Bjonnes: You have written extensively about the descending path of spirituality–our love for nature–whereas the
ascending path focuses on our love for God. Wouldn’t it be good to find a balance between the two?

Bly: Well, that ís obvious. But the ascending path has been so strong that people often forget what the descending
path is all about.

Bjonnes: Through eco-psychology, spiritual ecology and ecofeminism, the descending path is getting a new
renaissance.

Bly: Yes, I agree. The metaphor for the descending path is the descent of Sophia. According to the Gnostic
religion, Sophia looked down upon this planet of ours and decided to descend into it. She entered inside
the stones, the trees, the birds, and the water. She went into fire and air. This is the story of Sophia.

Bjonnes: This reminds me of the Tantric concept of Shakti.

Bly: Yes, exactly. Sophia–like Shakti–is an active, powerful force, all-encompassing and all-pervading energy
in nature. So why do people look for the spirit only in the heavens? The descent of Sophia is the first stage
of the later ascent of Jesus. These two are companions. It is therefore important for us to follow the
descending path of Sophia, down into nature, before attempting to ascend. The ecology movement, then, is a
response to the inability of the capitalist world to understand that Sophia is also in the rainforest. Through
the loss of the story of Sophia, the Christian Church has given permission to the capitalists to destroy nature.
This was done partly by translating the word “Sophia” as “wisdom”. This destroys the story and takes away the
feminine quality. There have been many such errors in translating the Old testament, and we are suffering from
those mistakes today. You see the same kind of energy in the Lady of the Mountain as when you look at statues of
Shakti in the form of Kali. Shiva is the passive energy. In those statues, Kali often stands on top of Shiva.
In the masks of Kali, you are looking at tremendous spiritual energy.

Bjonnes: A ferocious kind of energy.

Bly: Yes, and why is it ferocious? Because it tries to defend nature, which is the embodiment of Sophia.

Bjonnes: Since nature is a manifestation of Shakti or Sophia, she is conscious and intelligent, but not having as
much selfconsciousness as humans. What is your perception of consciousness in nature?

Bly: I was actually thinking about Wordsworth’s praise today: “Nature never did betray the heart that loved Her”.
So, yes, it is true that there is greater self-consciousness in humans, but humans are also full of betrayal.
We betray each other all the time. The reason why Japanese poets go to nature, for example, is because “Nature
never did betray the heart that loved Her”. And that’s why Taoists like to move toward that which has an
affectionate consciousness, and which will not betray you. So, by destroying nature, we are destroying the one
thing in the universe that will not betray us.

Bjonnes: I have heard you also spend a lot of time in nature, especially when writing poetry.

Bly: Oh, yes. I leave the city to be in nature because it nurtures my soul. William Blake said: “The important
thing is to live in the moment during the day when the devil cannot find you”. It is the moment in nature when
the devil cannot find me–it is the moment I write my poems. Blake also said: “The robin read-breast in his
cage/ puts all of heaven in a rage”. In other words, our habit of imprisoning nature in a cage is felt by
heaven as a real betrayal. There is an important awareness in these words, a deep understanding of the harmony
between both the ascending and descending path.

Bjonnes: So how does modern technology fit into all of this?

Bly: Well, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to think that the computer will bring some kind of
renaissance. Technology used to move much slower before. A Japanese poet recently said: “We have moved
from walking to the rickshaw to the horse-carriage to the airplane without taking time to stop or pause”.
And that is terrifying. The speed with which technology has developed is demonic. I recently read a book
in which the author said something like this: “We used to build great houses, beautiful bridges and
roads, but today we build only markets”. So, the only thing that can become bigger now is the capitalist
market-place. We have simply given upon our pride in building great and beautiful things.

Roar Bjonnes is editor of Prout Journal. Robert Bly is a poet, translator and essayist. Some of his latest
books are: Meditations on the Insatiable Soul, What Have I Ever Lost by Dying?, Morning Poems, and Eating the
Honey of Words.
www.robertbly.com

Volume 9, No. 2, Summer 2002 [Exact date not known]

Different people hold vastly different opinions about the world’s churches and faiths. How can we decide
what is good or bad about them?

The Ecumenical Movement
Tolerance of other faiths, dialog to discover common views, and working together for common social goals
are the foundation of the ecumenical movement. The World Network of Religious Futurists
(http://www. wnrf.org/about/faq.htm) is one such endeavor. While I applaud their ecumenical efforts,
I disagree with their conclusion that organized religions will still exist in 3000. My first experiences
with the ecumenical movement in Brazil highlight the possibilities and the dangers of this approach.
One month before the historic 1992 Global Forum that took place in Rio de Janeiro alongside the Earth
Summit, I was invited to help organize an interreligious vigil for that event. I was skeptical, because
praying for the welfare of the earth is, I think, less important than our actions. However, in the first
meeting at the Institute for Religious Studies (ISER), the organizer, Ruben Fernandez, impressed me
because he gave equal respect to the representatives of every tradition, from the Catholic priest to the
old woman saint of the Afro-Brazilian Umbanda tradition, from the Lutheran minister to the Hare Krishna
devotee. More than 20 different religions, spiritual paths and esoteric groups participated, each allotted
their own structure in the park, to practice according to their beliefs. Nearly 10,000 people stayed until
dawn, when everyone gathered in the amphitheater. There the Dalai Lama and Dom Helder Camara, the former
head of the Brazilian Council of Catholic Bishops, shared the stage with leaders of other faiths. At the
end the religious leaders were embracing one another and all were singing and dancing together to the
spiritual music of different traditions. It was an unforgettable vision of the future, of people from
every race and land living together in peace and harmony with the planet. Another ecumenical group tried
twice to stage inter-religious programs at the same Global Forum. The result of these shows by the Open
Heart Foundation was disastrous. The organizers invited representatives from different religions and
spiritual groups to the stage, but when we arrived, they did not even want to know our names or what
groups we represented. They explained that they wanted us all to sit on the stage as a colorful
background while they gave a lecture. At the end we would all hold hands and read aloud their prayer for
world peace. They would have done better to hire a group of professional actors dressed in different
costumes! This symbolizes some very serious problems with the current paradigm of the major world
religions.

Dogma Vs. World Peace
In The Liberation of Intellect: Neo-Humanism, Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar defines dogma as any intellectual
barrier beyond which one may not question. Examples of some religious dogmas are the ideas that we
are the chosen people of God and others are not, that ours is the only way, that we are going to heaven
and everyone else is going to hell, that only our holy book is the word of God. I remember an incident
from my childhood that typifies religious dogma. When I was 11 years old, I attended a catechism class
in a conservative church in the southern USA. During the class I raised my hand to ask a question. The
pastor said, “Don’t ask questions! Have faith! Blind faith!” Then and now I believe that faith and
surrender have value on the spiritual path, but I also believe that we have the right to ask questions.
A fundamental spiritual principle, called Svadhyaya in Sanskrit, states that we should utilize our
intellect in our search for truth. Fanaticism, even religious violence, occurs when adherents of a
religion blindly follow their dogmatic leaders without thinking for themselves.

In the past, male religious leaders invented dogmas to suppress women; sadly some of these dogmas still
survive. Orthodox Hindus believe that only men can achieve liberation; women must be reborn as men before
they can hope for this. Others believe that women cannot be priests. Some say that women are the original
cause of sin. These dogmas must be discarded, for regardless of the physical and psychological differences
between men and women, spiritually they are equals.

Intolerance and Conflict
Fundamentalism and fanaticism are darkening the psychic climate in some parts of the world. In the Middle
East, hatred and fear between Jews and Muslims is growing. Both groups are of the same racial Semitic
stock, yet the growing violence is driving a wedge ever deeper between them. Religious riots and armed
conflicts between Hindus and Muslims in India are increasing. Fear of religious violence is a constant
part of life amongst Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka, amongst Christians and Muslims in Sudan,
East Timor and the southern Philippines, between Christians and Protestants in Northern Ireland and
between Sunni and Shiite Muslims of Iran and Iraq. Structural violence is equally terrifying. In
Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh and other Muslim countries, the oppression of women and the violence
that the courts mete out to criminals are barbaric and repulsive.

Why is religious fundamentalism growing?
Too many people feel they have no future. Unemployment, heavy debt, insecurity, urbanization and
Westernization are marginalizing millions. They clearly do not feel part of the capitalist dream
presented by Hollywood with beautiful, rich, happy American actors. Alienated, confused, with little hope
for the ever-elusive material wealth and romantic fulfillment, people fall into personal despair or turn
to religion as a way out. The majority of religious conflicts are rooted in economic injustice. Countless
petty tyrants have followed Hitler’s formula for political success: preach to the poor and unemployed that
the cause of their suffering is exploitation by followers of another religion. Sometimes these religious
leaders whip up a frenzy of communal hatred that results in orgies of ethnic bloodshed. If we cannot
eradicate the scourge of poverty, then it is reasonable to predict increasing religious violence as a
consequence.

A Spiritual Vision
Only universalism can bring world peace. We are all brothers and sisters in one human family. We must treat
each other with mutual respect and love regardless of race, caste or nation. A universal outlook is needed
to overcome the harmful effects of racism, nationalism, sexism, etc. A world government that guarantees the
fundamental necessities of life to everyone, that prevents any form of exploitation and that allows freedom
of travel, should be our goal. The earth is our common heritage, so we must share it equitably. A universal
and comprehensive outlook is also needed in the spiritual dimension. Dharma is an ancient Sanskrit term
which means following righteousness and doing spiritual practices such as daily meditation. Our goal should
be to channel our natural human instincts in a positive direction for our physical, mental and spiritual
development. The path of Dharma is from imperfection to perfection, to become saint-like, to become God-like.

Wisdom, and not mere intellect, is a very rare, timeless quality that the world desperately needs. A wise
person, understanding the deepest truths of life, becomes a fountain of divine love and inspiration. There
are saints who, though illiterate, are respected by all for their wise counsel. Wisdom comes through
knowledge of the self, through deep reflection and meditation.

The Trappist monk Thomas Merton urged spiritualists to take moral stands and point the way towards a new
future that is not based on materialism and exploitation. A new human ethics based on universal principles
of morality should be the base of economic activity and global peace. For example, the ancient yogic
principle, aparigraha is an ecological ideal of simple living, not accumulating unnecessary things. On
the personal level it encourages the adoption of a humble lifestyle and donating extra wealth to charity.
On the social level it is the basis of creating a ceiling on the excessive personal wealth that is robbing
the planet of the resources that God gave to humanity. The Liberation theology of the Catholic Church,
led and inspired by Brazilians Leonardo Boff, Frei Betto and others, and the courageous stands taken by
some Catholic priests against the torture and killings of military dictatorships throughout Latin America
are examples of spiritual leaders fighting for social justice. Self-realization and service to the universe
are universal goals that all people can be encouraged to adopt. Service work is both purifying and humbling.
Bo Lozoff’s wonderful Prison-Ashram Project of the Human Kindness Foundation in the US is a sterling example
of teaching ancient yoga techniques and sharing correspondence of love with more than 50,000 prisoners
around the world (http://www.humankindness.org). The Chicago School of Theology was so impressed that they
awarded Mr. Lozoff an honorary doctorate degree in divinity. From this example, for the last three years
I’ve been teaching weekly meditation classes in the local prisons in Brazil. The Paradox of a Spiritual Future
I find myself in a paradoxical role. Spirituality is deeply important to me, but I do not teach religion.
I love peace, but am dedicated to fighting against the enemies of peace. It is only by taking the best from
the East and the West, and by honoring the spiritual treasure at the heart of every religious tradition that
we can make a better future. At the same time we must reject the dogmas and fight against injustice and
exploitation wherever they are. It is our personal meditation and other spiritual practices which will give
us the inner strength and inspiration to continue on our journey of selfdevelopment, creating a brilliant
future for ourselves and a better world for our children.

Dada Maheshvarananda is the author of the books Neo-Humanist Ecology and After Capitalism. He can be
reached at: Proutista Universal Rua Buarque de Macedo 35 Floresta, Belo Horizonte MG CEP: 31015-350,
Brazil. Tel/Fax: (31) 444-1574,

This article was re-printed from New Renaissance, Vol. 9, Number 3.
www.ru.org

Volume 9, No. 2, Summer 2002 [Accurate date cannot be determined]

In 2000, America’s 32 million teens spent 150 billion dollars on goods that, for the most part, are
generationally engineered. Brian Graden, a television programming executive explains: “I think one of the
great things about this information age is, with so many channels, you can say my business is 12 to 15, or
my business is 21 to 24. As a result, you have the most marketed-to group of teens and young adults ever in
the history of the world.”

A typical American teenager will process over hundreds of discrete advertisements in a single day, and
millions by the time he or she is 18. Mamie Rheingold writes in “Whole Earth magazine” that MTV produces
hip-hop concerts where popular rap artist perform for free because MTV will showcase videos that promote the
artist’s CDs. Meanwhile, large advertisements for Sprite, an MTV sponsor, are displayed in the background of
the telecast concert… It is a perpetuating cycle, and we as teenagers are the instigators. We are involved
in a symbiotic relationship with consumerism and media that shapes our opinions and influences our buying
decisions–whether or not we are aware of that influence.

The culture of cool is actually not a real culture. It’s a pseudo-culture. It’s a culture created in corporate
advertising offices for the sole purpose of increased consumerism. The corporations cool hunters seek
teenagers out, hip teenage culture trends that may have arisen spontaneously on the streets, for the sole
purpose of turning these folk expressions into profit. Thanks to this trend, Sprite and hip-hop are today
almost synonymous.

Hip-hop, which began as a folk culture amongst blacks, is now in cahoots with the most popular and profitable
youth drink in the world. Thanks to the merchants of cool. Today five mega-companies are responsible for
selling most all of youth culture. These companies are the real merchants of cool taste: Rupert Murdoch’s
Newscorp, Disney, Viacom, Universal Vivendi, and AOL/Time Warner.

Think of it this way: This is, if you will, the new “colonialism.” The minds and the hearts of today’s
teenagers are the Asia and the Africa of the past colonial wars. These few media conglomerates–who own
most of the film studios, TV networks and TV stations, and most of the cable channels–have colonized both
the subjective and objective realty of today’s teens.

The merchants of cool combat this criticism by arguing that they are only reflecting the real world.
The media is just a mirror. A mirror of cool. But is that really so? Douglas Rushkoff cites the example
of spring break. “For the past fifteen years, MTV has packaged spring break into a staged television
performance, and then repackaged it through the year on show after show…Kids are invited to participate
in sexual contest on stage or are followed by MTV cameras through their week of debauchery. Sure, some
kids have always acted wild, but never have these antics been so celebrated on TV. Who is mirroring whom?”

Currently there are two popular, media-created characters that are sold to teens: the “mook” and the
“midriff”. Neither the mook nor the midriff really exist. They are both creations designed to capitalize
on teens. Who are they? The mook is the perpetually adolescent male. He is loud, obnoxious, and indulges
in less- than-honorable male feats. He is on MTV, the Tom Green Show, South Park, and on The Man Show. He
is Howard Stern himself.

Britney Spears is the archetypal midriff. She is incarnated in millions of 13 year old girls flaunting
their sexuality without really understanding it. The midriff message: your body is your best asset;
your body is cool, it sells.

The merchants of cool have created a very profitable feedback loop: the media watches kids and then
sells an extreme image of themselves back to them. Millions of teenagers then aspire to emulate that
distorted image of themselves.

In his documentary, Douglas Ruskoff asks: is there a way to escape this feedback loop?

The Merchants of Cool is a film about the colonization of the interior landscape, of our psyche, of our
culture, and our art. It’s a film about the pollution of our internal environment. In the name of freedom
of expression and profit, this colonization and pollution is destroying the finer fabric of the ecology
of the human mind and soul. Is there a way to stop it? Yes, I think there is. But not without radical
changes in our business and political culture. A new breed of activists –culture jammers — have started
doing just that. They are taking legal action to open up the airwaves. According to Adbusters magazine
(www.adbusters.org), they want the right to practice social marketing; to use the public airwaves — not
only to sell products and corporate images — but to sell ideas, stir public debate and empower people to
set their own agendas.

“Arguing for fundamental social change on commercial TV may be our last great hope of social engineering
ourselves out of the economic, ecological and psychological mess we’re in,” claim the Adbusters
activists.

Personal lifestyle and value changes are also necessary. But without economic and political change, we
cannot expect to check the negative influences of the mass media. Here are two suggestions for long term
change:

1. The control of the mass media must be turned away from corporate shareholders and over to the people;
to the hands of those who produce art, music and journalism, and to those who want to receive
information and cultural experiences. Commerce must not be allowed to colonize the cultural landscape.
Culture is not just a sales-product. Culture is a process, a way of being, a state of mind, and a set of
collective expressions. In order to have freedom of expression, our culture must be free from the
colonization of commerce.

2. To ban advertising altogether is not necessary. Instead we can limit advertising to its fundamental
function: to educate and inform us about new products and ideas–nothing else. In addition, advertisers
must be required to live up to high ethical standards. What we will loose in creative advertising through
these measures, we will gain in creative art and culture. After all, the function of commerce is no to
exploit and enslave people? The function of our economy is to enable people to live enriching and free
lives. The above suggestions are sweeping in scope and, of course, not very favorable to the corporate
media. Nor to capitalism as we know it.

Indeed, if implemented, the traffickers of teenage trends would no longer be able to cash in on cool.
Let’s start this transformation by changing public opinion. Let’s encourage and join kids and teenagers
in becoming adbusters and culture jammers. Let’s turn off commercial TV and radio and tune in to PBS,
NPR and Pacifica Radio. Or, even better, we can start our own media. Many independent media activists
are doing just that–launching their own media outlets and thus rewriting the rules of journalism. And,
instead of watching TV, we can read, write, paint, meditate, sing, run and play. Over time, we will make
the merchants of cool– you guessed it!–totally uncool.

Roar Bjonnes is a freelance writer, the editor of Prout Journal, a contributing editor of New Renaissance
(www.ru.org), and has published numerous articles in magazines and newspapers in Europe and the United States.

Volume 9, No. 2, Summer 2002 [8/23/2002]

I feel the success of this project stem, in part, from the comprehensive preparatory work done by the
facilitators, Allan Rosen and Matt Oppenheim. For months before the PROUT UTC workshop, they conducted
research and made phone calls to set up meetings with local leaders and groups. I would encourage anyone
who takes part in such a workshop to get involved by helping to conduct follow-ups with the contacts
already established, and, if possible, continue to make new ones. It would be great for the locals to
know that we are indeed concerned about their communityís welfare and are willing to help find solutions
to some of the problems in their area.

Next year, during the Global PROUT Conference, we can again get an outlet for the activist spirit in us
all by meeting with the same local people and activists. Like us, they are attempting to solve their
problems in a coordinated, maybe even Proutistic, manner. My personal experiences during the PAR
workshop were very inspiring. I participated in the Environmental Research Group. At fist, we were given
a very informative presentation by a local Natural Resource Management team, which included a question
and answer session. We explored the history of settlements in the Ozarks and its impact on topography,
flora, and fauna. We then visited the local swimming pool. There we interviewed two high school students
about their awareness of environmental issues. One of the boys said that the creek near his backyard was
used by residents as a dump for broken toys, appliances, car parts, and even used motor oil. After our
conversation, we went to explore this area and gathered photographic evidence of the debris scattered along
the creek.

Lastly we conducted some interviews at the University. In summary, I found that environmental problems
were not a high priority amongst the people in this area. Instead, most people were afraid of loosing
the small town atmosphere they have been accustomed to. Everybody knows each other by name and wave to
friends and neighbors when passing by in cars or on bicycles. The recent additions of a shopping-mall,
a new highway, several parking lots, and the associated traffic were changes not accepted open-heartedly.
Nonetheless, a warm smile and a friendly “hello” from a passersby helps ease the growing pains experienced
by this community so rich in its heritage.

Volume 9, No. 2, Summer 2002 [Exact date not known ]

“To liberate society from this unbearable situation, [when bureaucracy is turned into oligarchy],
consciousness will have to be aroused among the people; their eyes will have to be opened by knowledge.
Let them uderstand the what’s the why’s and the where’s. Thus study is essential, very essential.”
 - Liberation of the Intellect, P.R. Sarkar

This summer, at the Ananda Kanan Retreat Center near Willow Springs, MO, more than two dozen Prout
activists took part in a Participatory Action Research (PAR) workshop. PAR is an activist strategy
inspired by the Brazilian revolutionary philosopher and teacher, Paulo Freire (1921 – 1997). In this
process, workshop participants form teams to learn about local issues, while reflecting upon their
values, relationships and ideals in developing an activism of liberation.

The participants–from Germany, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and the US–were comprised of teenagers
as well as senior members of Proutist Universal. They came from all walks of life: professors, students,
writers, business owners, volunteers and social activists.

The PAR methodology enabled the Proutists to learn about each other and the surrounding community
in a hands-on setting. This action/research modality contrasts with other Prout workshops that focus
almost exclusively on theoretical study. PAR was chosen to provide an opportunity for Prout activists
to work together on a collective enterprise. The PAR workshop also allowed the Prout activists, who
were simultaneously attending the Ananda Marga Yoga Society’s summer retreat, to begin to learn about
the community and culture in and around Willow Springs, West Plains, and the South Central Missouri
Ozarks.

By learning about the community and the local issues, and especially making connections with local
activists and service providers, it is now expected that Proutists will maintain and expand these
relationships, as well as become more committed to social service in the Missouri Ozarks, as part of
their annual retreat experience. An additional goal was to introduce the participants to an effective
methodology for doing action research when returning to their local community. Hopefully this summer’s
workshop will be the first of many such local and regional PAR workshops sponsored by the Prout
Research Institute in North and Central America.

Before reporting on the details of this workshop, a brief overview of the PAR model is warranted. In
its simplest terms, the PAR model can be described in five steps: 1) participants form action teams, 2)
the teams investigate community issues and the experiences of local residents, 3) an action strategy
is developed for addressing the important community issues, 4) the action is implemented, and 5) the
team reflects upon what has been learned about the issue, the community, and the team dynamics.
In this particular workshop the traditional model was modified because the participants are not
permanent residents of the local community. Hence, at this workshop, the participants focused on
steps 1, 2 and 5.

During the introductory session Oppenheim presented an overview of PAR theory. He introduced the work
of Paulo Freire with quotes from “Pedagogy of the Oppressed.” Freire created a process of
consciousness-raising and activism, helping oppressed factory workers to reflect upon the dominant
themes of their daily lives, and then to take action to create a better future.

Freire was concerned that the oppressed could easily act through anger and recreate the oppression
of their oppressors. He emphasized activism based on love, and the ability to transcend the mental
colonization of the oppressor. PAR has evolved to become a way for communities to develop authentic
knowledge based on real world experiences and to develop goals for improving communities based on an
intimate relationship and partnerships amongst community members. PAR places an importance on
creating knowledge through experience and relationship rather than through so-called “experts.” It
is strikingly similar to Neo-humanist principles and the process that P.R. Sarkar advises for
establishing self-sufficient economic regions.

After this, the group went through team-building exercises to build a sense of unity and common
purpose. Several exercises developed an appreciation of individual strengths and talents as well
as ways of working in groups that would help the participants support each other and work more
effectively as a diverse team. It was emphasized that each person may value a different way or
style of gaining knowledge about the community, and that all these styles are essential for an
integrated understanding of a community. One person may prefer to interview someone for most of
the time instead of gathering data, while another may learn more from drawing a polluted creek bed.
Some prefer to understand a small neighborhood before looking at the overall region, whereas others
need a regional overview before focusing on local businesses.

In the second session, Rosen presented an overview of the Ozarks bio-region. The settlement patterns
and cultural legacy of the Native Americans and original European-American settlers were noted, as
was the economic development history of subsistence agriculture, natural resource (minerals, timber)
exploitation, and environmental degradation.

The current socio-economic condition was reviewed, highlighting the extreme rural isolation of the
area, its cultural, religious, and ethnic homogeneity, and the South Central Missouri Ozarks’
continuing isolation from the Ozarks’ regional economic growth centers of the Springfield/Branson
and Fayetteville, AR areas.

Important recent trends that were highlighted included the growth of West Plains as the regional
economic trade center, the emerging satellite campus of Southwest Missouri State in West Plains,
and the increasing settlement of middle-class, suburban retirees into the Ozarks, and how that is
creating tension in the region. A highlight of this session included artist Michael McClure’s
personal story of living at Ananda Kanan for the past twenty years, and his impressions of the
people and the local culture and mores. McClure has gained rich personal experiences by painting
the natural landscape and murals in the local communities, and playing basketball with local
residents. His personal story reinforced many of the themes outlined by Rosen. Notably the strong
family values and social networks, the fundamentalist Protestant Christian worldview, the slowness
to accept change, and the intensity of the Missouri “Show- Me” attitude. History of how the
introduction of the cash economy during the Great Depression public work’s programs began to weaken
the settler’s cultural legacy was particularly moving and revealing.

The third session was devoted to fieldwork preparation. The participants were divided into four
teams and trained in how to conduct their fieldwork. Each team was given a fieldwork kit with
Polaroid camera, drawing pens and paper, maps, information about their topic, and interview forms
with initial questions. Each team had three basic tasks: to develop interview questions and then
hold interviews about their topics, to visit a site that would give them valuable experiences
about their topic (for example the environment group visited a local creek where townspeople were
dumping rubbish), and to visit a local expert. Teams spent times brainstorming ways to introduce
themselves and to ask questions. Then each team assigned roles and developed a timeline to carry
out their activities the following day.

Monday morning and afternoon, July 1, the four teams conducted their field work. Twelve participants
focused on Native American issues and met with representatives of two Native tribes at their
respective community centers in West Plains. Eight participants met with the Executive Director of
the regional community action agency, Ozark Action, Inc. This group focused on family and poverty
issues. The third group, seven in all, went to the regional office of the Missouri Department of
Conservation in West Plains and met with the office manager and a field conservationist. The fourth
and smallest group, four persons, met with the Community Development specialist of the local
University of Missouri County Extension service, as well as the Executive Director of the Mountain
View, MO Chamber of Commerce. Each group spent at least two hours meeting with their respective
“expert” contact, leaving an hour or two for each team to conduct some “person on the street”
interviews.

At the final session Monday afternoon, each group presented their findings and answered questions
from other participants. Special guests at this session included McClure, Dada IK, the rector at
Ananda Kanan, and long-time Ananda Kanan resident Dharma Putra.

After this, each team came up with four or five key themes that arose from their fieldwork. Each
team then came up with four or five over-arching themes that characterized their experience of the
Ozarks, as well as key problem areas for us to focus on in the future. Some common themes that
emerged from each team’s community study included the love of family, place and home, the clash
between old and new, the stress on local government resources, the persistent relationship between
poverty and environmental damage, the lack of widespread economic opportunity, and the ambivalent
attitudes toward education. One goal was to relate fieldwork experiences to principles of Prout,
and to begin to brainstorm a Proutist vision for the future of the Ozarks. Rather than prescribing
solutions, these principles were meant as tools to look at problems and their causes and to better
understand the dynamics of the Ozarks. For example, the group briefly discussed Sarkar’s principle
of balanced economic planning, comparing the suggested model for economic prama (balance) with
employment statistics from the local region. It was obvious that retail trade and the service
economy were rapidly outpacing the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, which would clearly lead
to a dependency on resources from outside the region – evidenced by the rapid takeover of locally
owned businesses by a Wal-Mart. A lecture on the nature of Prout movements by Dada Vimalananda also
helped participants begin to think about how local farmers, laborers and youths, students and
intellectuals could unite in a common regional movement. However, lack of time did not allow
participants to connect Prout theory to their experiences of the community in any great depth.

This last session concluded with a brief exercise where participants were asked to reflect on the
workshop and provide feedback on the process. Many positive comments were voiced, including the
following constructive criticisms: 1) It was difficult to condense so much material into a total
of 15 contact hours (24 hours over a three day period would have been better), 2) most participants
would have preferred more time to work with their team and their own trained facilitator; and 3)
more time should have been devoted to fieldwork preparations, particularly the interview protocols,
notetaking, and reporting back to the group. Still, the participants were inspired by the PAR
workshop and would like to stay connected to the groups they met with.

Several members mentioned that their assumptions about the local community changed after the
exercise. One participant, for example, assumed that local residents would not be supportive of
Native American causes, while several residents mentioned that they had strong support for their
rights. Many also mentioned that they learned much more about their fellow Prout activists through
the fieldwork exercise, as well as learning, for the first time, how to be a Proutist in a
supportive, non-invasive way. Some mentioned that local residents naturally symphatized with
Prout principles, because of the values they held for their community, for the environment, and
for the Ozarks region.

When asked how they might increase their involvement in the community while attending retreats at
Ananda Kanan, participants suggested working with public education programs, going to community
fairs, and co-sponsoring town meetings, as well as seeking volunteer opportunities at the various
agencies they learned about.

Overall, the workshop was considered a great success and a good omen for future Prout training
endeavors, including next summer’s Global Prout Convention to be held at Ananda Kanan. Oppenheim
and Rosen are already collaborating with residents of the Ananda Marga Master Unit, Ananda
Aeshvarya, in Urbana-Champaign, IL, about holding PAR workshop there this fall.

Volume 9, No. 2, Summer 2002 [Exact date not known ]

False. Or, actually, a tiny bit true–but for the most part, massively false. What’s intriguing is that we
speak as though it were entirely true: “I have invested in AT&T,” we say, imagining AT&T as a steward of
our money, with a fiduciary responsibility to take care of it. In fact, “investing” dollars don’t go to AT&T
but to other speculators. Equity “investments” reach a public corporation only when new common stock is
sold–which for major corporations is a rare event. Among the Dow Jones Industrials, only a handful have
sold any new common stock in thirty years. many have sold none in fifty years.

The stock market works like a used car market, as accounting professor Ralph Estes observes in Tyranny of the
Bottom Line. When you buy a 1993 Ford Escort, the money doesn’t go to Ford, it goes to the previous owner.
Ford gets the buyer’s money only when it sells a new car. Similarly, companies get stockholders money only
when they sell new common stock, which mature companies rarely do. According to figures from the federal
reserves and the Securities and exchange Commission, about 99 percent of the stock out there is “used stock”.
That is, ninety-nine out of one hundred “invested” dollars are trading in the purely speculative market, and
never reach corporations.

So, what do stockholders contribute, to justify the extraordinary allegiance they receive? Very little. And
that’s my point. Equity capital is provided by stockholders when a company goes public, and in occasional
secondary offerings later. But in the life of most major companies today, issuance of common stock represents
a distant, long-ago source of funds, and a minor one at that. What’s odd is that it entitles stockholders to
extract most of the corporation’s wealth–forever. Equity investors essentially install a pipeline, and
dictate that the corporation’s sole purpose is to funnel wealth into it. The pipeline is never to be tampered
with and no one else is to be granted significant access (except executives, whose function is to keep it
flowing). The truth is, the commotion on Wall Street is not about funding corporations. It’s about extracting
from them. The productive risk in building businesses is borne by entrepreneurs and their initial venture
investors, who do contribute real investing dollars to create real wealth. Those who buy stock at sixth or
seventh hand, or one thousandth hand, also take a risk–but it is a risk speculators take among themselves,
trying to outwit one another like gamblers. It has little to do with corporations, except this: Public
companies are required to provide new chips for the gaming table, into infinity.

Marjorie Kelly is Editor of Business Ethics: Corporate Social Responsibility Report,
PO Box 8439, Minneapolis, MN 55408, Phone 612/879-0695 Fax 612/879-0699.
This article is adapted and excerpted from The Divine Right of Capital.
Published Nov. 2001, by Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Signed limited first edition copies of The Divine Right of Capital is available at
www.DivineRightofCapital.com

What Is a Cooperative?
Cooperatives are formed when a group of like-minded individuals join together to accomplish something that
each acting alone would never be able to achieve.

Successful coops are always born out of need. They cannot be imposed on a community — they have to grow
from the energy and commitment of the local people themselves.

Coops are different to traditional private and public sector enterprises. They represent a third way that
integrates economic and social objectives. Unlike the private sector, which tends to concentrate wealth
and power in the hands of a few, coops spread wealth and power to each member equally. Unlike government,
which tends to be remote and unresponsive to the communities it is supposed to serve, coops are driven by
their members and reflect their needs.

Cooperatives have a tremendous competitive advantage over both private enterprises and public enterprises:
coop members have a personal interest in their coop’s success. The members own the coop, so they are more
likely to buy the coop’s goods or use its services. Shares in cooperatives are not publically traded because
the shares are owned by the members. The members themselves decide how to spend the coop’s profits.

Maple Street Cooperative
Maple Street Cooperative opened its doors on January 14th 1980, nearly a year after a small group of people
met to discuss how to satisfy their need for whole-foods. The coop started by selling both wholefoods and
produce grown by local farmers. Today Maleny Street Coop operates an organic health food retail outlet in the
main street of Maleny, is open 7 days a week, and has 450 active members. Although it functions as a
consumers’ cooperative, it still sells to the public. The coop’s policy is organic first, then local, then
Australian. It does not stock any products that contain genetically modified material, nor does it stock
products from companies that are regarded as exploiting people or the environment. It operates on the
principle of consensus decision making.

For the last 6 years, the coop has made a profit. However, the coop is structured as a non-profit enterprise,
meaning that the profits go back into the coop, to expand its services and develop its infrastructure, or into
community activities.

At first labour in the coop was voluntary, but as the coop prospered, the number of paid workers slowly
increased. Today the coop employs 11 part time staff and one full time manager. In the near future it
will have paid off all its loans and own the coop premises. The coop publishes a 16 page bimonthly
newsletter that outlines current activities and brings information to members on subjects that are of
special interest, such as the irradiation of food, genetic engineering, and microwave emissions. It
produces 1,400 copies. The coop is registered as a trading coop. Active members are required to pay an
annual membership fee of $11 and to spend at least $20 per year in the coop to retain their active
membership status. Active members get a 5% discount off all purchases. During its 22 years of operation,
it has overcome several major hurdles. On occasions in the past, it had no business plan, operated at a
loss, made poor investment decisions, lacked experienced financial management, and had to spend a lot of
time resolving differences of opinion among the members.

Learning from experience, the coop gradually evolved a formulae for success. It now has a sound strategic
and financial plan, regularly makes a profit, cultivates the support of both the members and the community
at large, and ensures that the staff and management are honest, dedicated and competent.

Maleny Credit Union
The Maleny Credit Union was started in 1984 by several local people with the idea of setting up an ethical
financial institution to foster regional financial autonomy. Initially the Credit Union was staffed by
volunteers, worked from rented rooms, and entered deposits manually into a journal. On the first day of
operations, local people deposited more than $50,000.

Today the Credit Union has grown to have more than 6000 members, 14 paid staff, and $15 million in assets,
and has purchased its own premises. People from all over Australia invest their money with the Credit Union,
and about half the Credit Union’s deposits come from outside Maleny. It is one of only a handful of
financial institutions in the country that operate according to cooperative principles. The Credit Union
offers savings, cheque, loans, and term deposit accounts, as well as credit card facilities, and can arrange
superannuation and various types of insurance for members. In addition, the Credit Union contributes
substantially to the local community and leads its development.

Over the years the Credit Union has given out many small loans to local people who would not be eligible for
loans from the major banks. This has helped many people buy land, build their own home, and start their own
business. In dollar terms, 80% of the Credit Union’s loans are housing loans.
The Credit Union’s ethical activities include:
* allocating 10% of its profits to its Community Grants Scheme,
* establishing a tax-deductible Charitable Fund,
* paying an eco-tax to Barung Landcare based on every ream of paper used,
* offering low fees to members and special arrangements to cooperatives and community groups,
* lending only to local people and projects to keep money circulating within the region,
* purchasing locally wherever possible,
* providing loans for environmentally and socially beneficial projects,
* creating a democratic workplace, and
* conducting an annual social, environmental and financial audit of the coops operations and accounting in
the annual report.

During the course of the last year, grants from the Credit Union’s Community Grants Scheme went to the
Maleny Swimming Club, River School, Altair Youth Crisis Centre, Maleny High School, Sunshine Coast
Environment Council, Maleny Community Centre, Booroobin School, and the Rural Fire Brigade.

By the end of 2001, the Credit Union had provided finance for over 180 new jobs in 78 new businesses. Since
its was established, it has reinvested over $50 million back into the local community. Like the Maple
Street Coop, in its early years the Credit Union went through periods of difficulty. However, improved
planning and financial management overcame these problems. Today the Credit Union is extremely successful,
principally because it developed the right balance of financial expertise and cooperative spirit.

The Up Front Club
Late in 1993, a diverse group of Maleny residents got together to form a cooperative club. The aim was to
establish a licensed venue to eat, drink, relax and socialize. Today it is a place where the food is
wholesome and inexpensive, the coffee is great, and local musicians and entertainers can gain exposure.

When the Club first started, instead of relying on voluntary labour it took on the financial challenge of
paying wages to all its workers. But because it was under-capitalized, it was forced to take out a loan
to pay for the lease. Although it had over 1,000 members, each year it sustained a loss. At the beginning
of 2000, three directors took over the voluntary management of the Club, enabling it to remain in existence.
Then, on the 15th January 2000, the Club turned a corner. Over 100 members attended a special general
meeting, talked of what the Club meant to them, and committed to regular voluntary work so that it could
stay open. Since then, members and visitors alike have commented on the changed atmosphere in the Club.
The financial position has improved markedly, and for the first time the Club has posted an operating profit.

Thanks to the support of the members, the Club continues to provide services to its members, their families
and guests. It is open six days a week, providing healthy meals at reasonable prices. Members get a 10%
discount. The Club also publishes a quarterly newsletter. A share in the coop costs $10 and shareholders
pay an annual membership fee of $30 per person or $45 per family. Members are encouraged to volunteer their
time and support Club activities. Over the years the Club has showcased a wide range of local talent,
hosting everything from classical evenings to CD nights for teenagers. For many, it is the cultural centre
of the Maleny community. Local Economic and Enterprise Development Cooperative LEED is one of the most
recent coops established in Maleny. It is registered as a workers’ cooperative, and is dedicated to
creating new businesses and jobs on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. It employs 6 people.

LEED recognizes that most investment, jobs and economic development in the Sunshine Coast Region occur on
the coastal strip. It believes that it is vital for the hinterland to develop its own jobs by creating
viable small-scale businesses. The seeds of LEED were sown in early 1997 after a local economic development
forum. A group of local people came together to help people on the hinterland start their own businesses.
The group organized forums on topics such as product development, marketing, financial management, and
other business skills. In July 1999, LEED and Maleny Credit Union entered into a partnership to develop a
Peer Support Lending Scheme. Under the scheme, the Credit Union provides small unsecured loans for start-up
businesses and LEED members mentor the new business people for the first 12 months of their operation.
The Scheme is supported by a grant from the Department of Family and Community Services. 14 new small-scale
businesses participated in the Scheme, with 12 continuing to operate successfully after a year. As a result
of this initial success, 13 new loans were given out in the second year of operation. So far the Scheme has
provided a total of 27 loans to new small businesses; 23 businesses are continuing to operate successfully.

Local Energy Transfer System
Maleny has one of Australia’s most successful LETS schemes. LETS began in Canada in 1982, and was
launched  in Maleny in October 1987. There are now over 200 LETS schemes in Australia. LETS functions
as a cashless  trading coop. LETS members trade their skills and provide services to each other without
the use of money. In Maleny members trade their products and services in the local currency, the Bunya,
named after the  local native pine nut, allowing people with little or no cash to participate in the
local economy.

Environmental Cooperatives
Maleny has 4 environmental coops: Maleny Wastebusters, Barung Landcare, Booroobin Bush Magic, and
Green Hills Fund. Maleny Wastebusters is a community based recycling coop which encourages people to
reduce, reuse and recycle; to sort their rubbish; and to avoid buying poor quality and over packaged items.
It employs 20 local people, and its slogan is: “Waste not, want not”. Barung Landcare is one of several
hundred community based landcare groups throughout Australia. It is dedicated to empowering landholders
in the local area to take ownership of environmental problems and their solutions. It provides a range of
environmental services, publishes a bimonthly newsletter, and participates in the LETS scheme by accepting
Banyas as part payment for the trees it sells. It hosts the annual From Chainsaw to Fine Furniture Wood Expo
which promotes the sustainable harvesting of native timber. It also runs a successful nursery which
propagates local native plant species which have not been genetically modified.

Booroobin Bush Magic runs a rainforest nursery, while the Green Hills Fund works to reafforest the Maleny
hinterland.

Community Settlement Cooperatives
The settlement coops around Maleny include: Crystal Waters Permaculture Village, Manduka Community
Settlement Coop, Prout Community Settlement Coop, and Cedarton Foresters. Crystal Waters is situated on
640 acres of land, and is the first Permaculture village in Australia. It incorporates 83 private
residential lots, a village commercial centre, visitors accomodation area, and over 500 acreas of common
land.

Manduka is situated on over 150 acres of land 6 kilometres outside Maleny. It is home to 18 adults and 6
children. The residents believe in living simply, sharing resources, reaching agreement through consensus,
and managing their land in an ecologically sustainable way. Prout Community is situated on over 50 acres
of land, and is home to 3 families and a primary school run by the Ananda Marga spiritual movement. The
Ananda Marga River School has over 100 students, ranging from kindergarten to grade seven. It employs 7
full time and 8 part time teachers, and 2 administrators. The curriculum emphasizes experential and whole
brain learning, creativity, ecology, arts and music, all with a child centred approach.

Cedarton Foresters is situated on 200 acres of land 19 kilometres from Maleny. It contains 22 private
residential lots and is home to 40 people. The community’s main aim is the rehabilitation of the land.
Although Booroobin Bush Magic is part of Cedarton Foresters, it is structured as an independently
registered enviromental cooperative.

Other Cooperatives in Maleny
Other cooperatives in Maleny include: Maleny Film Society (MFS); Family and Community Empowerment (FACE);
Maleny Neighbourhood Centre; and Hinterland Community Radio, a cooperative radio station.
Building Successful Cooperatives
The experience of the Maleny cooperatives shows that building successful cooperative enterprises involves
several steps.
1. Fulfil a need. People have to come together in order to fulfil a need in the community. No matter how
good the idea, if there is not a community need, the enterprise will not succeed.
2. Establish a founding group. A few committed people have to take on the responsibility of developing
the initial idea through to inception. However, one person will have to provide the leadership.
3. Commit to a vision. Commit to the ideals and values implicit in cooperative enterprises, and try to
ensure that both the members and the management are honest, dedicated and competent.
4. Conduct a feasibility study. To evaluate whether or not the perceived need is feasible, conduct a
feasibility study.
5. Set out clear aims and objectives. Each enterprise must have clear aims and objectives. This will help
direct everything from the founding group’s initial focus to promotional strategies and budgetary
processes in the years to come.
6. Develop a sound business plan. The enterprise will require capital, have to manage its finances
efficiently, and at some point have to make decisions about loan repayments and profit allocation.
7. Ensure the support and involvement of the members. The members own the enterprise; at every step, their
support and involvement is essential.
8. Establish a location. Establish a physical location for the operation of the enterprise, preferably in
the centre of the community.
9. Get skilled management. From within the community, bring in to the enterprise people who have the
necessary management, business, financial, legal and accounting skills.
10. Continue education and training. Ideally, the members will have the skills, particularly the
communication and interpersonal skills, necessary to run the enterprise successfully. If not, they will
either have to develop such skills themselves or bring in new members who have them. The golden rules for
beginning a community economic strategy are clear:
* start small, with the skills and resources available within the community;
* make use of role models, those with experience in community development, wherever possible; and
* make sure the enterprise involves as many people as possible.

Community Benefits Cooperative enterprises benefit a community in many ways.Socially, they bring people
together, encourage them to use their diverse skills and talents, and often provide them with the
opportunity to develop new capabilities. They create a sense of belonging, build close relationships
among different types of people, and empower them to make decisions to develop their community. All this
fosters community spirit. Working together, a community is able to accomplish much more than if the
various individuals go their separate ways.

Economically, cooperatives produce various types of goods locally, provide a range of local services,
create employment, circulate money within the community, and make the community economically selfreliant.
Because cooperative enterprises are owned by the members themselves, the profits they generate stay in
the local area. Cooperatives thus build the wealth of the community. In essence, successful cooperative
enterprises transform a community by establishing economic democracy. Cooperative enterprise is the
socio-economic system of the future. In Maleny, that future is unfolding before us right now.

*********
The Maleny Cooperatives:
* Maple Street Cooperative
* Maleny and District Credit Union (MCU) – www.malenycu.com.au
* The Up Front Club
* Local Economic and Enterprise Development Cooperative (LEED)
* Local Energy Transfer System (LETS) – www.lets.org.au
* Maleny Wastebusters
* Barung Landcare
* Crystal Waters Permaculture Village – www.ecovillages.org/australia/crystalwaters
* Manduka Community Settlement Cooperative
* Prout Community Settlement Cooperative – www.amriverschool.org
* Cedarton Foresters
* Booroobin Bush Magic (BBM)
* Maleny Film Society (MFS)
* Green Hills Fund
* Family and Community Empowerment (FACE)
* Maleny Neighbourhood Centre
* Hinterland Community Radio
Published by:
Prout Community Settlement Cooperative, January 2002
PO Box 177, Maleny, 4552
References:
Maleny Coops Work, published by the Maleny Credit Union, 2001
Maleny Credit Union Social, Environmental and Financial Annual
Report 2001, published by the Maleny Credit Union
Community and Economic Development: Towns Shaping Their Destiny,
by Jill Jordan, March 2001
Chronological List of Historical Events for Maleny and Districts,
compiled by Amanda Wilson, July 2001

The interesting thing is that most people didn’t feel as horrible, depressed or anxious as you would expect.
When we could not afford the yogurt, my mother and myself could not help but laugh. Running to the market
became some sort of national sport. Women “competed” to find out exactly how many liters of juice could be
made from one orange (I still have a recipe which makes four to five). But at that time we could laugh,
because we felt that our poverty was temporary. We still had other assets, apart from our income, that we
could use. We could still envision a better future. And for some reason, we stopped comparing ourselves with
“the West,” as we did in the previous years of relative affluence (a comparison which would give us the sense
of inadequacy, apprehension and inferiority). We looked around us and concluded that most people were in the
same boat, and, compared to many others, we were still quite fortunate.

My first thought in coming to Australia was that this country would collapse under sanctions. At that time,
petrol in Yugoslavia could be found only sporadically but people of Novi Sad could walk to most places,
drive bicycles or easily organise car polling. Other strategies included waiting in queues for days and
taking turns to do so, borrowing cars from family and friends that spend less gas, smuggling petrol over
the border and buying at the black market. The joke at the time was that while a western European earns
3,000 spends 2,500 and saves 500 DEM, the average Yugoslav person earns 30 but spends 3,000 DEM a month.
While probably serving to boost everyone’s morale, this joke, as well as the previous petrol and juice
examples, help make a few important points.

First, it is to move from a situation of relative affluence to a situation of poverty. This has happened
to millions of people in Eastern Europe, over a relatively short period of time. For example, using the
cost of a basket of basic goods as a measure of poverty, the figures show that child poverty in Russia
has now reached 98 per cent (Bradbury and Jantti, 1999)! Throughout history, this has not only happened
to the members of the middle class, like myself, but to the members of the financial and social elite as
well, and not only in Eastern Europe. Empires fell, the economic system collapsed, wars occurred, family,
age and work situations changed, and so on. Because of what I saw in my life and learned from glimpses
into history, I believe that no one is safe from poverty. And, if we factor in environmental degradation
as an indicator of overall quality of life, we all might already be poor, without even knowing it.
Therefore, addressing and resolving poverty is everyone’s business, and should be everyone’s priority.

Second, people who find themselves in situations of poverty use multiple strategies to alleviate their
condition. The poorer they are the more elaborate and ingenious their strategies for survival are. At
the same time, it is often thought that the poor are totally powerless to change their situation and that
their only hope is to be passive recipients of aid. Because of this, strategies that today’s poor use or
have used before to maintain their societies are rarely considered in poverty elevation measures. In
Australia, for example, Aborigines stress the importance of the land at all levels as necessary in
addressing their current disadvantage. However, the government’s reply to Aboriginal poverty is almost
entirely through welfare statemeasures which primarily focus on financial transaction (welfare handouts).
This reply is a product of the Western, materialistic and industrialised society. It fails to address
the issue of importance of traditional natural and cultural assets as well as the importance of spiritual
progress and wellbeing along material welfare. Another example is the 1994 boycott of products produced
by child labour, led mostly by the USA, which resulted in 50,000 Bangladeshi children losing their jobs,
and as a result many of them then turned to begging and prostitution (Bjonnes, 2001). While the boycott
had good intentions it was one more case “of Westerners selectively applying universal principles to a
situation they did not understand” (Marcus quoted in Bjonnes, 2001). It is depressing that more strategies
for alleviation of poverty have failed rather then succeeded. In addition, some have directly contributed
to an increase in poverty. For example, development policies in the Third World have made many people
landless and/or destroyed their environmental assets, as well as their social cohesion and traditional
economy. This has not only contributed to the increase in their poverty but has sometimes been the single
biggest factor that created it in the first place. Still, just because poverty alleviation measures have
not been successful in the past does not mean that the problem of poverty is such that it cannot be
resolved. This, however, requires tapping into the experiences and strategies developed by those who
experience poverty on daily basis.

Third, and related to the previous perception that the poor are powerless, is the conviction that the
poor have no future since their predicament will only get worse (S P Udayakumar,1995:339). For
example, a 1995 study by the International Food Policy Research Institute concluded that poor countries
that now suffer widespread malnutrition and a general lack of food security can look forward to little
improvement in the foreseeable future (Gately, 2001). Another study (Hanmer et al, 2001) concluded
that Sub-Saharan Africa will not be able to meet the international development targets – halving of the
extreme poverty by 2015- in any likely future scenario. While such forecasting and trend analysis is
powerful and might be accurate, it does little when it comes to envisioning alternative futures and
motivating people to work toward social change.

Fourth, poverty is a complex, multidimensional issue which cannot be understood only in terms of
economic indicators, such as GNP or per capita income. Access to other assets such as community
support, infrastructure and knowledge base play an equally if not a more important role. This is why
poverty alleviation strategies in the future need to be based on the reconceptualized understanding of
poverty, if they are to be successful. This includes understanding that there are poverties not poverty,
that these poverties are processes, not states and that prevention rather then relief is crucial
(Walker and Park, 1998:47).

Fifth, poverty needs to be defined from the perspective of the poor. For example, one study shows that
poor rarely speak of income but rather focus on their ability to manage physical, human, social and
environmental assets (Narayan, 2000:5). This means asking the poor how they define and see their living
and working conditions and which areas do they believe need to be transformed.

Sixth, poverty is a cumulative process. The longer it goes on the more difficult it is to uproot it.
And while the common understanding is that the poor somehow get accustomed to the situation, in fact,
the longer poverty goes on the more difficult it is to bear it. People who find themselves temporarily
poor might respond to that situation with dignity, humour and resourcefulness. But sooner or later
other feelings such as shame, humiliation and despair set in and the opportunities and assets for
ingenuity decrease. That the poor do not get accustomed to the situations of poverty can be easily seen
from the higher level of poor health and illness among poor as well as from their higher mortality rates.
Around 500,000 women die yearly from pregnancy and birth related complications which are usually related
to a lack of proper nutrition and adequate health services. Almost 2 million children will die this year
because of poverty. And it is estimated that around 30 million people die each year from hunger.

These are only some of the important factors that need to be considered if we are to eradicate poverty.
The literature on poverty is huge, including both the economy oriented studies as well as critical and
alternative approaches. In order to summarise what I see to be crucial issues in regard to poverty
eradication, I use the Causal Layered Analysis methodological approach, developed by Inayatullah (1998).
This approach offers deconstruction, reorders the knowledge and seeks to find the root causes of social
diseases (Fricker, 2000). It implies that there are different levels of reality and different ways of
knowing. Consequently this requires different levels of analysis and understanding of various realms for
implementation of social and individual transformations. Causal Layered Analysis has four levels: the
litany, social causes, discourse/worldviews and myths/metaphor. The litany focuses on quantitative trends
and problems which are often exaggerated and used for political purposes. At the level of social causes,
interpretation is given to the quantitative data. The third level is concerned with structure and the
discourse/worldview that supports and legitimates it. At the fourth level analysis looks for the deep
stories, the collective archetypes, subconscious dimension of the issue under inquiry. Causal Layered
Analysis does not privilege a particular level but attempts to integrate discourses, ways of knowing and
worldviews as well as create transformative spaces for the creation of alternative futures
(Inayatullah, 1998:815-829).

Litany
At the litany level poverty is measured only through economic and other quantitative indicators. The
discourse tends to focus on the overwhelming nature of global poverty, for example, estimates that
currently 53% of the world population is classified as poor and that around 3 billion people live on
less then 2US$ a day. The number of people in poverty is represented as a matter of fact and causes
are rarely explored. In the Western media, poverty is usually constructed to be “out there”, among
“the Others” and rarely “here”. The common results of poverty, such as high fertility rates, low literacy
levels, political arrest, organised crime and scarcity of resources are often presented as its main
causes. For example, in the mainstream discourse on poverty there is a huge concern about overpopulation.
It is often stressed that world population is expected to increase from 6 billion, as it is today, to
7.2 billion in 2015, and somewhere between 7.7 and 11.2 billion in year 2050. As 95% of this increase is
projected to occur in the countries with currently have high proportion of the poor, it is implicit that
the poor themselves are “guilty” of creating a future of poverty.

At this level, the strategies for elevation of poverty mostly focus on the poverty relief and aid
packages. The common response among the affluent is either apathy – the problem of poverty is so huge
that it cannot be resolved; helplessness – I wish there is something I/we could do; or projected action
- the government, UN or NGO’s should do something!

Sometimes, magical solutions, such as genetically modified rice and other crops, are also discussed.

Social causes
At the level of social causes analysis, economic, cultural, political and historical factors are
discussed. Social causes analysis is most commonly found among policy planners and academics. At this
level, processes such as colonization, modernization, globalization, capitalism, urbanisation, as well
as national and international governance are discussed. Other indicators of poverty, such as access
to education, health care, are included but poverty is still primarily measured through economic
indicators, such as GNP and income per capita.

Strategies usually include suggestions on how to increase economic growth rate or labour productivity
and how to encourage foreign investment. Other suggested strategies include investments in agricultural
research, education, health, creation of welfare safety net and so on.

Worldview/discourse
At the worldview discourse, the main debate is whether economy needs to be regulated. Libertarians and
conservatives argue against any or against any significant interference into the free-market economy,
and maintain that poverty can only be elevated through the free flow of capital and labour. Some also
argue that the widening gap between the rich and the poor is “a natural, necessary and even desirable
component and hallmark of the improvement of the human condition” (www.libertarians.org). That is,
poverty is the normal condition of men and if the rich were not allowed to get ever richer the poor
would never have any chance to improve their conditions at all. This they could do through ever-
increasing access to tools of everincreasing productivity, through acquiring advanced technology and by
“jumping on the bandwagon” of the general development and economic growth that entrepreneurs create
(www.libertarians.org). Left-liberals, environmentalists and socialists argue that the global Casino
capitalism is directly complicit in creation of poverty where previously there was none as well as that
the unregulated, “free” economy/markets is a myth. They stress that poverty is not created through
production (or the lack of it) but because of the way profits are distributed. They argue that although
global economic activity has grown at nearly 3% each year and doubled in size twice over the past
50 years the number of people living in absolute poverty hadn’t been reduced at the same pace. In regard
to the widening gap between rich and poor they argue that this indeed is a problem because in the future
world where “two-thirds are poor and deprived of basics and promise, there will not be any peace and
security” (Udayakumar, 1995:347). Contrary to the focus only on the competitive aspects of the human
nature it is the cooperation that is seen as the only possible way out. The future is seen as a
collaborative enterprise in which “well-being of the poor demands on the cooperation of the rich, and
the safety of the rich relies on justice for the poor” (Udayakumar, 1995:347). Discussions on this level
also allow for an analysis of the ways in which the discourses themselves not only mediate issues but
also constitute them. Or how discourses we use to understand poverty directly influence strategies that
are being put in place. For example, if poverty is understood predominantly in terms of economic
indicators, only economic measures are going to be suggested. The strategies will therefore not include
measures that work against oppressive social structures that are complicit in creation and sustenance
of poverty, such as, patriarchy, for example.

Myth/metaphor
At the myth/metaphor level deeper cultural stories are discussed. For example, in which ways Western
advertisement or other propaganda makes indigenous populations believe that their own culture, dress,
food, or language are inferior as well as how needs for products and lifestyles produced elsewhere
are created (Bjonnes, 2001). Or, through local and global narratives, creating a situation in which
some become easy prey for economic exploitation by others. At this level, we can see how deep beliefs,
such as the belief that humans are inherently competitive and selfish, create a worldview that informs
discussions that formulate policies that determine the actions (or the lack of it). Or how these actions
and policies differ from those that are formed by the worldview that emphasizes the role of
communication, cooperation, altruism, caring and nurturing as the main themes in human evolution.
At this level we can also investigate deep cultural myths and their relevance for poverty creation and
elevation. For example, in the Western history two basic narratives about the relationship between men
and nature exist (Hollis, 1998). One is the myth of “The Land of Cockaygne”, the land of milk and honey,
the “golden age” where the nature provides abundant resources and the magic bowl of porridge never
empties. This is the land of unlimited consumption, limitless choices, and ever increasing growth and
progress. The current version is consumer based global capitalism where new wealth and products are
constantly being created. This is being done both through technological and economic innovations as well
as through the colonisation of nature, lands, peoples, and space. Another myth is that of Arcadia, where
nature is bountiful but humans do not indulge themselves beyond their needs (Hollis, 1998). It is the
idea and the image about the harmony between humanity and nature rather then the image of domination and
control of the nature by humanity so as to produce society and civilisation. Throughout European history,
the Land of Cockaygne was especially popular during medieval ages and among lower classes which sought to
relieve the drudgery of their everyday lives “through the pure satisfaction of sensual pleasures”
(Hollis, 1998:14). Arcadia, on the other hand, originated in ancient Greece and was revived by Renaissance
humanists that were “seeking to restrain the selfish tendencies of the rich and powerful classes”
(Hollis, 1998:14). Its modern version are today’s ecological, New-Age and anti-globalisation movements.

Conclusion
Poverty is not a necessary evil but the result of how we perceive the world and act within it. Poverty is
continuing because the poor are truly silenced, that is, alternatives that incorporate local knowledge,
experiences, desires and worldviews of the poor are invisible in the mainstream discourses. Writing and
reading about poverty is a luxury in itself, a luxury that is beyond the means of the poor. In addition,
the official discourse rarely allows for a discussion about the ways in which we, the affluent of the
world, are complicit in creation and perpetuation of poverty. Or in which ways spiritual poverty -“a
psychological state, generally among the affluent, expressed as a constant hunger for more material things;
a sense of alienation, loneliness, and spiritual emptiness” (Bjoness, 2001) – is complicit in creating
poverty.

But the main problem with mainstream discourse, as well as both the “left” and the “right” worldviews, is
that poverty is described in terms that it becomes unthinkable to imagine poverty-free futures. Together
with the focus on the overwhelming nature of current poverty this lack of imagination makes us powerless
to act today, one step at the time. But for this to happen, we do not need to travel far and wide, nor do
we need to carry with us the influence of political power and huge wealth. We can address destitution
amongst ourselves, listen to those amongst us who are not allowed to speak, and help them carry their
imagination into a poverty-free future. A future in which every person will have an easy access to at least
one delicious yogurt a day.

Ivana Milojevic is currently completing her doctorate at the School of Education, The University of
Queensland. Born and raised in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, she now resides in Mooloolaba, Australia. Some of her
other articles are available at www.metafuture.com You can email her at: ivanam@mailbox.uq.edu.au

71, UNICEF International Child Development Centre, Florence. Fricker, A. (2000).
“Poverty Amidst Plenty: a role for Causal Layered Analysis”, paper presented at DEVNET Conference on
Poverty, Prosperity, Progress, Wellington, New Zealand, November 2000.

Gately, D. (1995). “Comprehensive Projections Model Predicts Future Hunger Hot Spots”
(reports on the study released by the International Food Policy Research Institute on malnutrition
and lack of food security), www.ifpri.cgiar.org Hanmer, L. (2000). “Will Growth Halve Global Poverty
by 2015?”, www.odi.org.uk

Hollis, D. W. (1998). The ABC-CLIO World History Companion to Utopian Movements. ABC-CLIO,
Santa Barbara, CA.

Inayatullah, S. (1998). “Causal Layered Analysis.” Futures 30(8): 815-829.
Narayan, D. (2000). Can Anyone Hear Us?, Published by Oxford University Press for the World Bank,
Oxford.

Udayakumar, S.P. (1995). “The futures of the poor.” Futures 27(3): 339-353.
Walker, R. and Park, J.(1998). “Unpicking poverty”, in C. Oppenheim,
An Inclusive Society: Strategies for Tackling Poverty, Institute for Public
Policy, London.

Capitalism is self-centered and mirrors the lopsided Darwinian law of evolution where only the strong have
the right to prosper. A capitalist social structure works on the illusory ethos of mutual exploitation.
“I am free to exploit you and you are free to exploit me.” In reality, the power to exploit remains
concentrated in the hands of the privileged. For the majority, life in self-centered social structures
degenerates into an endless struggle for existence amidst plenty. It becomes insecure and artificial, full
of contradictions and uncertainties. One is forced to question the glory of a prosperity that excludes so
many.

Religious power structures are based on dogma-centered ideologies, which are purposefully devoid of human
rationality. Such structures use fear to coerce support from the people, yet are incapable of meeting the
basic needs of their subjects. Dogma-centered social structures have never been self-sufficient, but
survive as parasites on socio-economic systems guided by the other two ideologies. While matter-, self-,
and dogma-centered systems have come and gone, no attempt has yet been made to create a social structure
based on Spirit-centered, universal, neohumanistic, and cardinal values. The Indian philosopher
P.R. Sarkar outlines such a possibility in his discourses on Progressive Utilisation Theory (i.e. PROUT).
Sarkar claims that humans are inherently universal and spirit-centered by nature. However, throughout our
history of collective living, our leadership often promoted self-centered, dogma-centered and
mattercentered ideas. We must now move on to higher vistas. No doubt, many are reluctant to sacrifice
their political egos for cardinal human values.

Ignoring the most noble human wisdoms, they continue to push their self-centered agendas. But it’s too
late for their games: individually and socially we have reached a critical point on the curve of social
evolution. At this juncture, there may be only two options left: change our value system or perish as a
civilization. What is Sarkar’s Neohumanism, and how does he envision a spiritcentered neohumanistic
social structure? First, let us look at what it is not. Neohumanism is free from the following three major
shortcomings of the prevailing political ideologies:

1. Geo-sentiment (nationalism, geo-patriotism)

2. Socio-sentiment, which promotes social inequality via leftist mattercentered ideologies and hatred
related to largely right-wing, dogmacentered philosophies including religious hatreds as well as racial,
ethnic and gender-based inequality.

3. Pseudo-humanistic sentiment, an essentially self-centered outlook used to justify the continued plunder
and degradation of the environment. This can be seen as a type of warfare against other species and the
planet itself. In contrast, Neohumanism is a happy blending of spirituality and rationality, a move beyond
left and right ideologies. Religious leaders who forgo rationality invent dogmas and capture the allegiance
of people by infusing them with inferiority complexes and fear. Progressive rationality without spirituality
is dry and heartless. It creates mattercentered structures, such as communism, which enslave and tortures
humanity. Neohumanism acknowledges the need for an approach that recognizes both the spirit and the
intellect.

Political ideologies throughout the ages have changed little, although the collective psychology of humanity
is yearning for an altogether new social structure. Political ideologies are still polarized, amongst the
masses and within the leadership, at both local and global levels. Just recollect the “balance of power”
theory of the Cold War era. Although the Cold War ended more than a decade ago, world leaders today are out
to validate a new “Cold War”, this time along cultural lines, and, perhaps, not so “cold”. That could be
devastating indeed.

Sarkar’s neohumanistic world order, based on the following principles, present a positive new approach for
obtaining world peace:
A. A World Constitution, incorporating the following:
 1. A common penal code for all countries of the world,
 2. A guarantee that clothes, shelter, medical care, food, and education
 are available to all people.
 3. The preservation of all species of plants and animals in their natural
 habitats wherever possible.
 4. Guaranteed purchasing capacity for basic necessities of life to all
 citizens.
 5. Four universal rights for all citizens on the planet:
  -The right to spiritual practice as per one’s belief,
  -The right to cultural legacy,
  -The right to education, and
  -The right to linguistic expression of one’s mother tongue.
B. A World Militia – standing army, and
C. A World Government – with more executive power than the current UN
D. Neohumanistic education to replace the out-dated (bi-polar) social structure with a nuclear one,
E. Creating social leaders and Local Guides of high ethical standards, in good number, and at all levels
of society.

Ac.Vimalananda Avadhuta is the Sectorial Secretary of Proutist Universal, Inc.

Contrary to popular opinion, the urgent need of the hour is not another deluge of information technology. What the world needs now is a comprehensive East-West integration—an internet of meaning, a global highway of wisdom. People crave not only more computers, but also inner rapture, peace and justice. We yearn for a fusion between the finest forms of humanism and the deepest essence of spirituality. We aspire for an outburst of rational humanism and spiritual wisdom—a common vision that can shape a more harmonious and integrated planet. As espoused by the sages, philosophers, and scientists of both East and West, this visionary fusion can foster a global renaissance of inner meaning and social values. Some social observers believe that the faint glow of this phenomenon can already be seen on humanity’s horizon.

This new, integral, spiritual humanism represents a synthesis between the Enlightenment of the East and the Enlightenment of the West. And what is the most important step to achieve this lofty goal? To establish spiritual practice as the cornerstone of human culture. Hence, it is not enough to simply popularize spiritual (and pseudo-spiritual) ideas as is done today through the ever-growing self-help marketplace which often spread ideas that represent religious dogmas or arcane, mythological belief systems. It is also not enough to preach the noble ideals of humanism. Instead, sincere spiritual practitioners will have to initiate an authentic, spiritual movement which can spearhead the integration of spiritual humanism in society. Obstacles are an inherent part of change. So, let us take a closer look at some of the challenges strewn in the path of this renaissance.

Cultural World-views
Various integral philosophers and mystics—from Sri Aurobindo to Teilhard de Chardin to P. R. Sarkar—have proposed the novel idea that natural evolution is a tireless and ever-changing release of spiritual creativity. With each new, evolutionary stage, more complex beings evolve which enfold or include aspects of the previous stage.

The simplest way to explain this is; when Spirit (or Consciousness) creates life in the form of a cell,
the cell includes atoms. Further up the evolutionary chain, an insect includes both cells and atoms. Thus, the more evolved beings on the evolutionary hierarchy include aspects of the lower beings. The more evolved the beings are, the more they are able to express the refinements of Spirit.

Ultimately—in evolution’s most complex structure, the human being—the expression of Spirit reaches its highest, most elaborate manifestation. Through spiritual enlightenment, the human soul is able to reflect the culmination of the evolutionary journey by realizing the source of it all: God, Brahman or Supreme Consciousness.

Instincts, Sentiments & Rationality
Theoretical models can only represent the panoramic sweep of reality. On the individual level, for example, one can thus describe evolution as Spirit unfolding through four ways of expression: instincts, sentiments, rationality, and spirituality.

The hierarchy of living beings express themselves according to the above four levels, each one enveloping and including the other. All insects have instincts, but they do not have emotions or sentiments. Mammals, on the other hand, have both instinct and sentiments. Some, like monkey’s and dogs, also exhibit a certain degree of rationality. Humans possess all four drives, including the capacity to experience and express spiritual knowledge.

According to Tantra, the thirst for spiritual knowledge is considered a latent human instinct. In highly evolved souls—such as ancient and contemporary mystics—these latent longings blossomed brightly and fully early in life. According to the spiritual, evolutionary view of Tantra, their full-fledged realization of the Divine is the cumulative effect of many lifetimes of spiritual practice.

An enlightened human can realize and act on the basis of his or her Divine, spiritual realization. On the other hand, we also know that humans can act in ways “lower on the hierarchy” than animals. Sometimes even highly evolved people exhibit regressive behavior, driven by certain instincts or sentiments. Many despicable human acts, based on such drives, are devoid of rationality or spirituality.

So what are these instincts? They are reactions stored in the mind through constant repetition of experience. The memory or “vibrational record” is left on the mind and thus forms the basis to produce certain behavior patterns. Some scientists call such instincts “accumulated sentiments” or “habituated sentiments.” Sentiments therefore represent the accumulated effect of instincts.

Insects are guided by their instincts. The actions of mammals, on the other hand, are born out of a combination of instincts, sentiments, and a certain level of rationality. In humans, a broader range of expression—from the basic to the sublime—is available. This gives us greater scope for expressing both destructive and constructive behavior. Hence the built-in dilemma of evolution: with more complexity comes the potential for more problems. Only the spiritual level—beyond instincts, sentiments and rationality—can be termed “perfection.” It soars above the instinctual and mental laws of cause and effect.

Sentiments play a large part in human life. In the subtle anatomy of yoga, there are intricate maps of these various sentiments or vrittis, located in clusters around the various cakras, or subtle energy centers. These vrittis, which in essence are part of the mind, and thus also the brain, effect the subsidiary glands, which are substations between the brain, the nerves and the body. When driven by sentiments such as anger, jealousy, hatred, etc., we create suffering, both for ourselves and others. Yogis thus advanced psycho-physical (yoga postures), psycho-spiritual (visualizations, music, etc.), and spiritual (meditation) exercises to harmonize the physical body and the mind (the subtle body) with the spirit. Many modern health and integral psychotherapies are, in effect, attempting to accomplish the same thing. Rationality is one of humanity’s
greatest assets. It is our best tool in navigating past irrational dogmas and behaviors. However, rationality has its own limitations and pitfalls, which may bring about devastating changes in both the human and biological worlds. Rationality—as witnessed in the development of Western materialism—can become its own belief system and thereby negate the trans-rational (spiritual) and reduce reality to a one-dimensional level. Moreover, human rationality can often be rendered ineffective by lower propensities or pre-rational sentiments. This is often the case in New Age circles where prerational acts or beliefs (mythic rituals, channelling) are mistakenly described as trans-rational spirituality.

The Various Human Sentiments
As social beings, humans have—over thousands of years of history—developed various group sentiments. As with individual sentiments, many of these may be adverse to spiritual growth.

These main social sentiments are:

1. Geocentric sentiments: This refers to a group’s attachment to the indigenous soil of an area or country.
It is the fertile basis for many other insidious sentiments, such as geo-religion, geo-patriotism, and geo-economics. Geo-religious sentiments, for example, can be superstitions promoting the fanatic belief in the reverential quality of a certain mountain or river—the belief that all who die in that particular area will be liberated or go to heaven. From a spiritual point of view, this is, of course, utter nonsense. In essence, all natural places on this earth are sacred and holy, all are created, maintained and transformed by the same source of Pure Consciousness.

2. Sociocentric sentiments: These sentiments promote the interest of a group—family, village or nation—at the expense of other groups or nationalities. Since the dawn of human civilization, such sentiments have been instrumental in human warfare, either tribal, racial, or religious. Based on such group sentiments many other divisive sentiments are developed: socio-patriotism, socio-religion, socioeconomics, and so on. Sometimes one will find a mixture of these sentiments. Nazi-Germany’s war in Europe, for example, displayed a vicious blend of socio-patriotism and socio-economics.

3. Anthropocentric sentiments: Humanism is a more expanded and far more progressive sentiment than the previous two. It can be an expression of genuine love and compassion for all people on the planet. However, such human sentiments often violate the interests and sentiments of non-human creatures, whether reptile, mammal or plant. Such human-centered sentiments today threaten the very fabric of the environment; indeed, the future existence ofthe human race.

4. World-centric sentiments:
More expansive than humanism, it also includes the biosphere. This rational and/or mythic belief system is sometimes disguised as spirituality. It is prevalent in certain world-centric eco-philosophies or neo-pagan views which use systems science or the Gaia-theory to point to nature or the Web of Life as the ultimate God or Goddess. As Wilber and Sarkar both note, this view is not necessarily wrong. From a biological or scientific point of view, Gaia or Nature is indeed a whole organism, but this organism, this nature, is itself not the whole Chain of Being (or cosmic creation). Nature, or the Web of Life, is only a biological expression of Cosmic Consciousness. Nature’s intelligence is imbedded in Cosmic consciousness, not in matter. Similarly, human intelligence and awareness is imbedded in the soul, not the brain.

5. The Spirit-centered worldview:
All animate and inanimate beings are an expression of Cosmic Consciousness. This awareness forms the transcendental foundation for creating harmony between the three worlds of Body, Mind, and Spirit in society. Various spiritual traditions name and divide these levels differently, but all the levels of consciousness must be integrated in order to achieve a state of true Spirit-centeredness.

The Spirit-centered, or transpersonal, world-view, acknowledges and incorporates the other world-views. But—and this is crucial—it also sees their limitations. In other words, while supporting all the positive ideals of humanism, we should also work toward overcoming its inherent flaws. We may support the world-centric view of systemscience, but we must also acknowledge that it cannot teach us anything about spirituality. The Spirit-centered world-view thus includes all the other world-views in a grand panoramic circle of understanding. Sarkar termed this as Universalism. It is a world-view that includes the whole universe—stars, planets, continents, humans, plants, animals. Embracing the whole circle of life, this spiritual, extrasensory outlook begins and ends with the very essence of Cosmic Consciousness. It simultaneously sees both Earth and Heaven. It beholds both the One and the Many.

Roar Bjonnes is editor of Prout Journal and contributing editor of New Renaissance. His articles on ecology, economics and spirituality have appeared in numerous magazines, books and academic journals in Europe and the United States.