The Satyagraha Project

On April 11-13, 2008 Garrison Institute's Initiative on Transformational Ecology kicked off its Satyagraha Project, an exploration of Mahatma Gandhi's concept of nonviolent struggle, satyagraha or "truth force," part of lineage of thought which also included of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr., in the new context of climate change and the deep social and environmental changes we must make in our time.

Garrison Institute Satyagraha Project events included a retreat and a free, public event April 13 at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City, which featured Rajmohan Gandhi, Gandhi's biographer and grandson, performances by Philip Glass, Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, founder of Sri Lanka's Sarvodaya movement; Sulak Sivaraksa, founder of the Thailand Spirit in Education Movement, and other distinguished participants. See videos of Garrison Institute's Satyagraha Public Forum on YouTube.

These programs coincide with performances of Philip Glass's opera Satyagraha, at the New York Metropolitan Opera on April 11. This year, marking the 60th anniversary of Gandhi's assassination and the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's, many New York area organizations are presenting satyagraha-themed events in conjunction with the Satyagraha NYC Forum.

"We ought to have a mass movement around a carbon freeze; it's scalable from the individual level to the company, community, state, and national level. Gandhi used the word Satyagraha or "truth force." In American politics, there have been soaring moments throughout our history when the truth has swept aside entrenched power." - Al Gore, in a 2007 speech before the Sierra Club Forum

 

More about creating carbon-less communities

• Center for Whole Communities "creates a more just, balanced and healthy world by exploring, honoring, and deepening the connections among land, people and community..."
• National Resources Defense Council: "Global warming is already affecting the world....We know how to fix this problem and prevent a global environmental disaster. Get on our interactive map to share your concerns about a warmer planet, and find global warming solutions that you can put into action today.
• The 1Sky Campaign "is dedicated to aggregating a massive nationwide movement by communicating a positive vision and a coherent set of national policies that rise to the scale of the climate challenge before us..."