There is no virtue greater than moderation. The mark of the temperate is that they are peaceful as the sky, firm as a mountain, flexible as a tree in the wind. They do not chase after a goal and make the most of everything life brings them. Lao Tzu
Satish Kumar (*1936) is a peace and environmental activist and journalist. At the age of nine, he joined the order of Jain wandering monks and later became a follower of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, his ideas of non-violence, land reform in India and a peaceful world. In 1962, together with his comrade EP Menon, he set out on a nearly 13,000-kilometer peace pilgrimage from India to the capitals of the world's four nuclear powers: Moscow, Paris, London and Washington. Since 1973, he has lived in England, where he became the editor of the renowned magazine Resurgence (todayResurgence and Ecologist)and also the founder and director of the Schumacher College Centre for Ecological Studies, where he still works today. At the age of fifty, he undertook another great, this time “only” 2000 kilometer journey through the sacred places of England in honor of the love of life and nature. Satish Kumar is a sought-after and respected speaker and leads workshops on the ecology of respect, holistic education and voluntary modesty. He is the author of the books No Destination: Autobiography of Pilgrim (2014), You Are, Therefore I Am: A Declaration of Dependence (2002), The Buddha and the Terrorist (2006), Soul, Soil, Society: a New Trinity for Our Time (2013) and Elegant simplicity: the art of living well (2019). This excerpt is from the last book mentioned, which was published in Czech in 2021 under the title Krása sídlosti: Umění dobrého života (The Beauty of Simplicity: The Art of a Good Life) by the Prague publishing house Alferia (translated by Vojtěch Ettler). In addition to this book, an essay by S. Kumár “Three Dimensions of Ecology: Soil, Soul and Society” (Sedmá generace, 3/2016) was published in Czech by S. Kumár. In 2008, a documentary film was made about Kumár’s life Earth Pilgrim (Wanderer of the Earth).
Life is a journey
All the truly groundbreaking ideas is born while walking.
Friedrich Nietzsche
True pilgrimage is based on the fact that little is planned, clearly given, and anticipated. When difficulties arise, only for the good. When we face problems, we embrace them. Problems present an opportunity to engage creativity, imagination, and ingenuity. They test our resilience. They challenge us to trust the universe.
We commonly imagine a pilgrimage as a journey to a shrine or a sacred place. I have made such pilgrimages myself. But gradually I discovered that the true meaning of a journey is a life without attachments, habits and prejudices. Without physical and mental garbage. A journey through the outer world reminds one of an inner journey, and I realized that I am actually always on a journey. Life is a journey. I want to go through life as a pilgrim.
Two people who fulfill my ideal of a pilgrim are Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, and Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. They led a simple life par excellence. Neither of them was afraid of difficulties. They believed that difficulties and suffering served to purify the spirit. There is a well-known story about Mahavira that illustrates this. Mahavira was born a prince and later became a monk. He renounced all material possessions. However, his followers constantly invited him into their homes—they considered it a privilege to entertain him. Since begging was so easy for him, Mahavira wondered, “How can I make it harder for me to get food?” He believed that the fear of difficulties could be overcome only by exposing oneself to them and experiencing them.
Gandhi was a pilgrim activist. He walked the sacred path. He did not embark on it for recognition, fame or the Nobel Prize. He did not desire material enrichment or personal merit. He was guided by the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita: “One should act without desire for the fruits of one’s actions.” In this regard, he faithfully honored the ideals of a pilgrim, whose actions should be free from ego.
Wandering has its intrinsic value. A wanderer is one who acts for the benefit of planet Earth, for the purpose of self-realization, not to impress others. All difficulties, difficulties and discomforts are an integral part of his journey. A wanderer knows deep down that even the most blissful moments do not last forever and will eventually pass.
It is time to live on Earth as pilgrims, not tourists. Pilgrims accept the gift of life and nature as it comes. Every moment is a reason to celebrate – there is nothing to complain about.
The beauty of simplicity
Any fool can complicate something, but only a genius can simplify it.
E.F. Schumacher
Simplicity means a mindful way of living. At the level of thinking, at the level of feelings and relationships, at the level of the home, clothing and food – at all levels – we must ask ourselves: How can I simplify my life?
In today’s business, political, and economic worlds, we have made our lives very complicated. It weighs so heavily on our shoulders that we are suffocated by anxiety and worry. Therefore, it is essential to ask ourselves: How can I simplify my life? Just by asking ourselves this question every day, we can find the answer that will lead us to simplicity. The complex and confusing thoughts that constantly swirl around in our heads create confusion. We need to calm down and ask ourselves: Do I really have to wade through all this, or is it possible to get straight to the point? When I am talking to someone, can I get straight to the point? Can I express myself clearly and simply? Simplicity of thought, speech, and action are all connected. A simple life is a spiritual life.
Spirituality helps us to be simple. Materialism is complicated. It requires accumulation and possession. Social status is judged by wealth. Kings and queens have palaces and castles. They have vast estates, armies of servants and numerous servants. Living is simply very difficult for them. Similarly, the lives of many of today's billionaires cannot be simple. They have many houses, many staff and ranks of advisers. They are constantly under enormous pressure and cannot do what they really want. They are almost like in prison. Since President Obama left the White House, he has probably had a much freer hand to do, say and write what he really wants. Before he took office, he wrote a great book called The Audacity of Hope (The boldness of hope.) However, once he became president, he lost some of that boldness and hope.
If we take as examples spiritual figures such as Jesus Christ, Buddha, Saint Francis, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi, we find that they all had a very free spirit. They all led a very simple life. Mahatma Gandhi wore a loincloth and wove his own clothes. He wore a single large shawl for the winter and went half-naked in the summer. When he traveled by train, he traveled third class. Once someone asked him, “Mr. Gandhi, why do you travel third class?” He replied, “I travel third class because there is no fourth class!”
Being ordinary is the most extraordinary achievement we can achieve in life. When we are ordinary, we put aside our ego and any desire to be admired. We are not dependent on other people's judgments. If someone judges or criticizes you, that is their business. If they think that because you don't have a big enough house or car, and therefore you are clearly unsuccessful, then that is their view. It does not concern you. We want to live simply and joyfully, nothing else matters. As long as we are happy with ourselves, nothing else is needed.
There are only three things to learn: simplicity, patience, and compassion. These three jewels will be your greatest wealth.
Lao Tzu
Self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-respect are important parts of a simple life. When we are not bound by expectations, we are not bound by disappointment. There is no guaranteed recipe or technique for simplicity. Everyone must find their own path—there is no ironclad rule that applies to everyone. It is a lifelong journey with no clear goal. We do not need to worry about when we will finally reach a state of perfect simplicity. We are on a journey, traveling through life. Day after day, let us focus on simplicity in our thoughts, words, feelings, actions, food, clothing, household, intentions, and relationships. When we do not waver in our attention, we will enter a natural and subconscious state of simplicity.
Complicatedness is not the same as complexity. Complexity itself is natural and beautiful. Simplicity and complexity complement each other. Our body is very complex, and so are the microorganisms and bacteria that live in it. Yet the body is also very simple.
The present moment is a powerful moment. Let's live it to the fullest! Trust helps us do that. Trust that when the future comes, we can handle it. We don't have to fear it now. We don't have to anticipate problems. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. We can deal with the future, whatever it brings, good or bad, positive or negative. We have imagination, we have abilities. Let's not forget that all our plans can completely miss the mark. So why plan so much?
Let's replace feverish planning with vision. Vision is like a dream. Let planning, step by step, unfold from our vision. Let the future happen according to our will. As Joseph Campbell said: “We must give up the life we have planned in order to accept the one that awaits us.” When a person is not bound by plans that they cling to tooth and nail, they find themselves in a space filled with a special magic, a special energy. When we allow things to flow, miracles can happen.
The meaning of the beauty of simplicity runs deep and has nothing to do with strict austerity, with need, with lack, or with painful self-denial. It may seem paradoxical, but the gift of simplicity is actually the gift of abundance. When we know when we have enough, we will have more than enough.
Learning to live
Education is not preparation for life - it is life itself.
John Dewey
Various progressive groups are trying to eradicate nationalism, sexism, and racism, but we are all guilty of it. speciesism: by the belief in our own species superiority. We look at nature as if it were our subordinate, our slave. We have gotten rid of human slavery, but we still treat nature as a serf. And we treat animals the same way. We lock them in factory farms and commit atrocities on them. It is all because of our collective human ego, our egocentric view.
If we want to learn eco-literacy, we must replace egocentrism with ecocentrism. The ego sees nature as its property: we say has soil, me trees, my forest. I am the boss, I am in charge. That is the perspective of egocentrism. In the perspective of ecocentrism, there is no ownership nature does not exist, only relationship to nature. We are all connected, we are all interconnected, and the entire Earth is our home.
Rather than about humans rights we should talk about human responsibilitiesNature has rights and humans have a responsibility not to destroy, pollute, or defile planet Earth. That is eco-literacy.
It is time to restore education to its original meaning and make it a process of self-discovery again. During the educational adventure, we must embrace uncertainty, inconsistencies, difficulties, and suffering. This requires us to be prepared to face problems and not run away from them. Only by facing them can we invite imagination to find solutions.
Dance of opposites
Life and death are like a river and a sea.
Kahlil Gibran
Simplicity of mind can only be achieved if we maintain a surrendered attitude at all times. The turn of autumn and winter is a special time, a gateway to the dark season. We should enter the winter months with an open mind and heart. We should welcome the darkness. It is a time of deep sleep, a time of rest and refreshment. We should enjoy the long nights. Sit by the fire, read stories, sing and dance together. This is easier to do in the dark season. When the days are long and there is still light in the evening, it beckons us to go out for a walk or to the garden, but when darkness falls early, we can immerse ourselves in the landscape of imagination. We can write poems or read War and peace. Yes, light is welcome, but darkness is a joke. Many people talk about enlightenment. But we can also talk about “darkening” in the same way. This is the art of balancing opposites.
Latin name for a person, Homo, comes from the word humus, which means “finger.” Humans are beings of clay. Immortal life materializes in mortal, corporeal forms that are subject to the endless cycle of time, space, and consciousness. Nothing is unchanging, given, and rigid. Rather, everything is in motion and occurs in cycles. Being is eternal, but everything physical is fleeting and impermanent. What appears to be opposite, binary, contradictory, and complicated, actually complements and abides in harmony. To understand and accept this simple truth, we must penetrate beneath the surface.
Deep vision – darshan
We live in an interconnected world and interconnected time, so we need an all-encompassing solution to our interconnected problems.
Naomi Klein
There is a huge difference between the verbs to watch, to look and to see – to behold. What is called in Sanskrit darshan, could be translated as deep vision: seeing what lies beneath the surface. Universities teach academic knowledge, facts and information, but vision is lacking. Academics are rarely visionaries – they are well-read, but there are few seers among them. They should close their books, turn off their screens and then close their eyes and realize the wholeness of life, see with the eye of the heart that everything is interconnected, related and intertwined.
If scientists were guided by spirituality, they would think twice about inventing weapons of war or other means of mass destruction. Why is global warming happening? Because scientists work in the interests of commercial and industrial corporations, and they do not care about spiritual values – that is why their scientific and technological innovations cause crises of planetary proportions, such as climate change.
Science and spirituality, physics and metaphysics, chemistry and compassion, matter and mind can and must dance together in close connection. To enable such a dance to take place, I propose a new triad of principles for our time. Humanity will live in harmony with nature, care for the soul, and establish global peace and justice among all human communities by focusing its attention on soil, soul and company.