THE HOPE

Subtitled 'A Guide to Sacred Activism', this new book by Andrew Harvey has been aptly described by Marianne Williamson as 'a meteor burst across the inner sky.' Having listened a couple of years ago to a passionate and eloquent CD produced by the Institute of Noetic Sciences and conveying the substance of his message, the book serves as an urgent reminder of our planetary predicament and the ways in which we are all caught up in it, whether we like to acknowledge it or not. Andrew was a contemporary of Iain McGilchrist at All Souls College, Oxford and they have both made significant contributions to the cultural challenges we face, even if in very different ways. Andrew's path has combined the mystical with the activist, being and doing, the fire of the mystic with the passion of the social reformer. Among the key inspirations in this book are the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Bede Griffiths and Mother Teresa. It is a heady mixture. The joy of compassionate service is yoked to a practical and pragmatic drive to transform all existing economic, social and political institutions.

The book begins with ten suggestions for immediate action, including taking up a daily spiritual practice, listing what is sacred to you and what you are grateful for, an exercise on forgiveness, skip a meal and donate the equivalent sum and tithe 5-10% of your income to a cause in which you passionately believe. This process jump-starts the book, as do a number of powerful stories; among them an occasion when Andrew gave his change to a ragged old woman who used this to buy a chapatti which she shared with an equally emaciated dog. An important influence on the mystical side was Bede Griffiths, about whom Andrew made a film in the early 90's. Fr Bede felt that we were living through The Hour of God, a time of great darkness and even greater light. He felt that this time would call forth an unprecedented force for transformation and healing, which is also Andrew's hope.

The second part outlines the Hope in greater detail while the third part explains a number of laws as forms of practical guidance. The Sun of Hope represents the Divine as the union of Love and Light and the marriage of opposites as evil gives way to good, destruction to new creation and death to rebirth. With the help of mystical texts from the likes of Kabir and Rumi, we understand more clearly our relationship to the Divine, from which we can never be separate – we are that, tat tvam asi. Andrew sees a mystical renaissance taking place in the world through a new reconciliation between the sacred masculine and the sacred feminine. Then the Dark Night is a precursor to transformation, both individually and collectively as the One is manifest through the surrendered sacred activist embodying wisdom, creativity and compassion. The activist has to face the shadow and the five inner saboteurs of disbelief, denial, dread, disillusion and the desire to cease to be.

Spelling out the death and the birth, the first list features environmental devastation, the population explosion, the growth of fundamentalism and associated terrorism, nuclear proliferation, our technological worldview, the corporate mindset and our hectic way of life. On the birth side we have the crisis and our response to it – the cultural creatives and the work described by Paul Hawken in Blessed Unrest; creative technologies, democratised media with the Internet, the mystical renaissance, the evolving philosophy on nonviolence, the return of the Divine Feminine and the potential for the birth of the Divine Human. Since love is expressed in service, Andrew describes five interlinked forms as service to the Divine, service to yourself as an instrument of the Divine (including the body), service to all sentient beings in your life, service to the local community and finally service to the global community.

Part 3 describes seven laws of sacred activism: sacred practice, surrendering the fruits of action to the Divine, recognising evil, the alchemy of anger, constant and humble shadow work, joy and the emergence of networks of grace. Each chapter gives detailed guidance, distinguishing for instance between so-called warm and cool spiritual practices (we need both) and drawing on his own experiences in learning about humility and faith. Rumi reminds us that 'the remembrance of God is force, power, strength and endurance; it is feathers and wings to the bird of the spirit.' Recognising evil means no longer being naive about the realities of power, combining the wisdom of the serpent with the innocence of the dove. Anger can be transmuted into fierce compassion, while the result of confronting the shadow can erode our self-righteousness and any smug sense of superiority. Finally, the formation of networks of grace is vital if this revolution of hope is to be grounded, and Andrew suggests how you the reader can help in your own circle (see also www.andrewharvey.net)

Each of us will naturally find ourselves somewhere along the spectrum of contemplation and action, being and doing, mysticism and activism. This radical and visionary book has the power to galvanise the reader to new levels of inner commitment and effective action and to kindle a sense of urgency about our individual and collective roles and responsibilities in the face of our planetary challenges.