Satish Kumar – The Great Regeneration: Protest, Protect, Build – and Love!

How can we build a strong and holistic environmental movement? 

Join eminent environmentalist and author Satish Kumar to discuss his new trinity of Protest, Protect and Build as a basis for a holistic and transformative ecological movement around the world.

Based on his recently published article in Resurgence & Ecologist magazine, Satish will explore the three dimensions of the environment. Most people seem to think that environmentalists are only concerned about the natural environment. However, Satish argues that we live in a natural environment, a social environment and a spiritual environment. The holistic environmental movement embraces these three dimensions equally. We need to embrace and uphold ecological integrity, social harmony and spiritual values as three aspects of one great movement. 

Satish will suggest that a holistic environmental movement can be successful only if it functions at three levels: the first level is to “Protest” against what is ecologically, socially and spiritually destructive. Following in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, we need to speak truth to Power – we need to protest peacefully and nonviolently against environmental and social injustice. But that is not enough. We also need to “Protect” what is good in our culture. We need to protect indigenous wisdom, arts and crafts, beauty and integrity, biodiversity and cultural diversity. This is the second level. Together with Protest and Protect there is a third level in the holistic environmental movement, which is to “Build”. We need to build new, regenerative and sustainable ways of agriculture, economy, education and many other systems which set good and positive examples of living in harmony without harming, whilst living creatively and imaginatively.

The key spiritual value is love: love nature, love people, love your neighbours, love yourself. Love heals all divisions, separations and conflicts. Love of nature is the answer to climate change. Love is the solution to social injustice and love is way to personal fulfilment. Love lifts you from ‘ME’ and connects you to ‘WE’.  Love links the head with the heart. Love is the answer. What is your question?

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About the speaker:

Satish Kumar was the Editor-in-Chief of Resurgence Magazine (now with the Ecologist) for 43 years and was the Founder of Schumacher College in Dartington. At nine years of age, Satish renounced the world and joined the brotherhood of Jain monks. At the age of eighteen, he left the monastic order and became a campaigner working to turn Gandhi’s vision of a peaceful world into reality.  He undertook an 8,000-mile peace pilgrimage, walking without any money, to deliver packets of ‘peace tea’ to the leaders of the four nuclear powers. Satish is the author of five books. His autobiography, ‘No Destination’, first published by Green Books in 1978, has sold over 50,000 copies.