SOIL, SOUL, SOCIETY
by Satish Kumar
Water in a Japanese Zen garden. Photo: John Lane
Holding the big picture.
back
to top
THIS IS THE 200th edition of Resurgence. In all these editions our overriding concern has been to present the big picture. We are not interested in single solutions — there is none. Our writers, poets and artists are developing an integrated and holistic world-view.
Even as big and comprehensive an event as the French Revolution presented only a one-dimensional vision. Its cry Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité was a social trinity. The natural world and the spiritual dimension were left out.
In the wake of The Renaissance and The Enlightenment, humanism became the dominant philosophy. Human freedom, human progress and human well-being were given prominence at the cost of reverence for nature. At that time spirituality was imprisoned by authoritarian and dogmatic religious institutions. Therefore, in the drive to free humanity from the religious yoke, spirituality too was discarded by the French revolutionaries. This was a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.
IN RECENT TIMES the New Age movement tried to loosen the political straightjacket by developing a personal trinity — mind, body, spirit. But this only replaces one partial view with another. This personal trinity ignores the social reality and again leaves out the natural world. It is an attempt at personal fulfilment, ignoring the interdependence of all things.
Over the years Resurgence has explored, examined and expounded a holistic trinity — soil, soul and society. Soil represents the natural world. We come from the earth and return to the earth. We take our sustenance from the Sun and Moon. Nature is the source of all life. We need to take care of the soil and replenish it constantly.
While we respect the soil, we also take care of the soul. The soul is the vessel for mind, body and spirit. The individual soul is an integral part of the world soul, the anima mundi, and therefore we also need to take care of the world. For Resurgence social justice, restrained consumption, sustainable economics, a sense of community and diversity of cultures are part and parcel of the big picture.
In this 200th edition we bring soil, soul and society together again. We present articles on wild rice, wild wood, organic tea and natural farming. We feature the Dalai Lama whose compassionate work has inspired many. Then we publish David Korten’s alternative strategy to replace exploitative global capitalism. General Lee Butler calls for a halt to the nuclear arms race which threatens to destroy any possibility of taking care of soil, soul and society.
This trinity is one single reality. Each one is always implicit in the other. This is the holistic vision.