Profile: Mohandas Gandhi

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948), known as Mahatma (“Great Soul”), developed the concept of satyagraha - nonviolent resistance - during the Indian independence movement. His philosophy of ahimsa (nonviolence) and simple living influenced subsequent social and environmental movements, including Arne Naess’s deep ecology.

Gandhi developed satyagraha while working in South Africa (1893-1914), where he organized resistance to discriminatory laws. The term combines satya (truth) and agraha (firmness or force). He distinguished satyagraha from passive resistance, proposing it as an active form of moral confrontation that seeks to appeal to an opponent’s conscience rather than to coerce through violence.

Profile: Sulak Sivaraksa

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Sulak Sivaraksa is Thailand’s most prominent Buddhist social critic and one of the founders of the international Engaged Buddhism movement. For over five decades, he has articulated a Buddhist approach to social, economic, and environmental issues that directly challenges both Western materialism and traditional Buddhism’s perceived detachment from worldly concerns.

Sivaraksa’s work demonstrates how Buddhist principles of interdependence, non-violence, and mindful consumption offer profound alternatives to industrial capitalism’s destructive relationship with nature. His concept of “Buddhist economics,” developed alongside E.F. Schumacher, proposes development models based on sufficiency, sustainability, and spiritual well-being rather than endless growth.

Social-Justice on deep ecology

Profile: Mohandas Gandhi

Profile: Sulak Sivaraksa