Gandhi, Non-Violence & the Rainforest Movement

Sun, 01 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

From the Rainforest Information Centre archives — a letter exchange between Harsh Prabhu and John Seed on the influence of Mohandas Gandhi on the Australian rainforest movement. Reproduced with attribution as an example of “Going Forth” — translating insight into sustained, non-violent action.

Letter to John Seed, 7 September 1999

Dear Friend,

Would it be possible to write 50–100 words on the influence of M K Gandhi on the environmental movement in the rainbow region? We have been invited to participate in an expo on Gandhi, and we thought we would invite people from the alternative/environmental movement here to make a contribution on the topic of Gandhi and his influence, from a local, Australian perspective.

Profile: Vimala Thakar

Sun, 01 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Vimala Thakar (1921-2009) was an Indian philosopher, social activist, and spiritual teacher who pioneered the integration of meditative inquiry with social justice work. A woman who challenged the norms of Indian spiritual and political life in the mid-20th century, she proposed that inner transformation and outer action are inseparable dimensions of human wholeness.

Influenced by both Gandhian philosophy and the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, Thakar developed an approach to spiritual life that rejected the traditional separation between contemplation and social engagement. She argued that becoming a spiritual inquirer without social consciousness is a “luxury we can ill afford,” while social activism without understanding the inner workings of mind represents “the worst folly.”

Vimala-Thakar on deep ecology

Gandhi, Non-Violence & the Rainforest Movement

Letter to John Seed, 7 September 1999

Profile: Vimala Thakar