By Alok Ulfat
Navdanya Earth University celebrated Vandana Shiva’s Birthday with Participants of Gandhi and Globalisation and Nanhi Dunya children.
Nestled in the Mango Groves, Navdanya Earth University and Bija Vidyapeeth welcome seekers from the entire Earth. Presently, around 60 participants including social workers, environmentalists, farmers, teachers, artists, journalists, etc., from 10 countries have come together to attend the ‘Gandhi and Globalisation Course’ with Dr Vandana Shiva and Satish Kumar.
Dr Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalisation author. Shiva is engaged in numerous green initiatives around the world including International Forum on Globalization, a figure of the anti-Globalization movement.
Vandana advocates change through diversity, organic living, working closely with the local communities and participating in conferences to raise issues. She is an intellectual and a doer who has been saving local seeds at Navdadnaya Farm, and relentlessly campaigns with her team throughout India to save seeds that are not genetically modified. She strongly says, “If you want to grow organic food, you must first grow the soil.” “We need to move from an economy of greed to an economy of sharing.” “Seeds are a living treasure, and they belong in the hands of farmers, not corporations.” She is like the North Star of the Environmental Movement and has impacted many social and systemic fronts of the world.
I remember reading her booklets at Natraj Publishers book store in the ‘80s and have seen her rising as green leader. She has grown into a courageous, authentic, inspiring and a powerful activist of Organic Agriculture, rural welfare and environmental education. She has written over 25 books, and is a recipient of many awards including the Right Livelihood Award known as the alternative Nobel Prize and Fukuoka Prize.
Vandana has dynamically impacted government authorities, local people and international communities and, in recent years, her Durga-Saraswati presence seen on social media is inspiring youth around the world like wildfire.
Dr Vandana Shiva founded Bija Vidyapeeth along with well-known visionary Satish Kumar. The learning centre promotes a vision of holistic solutions rooted in deep ecology and democracy as an alternative to the current world order, which is characterised by selfish policies emerging out of tendencies of greed, destruction and war.
The present participants are living in the handmade farm in humble yet graceful circumstances. Each day offers opportunities to do shram-daan, attend discourses, share common concerns and relish organic food. Walks through the farm are carried out to learn about vermiculture, composting, farming and to show ecological connection with life forces around the farm.
Satish Kumar, the co-founder of Navdanya, lives in England and regularly visits Dehradun. He is a well-known educationist and environmentalist, and a revered mentor with followers and disciples spread all over the world. Satish is also a world-renowned author who has founded Schumacher College, The Small School and The Resurgence Trust. He has served as the Editor of Resurgence & Ecologist for over 40 years, making him the UK’s longest-serving editor.
Satish Kumar is one of the most inspiring beings of our times who lives with universal values and is truly a free spirit. Satish Kumar has been inspiring global change for over five decades and has devoted his life to campaigning for individual transformation, ecological regeneration, social justice, holistic education and spiritual fulfilment. He also travels across the world giving talks, mentoring individuals and connecting with communities.
Satish became a Jain monk at the age of 9. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Bertrand Russell, Satish walked 8000 miles for peace and nuclear disarmament from Bharat through Moscow, London, Paris, and America.
For over two decades, he travels to India each year to conduct a course on Gandhian philosophies and practices at Navdanya Earth University for individuals seeking transformation. Each year, many of his followers, seekers and budding activists also travel to Dehradun to be a part of this life transforming course.
The course conducted by Satish Kumar and Dr Vandana Shiva ji covers engaging discourses and intense discussions to share concerns and find solutions for environmental regeneration, human and societal reform, revive organic living, humanisation of systems and more.
Satish takes the participants into the deep inquiries, delving deep into important concepts and practices like Antyodaya and Sarvodaya. Antyodaya encourages shifting focus, beginning from uplift of the most deprived one in existence. Sarvodaya – the upliftment of all has to be the way forward, and Antyodaya is key to the holistic and sustainable existence.
His mantra “small is beautiful” has captured minds and hearts of many around the world. He says we need to shift our societal approach from human-centric to nature-centric. We must not consume nature but find ways to take from it consciously, enough for our needs and continuously replenish it with utter devotion.
He emphasises that modern educational systems are the cause for the present crisis like war, social and environmental degradation. He states that the problems are not caused by the simple folk but by the highly qualified governing from high positions. He feels concern about the education system that is becoming highly industrial, cluttered and complex. It is time to simplify everything and make things noncompetitive. His profound thoughts are served with exceptional humor and win everyone’s heart.
On this special occasion of Vandana Shiva’s birthday, the children of Nanhi Dunya, Vikas Nagar, at the wish of Kuldeep Shiva, performed a musical on Hanuman Chalisa for the select guests and present participants. The performance was choreographed by Ashu Satvika Goyal who represented Navdanya at the Earth Summit in South Africa. On this occasion, Chief Promoter of Nanhi Dunya, Kiran Goyal and Trustee Ramesh Sharma presented gifts to Vandana Shiva. Meera Shiva, Sudha Sharma, Vikay Goyal, Urmila Thakur were also present at the celebrations. Navdanya and Bija Vidyapeeth are the oasis of hope for all.
