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The Compassionate Universe
AuthorEknath Easwaran
LanguageEnglish; German
GenreSpirituality; Ecology
PublisherNilgiri Press; others
Publication date
1989; others
Pages188; others
ISBN9780915132584
OCLC20393226

The Compassionate Universe is a a book on spirituality and ecology. Written by Eknath Easwaran, the book was originally published in the US in 1989. Additional English-language editions have been published in the US, India, and Australia, and an edition in German was published in 1992. The book has been reviewed in magazines[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] and websites.[10]

Background[edit]

In 1989, Easwaran had been a spiritual teacher in the US for almost 30 years. Concern for the environment had long been a theme of Easwaran's in his spiritual writings. For example, {XXX}.[11][12][13] However, sensing an increase in public concern about the environment, {XXX}.

Topics covered[edit]

All US editions of Compassionate Universe contain 3 major parts divided into 8 chapters. After an introductory chapter, the book is structured around a set of 7 social errors listed by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi called this a list of "seven social sins" when he first published it in 1925, and more recently Gandhi's grandson Arun has publicized it using the title "seven blunders of the world that lead to violence."[14] In Compassionate Universe, Easwaran calls them "a series of diagnoses of the twentieth century's seemingly perpetual state of crisis,"[15]: 23  stating that he

prefer[s] to think of them as seven social ailments, since the problems they address are not crimes calling for punishment but crippling diseases that are punishment enough in themselves. These seven diagnoses cover every area of modern life.... Here... I will be paying particular attention to the way they affect our relationship with the environment.[15]: 23 

"Hasti... has no idea how big she is... because she looks out at the world through such tiny eyes."[15]: 9 

In Chapter One, A New Era, Easwaran describes his upbringing in a village in Kerala State, South India, in a large extended family led by his grandmother, who he later came to regard as his spiritual teacher. Easwaran describes how as a child his school conveyed a Western materialist worldview. One day he reported to his grandmother that "scientists have discovered that our village is nothing but an anthill compared with the sun.... We are just insignificant specks [and] don't matter at all."[15]: 9  In contrast, Easwaran's grandmother

lived in a universe filled with life.... In every leaf, flower, animal, and star she saw the expression of a compassionate universe whose laws were not competition and survival of the fittest but cooperation, artistry, and thrift.[15]: 10 

In response to his news from school, Easwaran's grandmother calmly explained that everyone was significant. She called his attention to a village elephant named Hasti, telling him that "she has no idea how big she is... because she looks out at the world through such tiny eyes"[15]: 9  (photo). In Compassionate Universe, Easwaran explains that he has now come to believe that

[his grandmother's] answer, and the comprehensive vision of human nature that it was based on, have a great deal to offer the world at this critical period in history, as it becomes clear that our present way of life is endangering not only our own health and well-being but that of the earth itself.[15]: 10 

The remainder of Chapter 1 profiles Easwaran's grandmother and their village, a way of life based on centuries-old relationships between village families as well as self-reliance, agricultural sustainability, and awareness of the needs of nature. Little poverty existed, although diseases such as cholera and smallpox were "not uncommon."[15]: 12  More generally,

It is not that no one was ever hurt or that people never quarreled or manipulated each other; but when such things happened, we knew quite clearly that they were discordant, that they did not fit in with the way life should be. It was not an ideal world, but it was a world with an ideal.[15]: 12 

Chapter 2 introduces Gandhi's seven "diagnoses" and discusses Knowledge Without Character, "perhaps the most compassionate of all seven.... which traces all our difficulties to a simple lack of connection between what we know is good for us and our ability to act on that knowledge."[15]: 23  Is explains {XXXX}.

Chapter 3 is Science Without Humanity.

Part Two, "A Higher Image," contains chapters entitled Wealth Without Work and Commerce Without Morality.

Part Three, "Trusteeship of Ourselves and the Earth," contains chapters entitled Politics Without Principles, Pleasure Without Conscience, and Worship Without Self-Sacrifice.

The book also contains 6 pages of endnotes on sources, and an 8-page index.

Reception[edit]

Reviews have appeared in Hinduism Today,[1] Resurgence,[2][3] Friends Journal,[4] Harmony,[5] Brain/Mind Bulletin,[6] New Dimensions,[7] Factsheet Five,[8] and Noetic Sciences Review.[9] Reviews have also appeared at websites Spirituality and Practice[16] and The Sacred Treehouse.[17]

Hinduism Today wrote that the author "artfully ties together stories of his boyhood years in a self-sustaining forest village of Kerala, South India, with current ecological situations and assessments.... Warm anecdotes from his present day-to-day life are like trail snacks.... Easwaran is an eloquent, wise guide in the forests of spiritualized ecology."[1]

In Resurgence, William Alexander wrote that "{XXX}[2] (this review was later republished in Friends Journal[4]


Harmony wrote {anonymously} that "{XXXX}"[5]

Brain/Mind Bulletin wrote {anonymously} that "{XXXX}"[6]

In New Dimensions, Mary Buckley wrote that "{XXXX}"[7]

Factsheet Five wrote {anon} that "{XXXX}"[8]

In Noetic Sciences Review, Nola Lewis wrote that "{XXXX}"[9]

At websites Spirituality and Practice Frederic Brussat & Mary Ann Brussat wrote that "{XXXX}". [16]

At website The Sacred Treehouse, Rob Cummins wrote that "{XXXX}"[17]



The book has also been excerpted by In Context.[18] It has also been excerpted at at Spirituality and Practice.[19] and Daily Good.[20]

It was quoted by David Korten in Globalizing Civil Society: Reclaiming Our Right to Power (1988)[21]: 54 

Author and activist Lynne Twist listed The Compassionate Universe as one of five books that had deeply influenced her life.[22]: 364 

The book was quoted in The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence.[23]: 247 

The book was quoted extensively in an article in the Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work.[24]

The book was a major focus of a book by Tim Flinders that compared Easwaran's approach with that of Thomas Berry.[25]

Course curriculum[edit]

The Compassionate Universe serves as the basis of a 9-week curriculum and course offered through a US-based church denomination.[26]

Editions[edit]

The original edition was published by in 1989 by Nilgiri Press, an Indian edition was published in 2001 by Penguin India, and a large-print edition was published in 2010 in Australia. A translation into German was published in 1992. The English-language editions are:

The German edition:


See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Anonymous (October 31, 1990). "Untitled [review of Compassionate Universe, by Eknath Easwaran]". Hinduism Today. Vol. 12, no. 10. Himalayan Academy. p. 26. ISSN 0896-0801. OCLC 214444439.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ a b c William Alexander (1990, Sep/Oct). "The Wealth of the Poor [review of the Compassionate Universe, by Eknath Easwaran]". Resurgence. 142 (142). The Resurgence Trust: 51. ISSN 0034-5970. OCLC 1763807. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  3. ^ a b Lindsey Campbell (1993, Jan/Feb). "The Eye and the Elephant [review of the Compassionate Universe, by Eknath Easwaran]". Resurgence. 156 (156). The Resurgence Trust: 40. ISSN 0034-5970. OCLC 1763807. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  4. ^ a b c William Alexander (1990). "Untitled [review essay on the Compassionate Universe, by Eknath Easwaran]". Friends Journal. 36 (September). Philadelphia, PA: Friends Publishing Corporation: 41. ISSN 0016-1322. OCLC 1570228.
  5. ^ a b c Anonymous (1993, July). "Untitled [review of Compassionate Universe, by Eknath Easwaran]". Harmony. 4 (3). San Francisco, CA: Sea Fog Press: 24. ISSN 0896-243X. OCLC 16974192. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  6. ^ a b c Anonymous (1990, September). "Here Comes the Sun; Monastery Without Walls [review of 5 books, including the Compassionate Universe, by Eknath Easwaran]". Brain/Mind Bulletin. 15 (9). Los Angeles, CA: Interface Press: 5. ISSN 0273-8546. OCLC 4673318. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  7. ^ a b c Mary Buckley (1990, January/February). "Don't buy styrofoam coffins!: In the Compassionate Universe, Eknath Easwaran writes that we can contribute significantly to the health of the environment by letting go of our self-preoccupation and modifying our personal consumer habits". New Dimensions. 17 (1990, Jan/Feb). San Francisco, CA: New Dimensions Foundation: 10–11. ISSN 1082-698X. OCLC 32605005. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  8. ^ a b c Anonymous (February, 1990). "Untitled [review of Compassionate Universe, by Eknath Easwaran]". Factsheet Five. 34 (34). Rensselaer, NY: Mike Gunderloy: 116. ISSN 0890-6823. OCLC 14239080. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ^ a b c Nola Lewis (1989, Winter). "Untitled [review of Compassionate Universe, by Eknath Easwaran]". Noetic Sciences Review. 13 (13). Sausalito, CA: Institute of Noetic Sciences: 43. ISSN 0897-1005. OCLC 17203781. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  10. ^ Brussat (n.d.). Review at "Spirituality and Practice"
  11. ^ "[T]he Bhagavad Gita... must be interpreted in accordance with the needs of the times–the yugadharma in Sanskrit, the 'special law of the age.' In commenting on the Gita, I always stress the indivisible unity of life because this is the need of our time. I do not stop with the family of man, but extend this unity to all life and to the environment as well. It is the urgent need of our time to recognize the unity of all forms of life, and the intimate relationship between water, earth, air, plants, and all creatures.... Ecologists have begun to tell us that there is an interpenetrating relationship among all things which we can violate only at our peril..." (p. 12), in Eknath Easwaran (1975). The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living (vol. 1, ch. 1-6). Berkeley, CA: Blue Mountain Center of Meditation. ISBN 0-915132-03-6.
  12. ^ When one has "become established in the mantram.... we will see only the unity of life, and all our energy will be directed to solving the biggest problems the world faces today [such as] the despoliation of the environment" (pp. 239–241), in Eknath Easwaran (1977). Mantram Handbook. Petaluma, CA: Nilgiri Press. ISBN 0-915132-10-9.
  13. ^ "According to [the Katha Upanishad], the whole modern world has been laboring under this one colossal superstition [that we are essentially separate purely physical creatures]... The issue is much more than philosophical, for this fatal fallacy has plundered the earth, polluted the environment, and sown discord all over the world..." (p. 167) in Eknath Easwaran (1981). Dialogue with Death Petaluma, CA: Nilgiri Press. ISBN 978-0-915132-24-9.
  14. ^ The list was first publicized in Mahatma Gandhi's weekly newspaper Young India on October 22, 1925, and is available in The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (electronic edition), Vol. 33, pp. 133-134. ISBN 8123007353, ISBN 9788123007359 OCLC 655798065 The "seven blunders" title was used in a profile of Arun Gandhi published in Brad Knickerbocker (February 1). "Gandhi grandson pursues peace [main sidebar]". Christian Science Monitor. p. 14. ISSN 0882-7729. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |year=, |date=, and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); External link in |title= (help)
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Easwaran (1989). Compassionate Universe, 1st ed. ISBN 9780915132584
  16. ^ a b Frederic Brussat & Mary Ann Brussat. Book review: The Compassionate Universe: The Power of the Individual to Heal the Environment [by Eknath Easwaran]. Spirituality & Practice (website), (accessed 27 January, 2013)
  17. ^ a b Rob Cummins (2009, Winter). "Book Review: Compassionate Universe, by Eknath Easwaran" (PDF). Quarterly Review. The Sacred Treehouse: 1, 3. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  18. ^ Eknath Easwaran (1990, Summer). ""the Lesson of the Hummingbird" [excerpt from The Compassionate Universe]". In Context. 26 (26). Sequim, WA: Context Foundation & North Olympic Living Lightly Association: 30+. ISSN 0741-6180. OCLC 10188761. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  19. ^ "Gandhi is a supreme example. He wanted so deeply to help the world..." (accessed 26 Jan 2013).
  20. ^ "Gandhi on Knowledge Without Character" (Feb 17, 2012) "[A] faith in the power of the individual formed the foundation for Gandhi’s extremely compassionate view of the industrial era’s large-scale problems..." (accessed 26 Jan 2013).
  21. ^ url=url| ISBN 9781888363593, ebookurl= ebook url
  22. ^ Murtha, William (2010). 100 words: 200 visionaries share their hope for the future. Berkeley, CA: Conari Press. ISBN 9781573244732. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  23. ^ Ranjani Manian and Shobha Naidu (2009). "India: A Cross-Cultural Overview of Inter-Cultural Competence". In: Deardorff, Darla K. (2009). The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. p. 233-248. ISBN 9781412960458. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  24. ^ Catherine A. Faver (2011). "Seeing ourselves in all: A spiritual perspective on the unity of life". Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought. 30 (2). Routledge: 113–124. doi:10.1080/15426432.2011.567112. ISSN 1542-6432.
  25. ^ Flinders, Tim (2011). Thomas Berry's Sacred Surround: An Introduction to his Thought & Spirituality. Two Rock Publishing. ASIN B005IH07O4. (113 pages). The book is based on an earlier Masters thesis: Flinders, Tim (2010). Sacred Surround: Towards an Ecologically Sensitive Spirituality. Oakland, CA: Holy Names University. OCLC 814401411. (137 pages).
  26. ^ "THE COMPASSIONATE UNIVERSE: Answering the Call to Spiritual Integrity - A seven-week faith-in-action series on spiritual ecology and the power of the individual to heal our world," developed by Rev. Marilyn Muehlbach (former Sr. Minister, Unity Church of North Idaho) (accessed 26 Jan 2013)

Category:1989 books Category:Deep ecology Category:Environmental non-fiction books Category:Environmental ethics Category:Environmentalism and religion Category:Spirituality Category:Sustainability books

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