and religions are the jewellery. "
How, then can the many faiths represented in the UK today relate to the Ayurvedic tradition outlined in 'Spiritual Compass'? "The Ayurvedic tradition is not a religion - it is a way of finding physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing. It's principles are embedded in the natural rhythms of the seasons, food, climatic conditions, and daily life. Ayurveda is like Yoga - whatever your faith, whatever your religion, as long as you live in harmony with yourself, with your surroundings, with your environment and with your fellow human beings, you are practicing Ayurveda."
The use of the expression "Spiritual Compass" is a telling one. Does this mean that we in the West have lost our 'spiritual compass' through the "suffocating allure of materialism" as Satish puts it? "Yes. The modern industrial society is lost in the wilderness of consumerism and materialism, in the hunger for wealth, power and domination, in the obesity of the ego. We are truly lost, we don't know how to live well and live in harmony with each other and the earth, which is why we have so many wars and so much violence. We are violent to ourselves, violent to others and violent to nature. We therefore badly need a compass to find our way home, to the home of human values - spirituality and ecology."
Many of our readers say that they feel at sea in today's world with values that mean so little to them. How can 'Spiritual Compass' benefit them?
"I believe that people of a mature age can more easily and more readily embrace wisdom if they pay attention and are open to the calling of the inner voice. When one is young one is more driven by desires and acquisitions, but in our maturity we can see the limitations and superficiality of these desires and material possessions. And people of a mature age can set a more inspiring example for the young by showing them that they have been through the wilderness of materialism - and found that greed and gratification do not lead to happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction."
How do you see things developing in the future? In one chapter you quote Gandhi's famous words: "Be the change you want to see in the world". But do you think it really is possible to create enough groundswell of opinion at grassroots to make change? Certainly many who have been trying this feel that it makes no difference as 'those at the top' do not listen.
"People at the top will ONLY listen when there is enough of a groundswell of public opinion. When there is enough awareness among the common people, the people at the top HAVE to change and they do change. Just look at the many great changes in the past century: colonialism came to an end, apartheid came to an end, the Berlin Wall came to an end. At present people are increasingly realising that all is not well with their everyday life - and that our relentless pursuit of consumerism has had a consequence.
"The media, business leaders, scientists and even politicians are realising that the earth is finite and that we cannot go on endlessly pursuing economic growth, but have to find a different way, a new way, and a more sustainable way. People are also increasingly realising that capitalism, socialism, free market economy have failed to address the fundamental human problems of poverty and deprevation. In spite of huge economic growth in the past century, half of humanity is going to bed without food or adequate shelter. This injustice is one of the causes of international terrorism so if we want to address the problems of global warming and terrorism we have to address the root causes of our crises rather than just treating the symptons and my book elucidates those root causes."
You are especially keen on your directive that we should "consume less" . But why and how has it got so bad? "The state of humanity has become so bad because we have lost our direction, we are like a ship lost in the fog without a lighthouse. We thought that the purpose of life is to make money and seek physical comforts. And of course, making profit and having physical comfort are not bad in themselves. But the purpose and the meaning of life is greater than money and material goods. In the wake of international terrorism and global warming we have a new opportunity, a new challenge, we can use our creativity and imagination to redesign our economy, our politics, our lives and our world.
"The industrial system was designed by humans so we can redesign and change this system. Even at the time of the industrial revolution, poets such as William Blake warned us about the perils of the 'satanic mills' and visionaries like Mahatma Gandhi showed us a positive way to live with arts and crafts and other handiworks. But we did not listen. Now, I hope we can hear the call of global warming and international terrorism and respond by redesigning our systems in such a way that there should be no need for these negative consequences."
You quote the last sentence from the from the Dalai Lama's "Paradox of our Age" which sums up this consumerism so beautifully: 'There is much in the window - but nothing in the room.' Certainly many Mature Times' readers feel this way. They see a society where we have more materially, but so much else has been lost - in care, dignity, community and respect. Obviously we cannot go back - but how can we go forward to espouse some of your values?
"It is not a question of going back. My book is a proposal to go forward. We can embrace a future which is joyful, compassionate and fulfilling. This is the fundamental message of the Dalai Lama. We can rise above our current dilemmas and see the bigger, wonderful picture of the future. There is a huge potential for the whole of humanity to come together, care for each other and live well without destroying the earth or each other. This is not a pious dream, this is a survival imperative.
"Either we have to learn to live in harmony together or we will perish apart."
Satish Kumar will be on BBC2 on the 11th January when he is presenting a 50 minute programme called Earth Pilgrim as part of the Natural World Series. "Spiritual Compass" is published by Green Books, ISBN 978 1 903998 in hardback, priced £9.95. Visit Green Books on the link below, go to your local bookshop or internet retailer or write to: Green Books, Foxhole, Dartington, Totnes, Devon. TQ9 6EB. Tel 01803 863260. To find out about Resurgence Magazine call: 01237 441293 or visit the second link below.