The Peoples' Institute for Re-thinking Education and Development

Unlearning Separation

Several philosopher friends of mine point to the roots of the planetary crises humanity is facing as being the worldview of separation and scarcity. This essentially says that you are is a separate individual among other separate individuals and that you are separate from nature. This fuels the moral rationalisation of control, domination, and exploitation across the planet. Many radical social-spiritual movements from the global South have sought to challenge this with powerful indigenous worldviews of Ubuntu, Swaraj, Buen Vivir, etc.

As educators, how do we start to address and shift this deep-rooted worldview of separation? What are the unlearning pedagogies and stories you are using? These are some core questions for us in SwarajUniversity.org Unlearning is perhaps the most important process for educators to engage in today.

Here are some simple unlearning exercises that i have personally found powerful in my journey and that we like to invite seekers to experience with us:
1) There is no ‘out there’ - what we do to nature, we do to ourselves. Rather than throwing your waste into a dust bin (to later be dumped on someone else far away), can you keep whatever waste you make with you next to your bed for a month? You will very quickly realise why no other species produces ‘waste’.
2) There is no ‘other’. Before you eat any sweet, can you try to mindfully practice feeding the other person some of it first as an act of radical care and hospitality? (In Rajasthan, we put sweets into the mouth of the other with our own hands). Another invitation is to literally walk in the shoes of another by borrowing and wearing their shoes for at least 2 days. Try it with someone you don’t like and see what happens.
3) There is no Human exceptionalism. Humans are not the only intelligent beings on the planet. Before you go into any forest or river or mountain or take anything from these places, mindfully ask permission to enter from that being. You may also like to slow down an invite them into a conversation. And, at the end of the day, express your gratitude to these beings for taking care of us in the spirit of the gift culture.

We have many more such practical unlearning invitations. From my experience, unlearning is not something that we can only do conceptually in the head. We need to bring it into our hands, bodies, hearts and relationships and into our lived experiences and daily rituals. We would love to hear about the unlearning practices you have been using in your projects.
- Manish Jain, www.ecoversities.org; www.swarajuniversity.org