Radical Love

Albert Schweitzer once said that there are three ways of changing the world: the first is by example, the second is by example, and the third – you’ve guessed it – is by example. Schweitzer himself said that his life was his testimony, and the same can be said of my old friend, Satish Kumar, whom I regard as one of our great sages and planetary elders. He lives a life of elegant simplicity, inspiring people around the world to work for the Earth, for peace and for a truly living education, which he himself has pioneered in founding the Small School and Schumacher College.

In this book written with his customary clarity and passion, Satish distils and expresses his philosophy and outlook under the title Radical Love. I often say that we do not take the power of love seriously enough – both Gandhi and Peter Deunov saw love as an ontological and transformative power. So it is very good to see Satish elaborating on the centrality of love in a series of nearly 30 chapters interspersed with poetic meditations. The headings convey some idea of the scope of the book: unity, diversity, soil, seeds, water, localism, peace, walking, food and garden, reason and science, learning and generosity. Readers are invited to reflect deeply and apply his practical insights in their own lives. Satish quotes Tolstoy as saying, ‘There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness, and truth.’ (p. 155) And Picasso, ‘The purpose of life is to give it away.’ (p. 176)

Perhaps the fundamental shift we need to make is from love of power to the power of love, which Satish already articulates in his introduction when he writes that ‘Everything is held together by love… a lack of love leads to war, conflict, competition, exploitation, domination, and subjugation of people and all of Nature.’ He continues: ‘Militarism, the arms race, insecurity, and rivalry of all kinds arise wherever there is no love.’ (p. 2) It is a simple and clear diagnosis reflecting the direction suggested by the subtitle – ‘From separation to connection with the Earth, each other, and ourselves.’ Instead of the trinity of Market, Money and Materialism, Satish proposes the trinity of Soil, Soul, and Society as the principles of an Age of Ecology, an ecology of love. This worldview needs to become ‘an integral part of our collective consciousness’, an organising principle leading to radically different priorities and values. Satish is well aware of the systemic obstacles and institutions embedded in the status quo, but he insists that activists are optimists, stating that the message of Resurgence, which he edited for over 40 years, is to love: ‘Love yourself, love people, love planet, love Nature… act to uphold beauty and integrity. Activism is a journey and not a destination.’ (p. 10)

Nature is an expression of unity in diversity, but the story of separation turns human diversity into human division, disconnection, polarisation, prejudice, othering, and ultimately even war, which further promotes this process. In a number of chapters, Satish relates the wisdom of his mother, for instance in relation to trees, food, healing and walking. The chapter on walking refers to his 8,000-mile peace walk in his 20s, as well as the 2,000-mile pilgrimage that he undertook around his 50^th birthday – I well remember the congenial evening we spent together in Winchester. In both cases, he travelled without money, trusting in the inherent goodness and generosity of people.

Regenerative agriculture plays a central role as an expression of love, harmony and healing. Even mainstream sources are now realising that the soil is not inert, but a living ecosystem, as is the seed. Satish’s teacher Vinoba Bhave taught him lessons of water as flow and flexibility, and he relates the story of Gandhi and Nehru, when the former is dismayed when he realises that he is going to need some extra water as he had not used the jug mindfully. Another important emerging trend is the primacy of ecology over economics, and Satish even proposed to the London School of Economics that it should rename itself as the London School of Ecology and Economics (LSEE).

The book is full of gems of wisdom and instructive anecdotes in putting forward a love manifesto and proposing the revolution of love involving both inner and outer transformation; also overcoming what he calls the four obstacles to love: ‘criticising, complaining, controlling and comparing’. Readers will find a deep well of inspiration and genuine hope in the life and words of Satish – the book is sure to become a classic and will surely still be read 100 years from now.