Reflections from Navdanya
Satish Kumar and Vandana Shiva
This winter, I traveled to Northern India with my 18 year old son to participate in a course called “Gandhi and Globalisation” at Bija Vidyapeeth, the biodiversity conservation farm managed by Navdanya, www.navdanya.org/ the organization founded by Indian scientist and activist Dr. Vandana Shiva. I have been an admirer of Dr. Shiva’s work to support traditional farming, women and biodiversity for many years, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to study and see a little bit of India for the first time, learning in a structured environment while staying on a beautiful farm. I had not thought very much about studying Gandhian philosophy, or the other instructors at Navdanya, which included Satish Kumar, editor of Resurgence magazine www.resurgence.org/ and founder of Schumacher College in the UK, the Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche, elected President of Tibet in exile, and Sunderlal Bahuguna, noted non-violent environmental activist who has dedicated his life to preventing deforestation in the Himalayas. I arrived without expectations, and little preparation except for the recommended vaccinations, and a friend’s advice; “Don’t think about India as a vacation, think of it as a camping trip!”
While the facilities at the Navdanya farm challenged western views of comfort, they were reminiscent of a summer camp and we soon became used to them. Here we had a simple routine that consisted of early morning yoga, an hour of voluntary service in the kitchen, garden or at the seed bank, three delicious vegetarian Indian meals a day, six hours of daily instruction held outdoors or sitting on the floor of a communal hall, a daily walk and the luxury of time to think, read and just to be. It was an unforgetable trip to take with my teenage son, and a great experience to watch his high strung youthful energy fade over the course of ten days into a more thoughtful and observant state.
While it was Vandana Shiva that drew me there, it was Satish Kumar who won my heart at mind. A former Jain monk and peace pilgrim, Satish Kumar has spent much of his life walking for nuclear disarmament and to encourage a spiritual connection with nature, lived with us and taught us for 5 days. Satish, simply dressed in hand woven Indian made clothing, spoke to fourty of us from around the world about the pillars of Gandhian philosophy, which emphasised equality for all, a sense of creating one’s place and usefulness in the world, self rule and non violent civil disobedience, all within the context of a holistic relationship with ourselves and the earth.
From Gandhi’s massive march to the sea with hundreds of thousands of Indians to the simple act of using the spinning wheel to create independant livelihood for millions of Indians, to the voluntary simplicity that Gandhi lived, Satish Kumar explained how so many of Gandhi’s examples provide lessons to be learned, even, and perhaps especially in times of global dominance and economic uncertainty. I was a little afraid about going to India, afraid of witnessing the poverty, the traffic and pollution in Delhi, afraid of my own feelings and reactions, really. So I decided to go to Navdanya because I knew I would feel comfortable and stimulated on a farm, that the food would be pure and organic and that I would be taught by brilliant, respected thinkers. The combination of the daily treachings and the environment of the farm made this the most remarkable trip I have ever taken and almost daily I am haunted by the memories of the exotic smells, the light, the animals and the Indian people.