'Sarvodaya better than socialism'

MUMBAI: You sense that Satish Kumar is a remarkable man the moment he enters the room. Wiry and in his late 60s, he steps into the swish south Mumbai restaurant in a plain cotton kurta-pyjama, cheerfully unironed.
His spine is erect, his eyes are shining and he radiates an optimism that is undimmed by the years, even if hard-won. Mr Kumar became a Jain monk at nine.
Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, he renounced his monkhood at 18 to practise truth and non-violence in the rough and tumble of everyday life.
Then, stung when Bertrand Russell was jailed at the age of 90 for protesting against nuclear weapons, he embarked on an 8,000-mile-long peace pilgrimage,walking without any money through India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Poland, Germany, France, Japan and the US. Author of You Are Therefore I am: A Declaration of Dependence , the UKbased Mr Kumar was in the city to release his autobiography No Destination.
“I am here to tell youngsters not to feel small or that they are not good enough. Everyone is special and capable of achieving great things. They may not be grandiose things, but real, significant changes. It is when the mango seed relinquishes its ego and becomes one with the earth, that it grows into a mango tree. So, too, it’s when we become one with nature and serve others, that we blossom and find meaning in our lives.’’
Mr Kumar has been programme director of Schumacher College in Devon, UK, devoted to promoting ecological and spiritual values. In India, he founded the Bija Vidyapeeth (School of the Seed) with Vandana Shiva in Doon Valley, with similar aims.
Reflecting on the World Social Forum (WSF), he says, “It’s an important movement, but somewhat utilitarian. For instance, it might support the rainforest not intrinsically, but because it can provide medicines. It lacks the dimension of Sarvodaya—the good of all, humans, animals, forests, rivers—which is better than socialism.’’
Asked how one could address the ills of globalisation, he says, “It is by seeing the world not as a market, but a web of communities. Problems are convergent, so solutions must also be convergent. If I do land reform, you do education, someone else does solar energy, we lose out. If we work together holistically, we will all be more effective.’’
Musing on his journey round the world, he says, “I had no money. Everywhere people fed and sheltered me—there’s an untapped generosity in human beings.When there was no food, I saw it as an opportunity to fast. When I had no shelter, I saw it as a gift from god to sleep under the stars.’’
Not unexpectedly, he is optimistic about the young generation. “We must convince them that sustainability can be attractive,where there is more time for friends and family, for walking, sailing,’’ he says.
“Friendships, good food and clean air are wealth. What’s the use of earning crores in Mumbai if the air is so polluted, there’s plastic everywhere and you cannot even swim in the sea? Is Mumbai really rich?’’