Book Review:
Henryk Skolimowski: Dharma, Ecology and Wisdom in the Third Millennium.
New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. 2000. Pp.127.
Henryk Skolimowski has tried to buttress the foundations of newly formed
Ecophilosophy by drawing upon two age-old concepts, Dharma and Wisdom. As
we understand so we act. The more luminous is our understanding of the subtle
intricacies of reality, the higher beings we are. The present condition of humanity is
forlorn as we live in polluted physical, mental, and spiritual environments—all as a
result of the current structure of our consciousness, which is programmed to
manipulation, to mechanistic thinking, to an instrumental treatment of people and
nature. According to Skolimowski, the true work of ecology is healing all the three
environments, physical, mental and spiritual, simultaneously.
Skolimowski echoes the ideas of ancient Dharma and Wisdom that all is
divine; all things are connected and are parts of the same web of life. A wrong
attitude contributes to degeneration of the web itself. The traditional concept of
Karma—you reap as you sow—at the personal level is extended to the principle of
ecokarma, making us collectively responsible for the condition of life and
redemption of the same. The traditional concept of yoga—pursuit of harmony and
balance between body and mind— is extended to ecoyoga to include harmony and
balance with nature. The practice of ecoyoga begins with viewing the world as a
sanctuary and practicing of reverence as a right mode of our being in the world.
Exercising empathy—to be friends with the cosmos is a precondition for being a
true friend of yours. Reverence for all emphasizes the importance of responsibility
for one’s own life, for the life of all including the future generations. The proper
discharge of this responsibility empowers self and inspires others. This empowerment
is to establish your inner peace, so that you are empowered to help others and
future generations, to heal nature, without which inner peace will be incomplete.
When ugly and polluted environments violate our senses, our soul is bruised, and
it suffers. Thus we cannot tolerate ugliness around us without suffering some
harm. This is how individual salvation is linked with the improvement of the
conditions of others and the environment.
Ecological Dharma informs us that ecological reconstruction and working
in harmony with nature can be restored only by right livelihood—not just for a
select few but for all —which is essential both for the spiritual well-being of the
individual and for sustainability of the local, national and global society and the
planets.
Ecoyoga is thus a path of beauty and sanctity of our times. Mahayoga
informs us that overall balance and harmony signifies not only balance between
our bodies and minds and between our hearts and souls, but also balance with
other beings in the world. Striving for justice to enable others to live and striving for
harmony with nature is a necessary part of Mahayoga. Mahayoga reminds us that
we are always a part of the web of life, and true compassion means the yoga of life,
which embraces all. The chapter on yoga of empowerment helps us to understand
how to retain balance and remain rooted in values without getting swayed by the
idols of the market place — competition and advertisements. Imitation, visualisation,
turning adversity into advantage, beholding positive ideas, and participation are
suggested as positive strategies of empowerment.
In the chapter on the yoga of wisdom, Wisdom and Dharma are referred to
as the state of the entire being rather than of the mind. Discernment, judgement,
distance (non-attachment), compassion, holistic sense of the universe, hope, and
courage are explicated as dimensions of wisdom. Being stupid, repeating mistakes,
learning to defuse the fuses within, which make situations irritating, and
preoccupation with trivia are mentioned as hurdles, while healing inner phobias,
fears, anxieties, catharsis, forgiveness, and discipline are mentioned as aids to the
attainment of the state of wisdom. Ecophilosophy outlines ecological cosmology
(right beliefs, right thought, right speech) and distinctive ecological ethics (right
conduct, right livelihood). A human being is no longer seen as a machinist who
manipulates or is manipulated, but as a custodian and guardian of the planets.
Everything in the universe is related. Hence, establishing and maintaining a
harmonious and balanced relation (right relation) is considered important.
From this conception of the cosmos (and of the human being within it)
follows an ethics of reverence, responsibility, frugality and justice. As the ecological
crisis has brought about an enormous sea of new suffering, ecological cleansing
becomes the vehicle of the cessation of this suffering. Consequently, reverence for
life and our universe as a sanctuary emerges as the basic ecological value. From
this follows responsibility as reverence in action. The third is frugality, conceived
as grace without waste, as doing more with less, as treading gently on the earth,
leading to discarding horrendously wasteful lifestyles in favour of elegantly frugal
lifestyles, gentle and unharmful to nature and other beings. It is argued that a
sustainable world and sustainable development cannot be a reality in the absence
of sustainable lifestyles and values. Genuinely sustainable development should be
ecologically responsible, economically frugal, socially equitable and culturally
sensitive or culture specific; hence the futility of uniform blueprints that do not
recognize the plurality of local contexts.
The chapter on the key to happiness starts with the statement that
happiness is not a fixed state of being, but a perpetual state of becoming. Great
causes elevate us and make us transcend our egoistic self. Great causes pervade us
with reverence and infuse us with dignity, which are necessary components of a
worthy life. This enhances life and enlarges our being. Happiness is being at peace
with oneself while the self is united with a larger order of things. The key to happiness
is to lose your ego and ambition, and to acquire a vision and a mission.
This book is very timely and helps us reconcile our traditional notions of
Dharma and Wisdom with contemporary universal problems. It also offers a right
perspective by following which a genuinely sustainable world and sustainable
development become achievable by embracing sustainable (right) values and
sustainable (right) livelihoods.
Mention may be made here of thousands of men, women and children who
are part of Swadhyaya parivar, inspired by Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale, and
strive to live close to this principle of reverential attitude towards self, others and
the universe as God is immanent in all this. He said in his Templeton Prize address
(1997), ‘It is my experience that awareness of nearness of God and reverence for
that power creates reverence for self, reverence for others, reverence for nature and
reverence for the entire creation’. This reverential attitude, invoked in large numbers,
is responsible for the motivation that brought about sustained collective action,
resulting in the creation of impersonal wealth. Beginning in 1958, Athavale
established dozens of programmes without any external assistance, solely by
inspiring the participants to demonstrate their bhakti, or devotion, by engaging
themselves in socially useful and environmentally harmonious activities like tree
planting (recipients of the first Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award for the
exemplary work done in establishing the Vrikshamandir near Baroda); numerous
water harvesting initiatives in Saurashtra, Gujarat; Yogeswar Krishi farms by
volunteers from farming communities, and Matsyagandha—floating temples by
fishermen.
by K.V. Raju
see also:
Early Eco-Philosophers Among the Tribal People
Letter from India by Henryk Skolimowski
The Trumpeter, Journal of Ecosophy
Threads: Wisdom