Sacred Activism: An Unprecidented Marriage (Carolyn Baker)

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Nov. 4, 2009 (Speaking Truth To Power) -- When I was a young activist in the late 1960s and early 70s, simultaneously finding myself engaged in a burgeoning metaphysical quest, I sometimes felt nearly schizophrenic as I encountered other activists who disparaged the metaphysical, even as I engaged with other students of the metaphysical who had no interest in social or political issues. For years, it was challenging and frustrating to integrate these two poles of reality in my own life, and I noticed that I was not alone in my frustration. Increasingly, however, I saw activists pursuing spiritual quests and spiritual practitioners becoming more engaged in championing social justice causes. Nevertheless, it was not until 2009 that the exquisite union of activist passion and spiritual ardor was articulated by the brilliant author, activist, spiritual teacher, and Rumi scholar, Andrew Harvey, in his extraordinary book, The Hope: A Guide To Sacred Activism.

The Hope is above all, a vision of a marriage-a union of radical action on behalf of social justice and human dignity complemented by a spiritual quest for meaning and purpose in a world that all too often feels excruciatingly absurd. More specifically according to Harvey:

When the inner joy Mother Teresa spoke of, the joy of compassionate service, is married to a practical and pragmatic drive to transform all existing economic, social, and political institutions, a radical and potentially all-transforming holy force is born

A Sacred Activist is someone who is starting to experience the inner joy and outer effectiveness of this force, who knows that the profound crisis in the world is in is challenging everyone to act from our deepest compassion and wisdom, and who is committed to being, in the face of growing chaos, suffering, and violence, what Robert Kennedy call "a tiny ripple of hope" and a "center of energy and daring."

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