Facilitator: Satish Kumar, Editor of Resurgence and Ecologist Magazine.

Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 1 November 2014.
Time: Registration: 1.30pm-2pm. Half Day Workshop: 2pm-5.30pm.
Event Description: Our current educational system serves the interest of the economy rather than the individual but we need an education which places equal importance to head, heart, hands and homes. Of course we need to learn to think and use our brains but we also need to develop our intuition, our imagination and our heart qualities.

 

 

 

 

 

Speaker: Satish Kumar, Editor of Resurgence and Ecologist Magazine.
Title: Soil, Soul, Society.

Chair: Vérène Nicolas, trainer, facilitator and community organiser.

Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 1 November 2014.
Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Event: 7pm-approx 9pm.
Event Description: The future well being of humanity and the earth is dependant on a new world view in which the care of the planet, nourishment of the soul and the nurturing of the human community are integrated and seen as a continuum. As the trinity of Egalité, liberté and fraternité, we need a new trinity for the age of ecology which has wholeness, integrity and cohesion. I propose the trinity of soil, soul and society. Our reverence for the earth, our care of the soul and a just order in society represent a vision of sustainability, spirituality and justice.

When he was only nine years old, Satish Kumar renounced the world and joined the wandering brotherhood of Jain monks. Dissuaded from his path by an inner voice at the age of eighteen, he left the monastic order and became a campaigner for land reform, working to turn Gandhi’s vision of a peaceful world into reality.

Fired by the example of Bertrand Russell, he undertook an 8,000 mile peace pilgrimage, walking from India to America without any money, through deserts, mountains, storms and snow. It was an adventure during which he was thrown into jail in France, faced a loaded gun in America – and delivered packets of ‘peace tea’ to the leaders of the four nuclear powers.

In 1973, he settled in England, taking the Editorship of Resurgence magazine. He has been the editor ever since (30 + years!). He is the guiding spirit behind a number of ecological, spiritual and educational ventures in Britain. He founded the Small School in Hartland, a pioneering secondary school (aged 11-16), which brings into its curriculum ecological and spiritual values. In 1991, Schumacher College, a residential international centre for the study of ecological and spiritual values, was founded, of which he is a Visiting Fellow.

Following Indian tradition, in his fiftieth year, he undertook another pilgrimage: again carrying no money, he walked 2,000 miles to the holy places of Britain – Glastonbury, Canterbury, Lindisfarne and Iona. Meeting old friends and making new ones along the way, this pilgrimage was a celebration of his love of life and nature.

In July 2000, Satish Kumar was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Education from the University of Plymouth. In July 2001 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from the University of Lancaster. In July 2009 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Exeter University.

In November 2001, Satish Kumar was presented with the Jamnalal Bajaj International Award for Promoting Gandhian Values Abroad.

His autobiography, No Destination, has sold 50,000 copies and is published by Green Books. Satish’s three other books, You Are, Therefore I Am – A Declaration of Dependence, The Buddha and the Terrorist, Spiritual Compass and his new book Earth Pilgrim are published by Green Books.

In 2008, Satish Kumar presented a 50-minute documentary on the BBC as part of the Natural World series. In the programme Satish introduced the Dartmoor scenes and sights that most inspire him and contemplated the lessons they hold for humanity. A highly acclaimed documentary that mixed eastern philosophy with the western landscape of Dartmoor; the programme was watched by over 3.6 million people.

From March to May 2008 Satish was invited as Des Lee visiting Professor of Global Awareness at Webster University, St Louis, Missouri. Satish teaches lectures and runs workshops internationally on reverential ecology, holistic education and voluntary simplicity.