Satish Kumar on Peace, Nature, and Schumacher College (4 of 4)
In this four-part interview, Satish Kumar shares his views on peace, our relationship with nature, and what led him to found Schumacher College in 1991. Among those who inspire him are Vinoba Bhave, Mahatma Gandhi, Bertrand Russell, and E.F. Schumacher.
Satish Kumar shares with Kakoli Mitra the problems with current mainstream ways of thinking and his vision for the future of Schumacher College. Mr. Kumar asserts that there is a severe problem with our current relationship with the natural world and the way we act toward nature; we act with a sense of superiority and domination. But nature has its own intrinsic value, something that Mr. Kumar experienced during his peace walk in the early 1960s. Humans steal the secrets of nature and use nature for our own benefit. We think that we are separate from and superior to nature and that this gives us the right to exploit nature. This kind of thinking began in the seventeenth century in Europe. Now, industrial economic growth has become the goal for all nations. Mahatma Gandhi said: There’s enough in the world for everybody’s need, but not for everybody’s greed. As for the future of Schumacher College, Mr. Kumar is excited about Schumacher 2.0, a new resurgence. Given that Dartington Trust is no longer hosting the College, they are looking for a new space. In the meantime, Mr. Kumar is excited about Schumacher Wild, a concept in which courses will be taught in Schumacher-style learning centers and in colleges throughout the world. Any center that is teaching ecological, holistic, regenerative education will be a part of the Schumacher Wild network. According to Mr. Kumar, this is the university of the future: a decentralized, self-funded, connected network of teachers and learners.
You may also like

