A Tale of Grace

posted by Kamala on Dec 12

Dearest Friends and Family,

Here is an article with Link’s text embedded.  Its been an amazing day, but somehow, we just watch it all, its been like this since Anni left the form, everything is an experience here in the land of name and form…it can’t really touch us, when one third of us operates and works on subtler levels….

Today, on the 37th Day of the Climate Justice Fast by Anna Keenan of AU and Sara Svensson of Sweden, and on the 6th Day of negotiations at the COP-15, estimates of over 100,000 people marched in a peaceful protest from Copenhagen City to the Bella Center where the talks are being held here in Denmark. Once there, they held a candle-light vigil. Police arrested about 60 people, tying them together, then tying their hands behind their backs, making them sit in long rows, although there was no violence.

Youth leader Deepa Gupta, the initiator of IYCN the Indian Youth Climate Network that has for two years brought a delegation of Indian Youth to the COP negotiations, gave a passionate and stirring speech to the massive gathering, exhorting them to feel and respond to the terrible penance of the Climate Justice Fasters, now in its 37th day. The call was on the side of humanity, the unborn and the natural Creation, calling for commitment and determination to awaken awareness throughout the planet of the dangers facing mankind if we do not change our patterns of development, our relationship to the Earth. To not settle for less, here at the UNFCCC COP-15.

In the final session of SBSTA, (the Subsidary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice to the COP) the International Youth Climate Movement was allowed to speak at the end of the session for 90 seconds. Spokesman Linkesh Diwan, invoked Gandhi to the leaders in his address saying:

Thank you Madam Chair,

Respected negotiators, my name is Linkesh Diwan.

On behalf of the International Youth Climate Movement, I speak for 2.2 billion people, the children on this Earth.

We demand that forests be preserved in their natural purity, rightfully protected by

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Today, on the 37th Day of the Climate Justice Fast by Anna Keenan of AU and Sara Svensson of Sweden, and on the 6th Day of negotiations at the COP-15, estimates of over 100,000 people marched in a peaceful protest from Copenhagen City to the Bella Center where the talks are being held here in Denmark. Once there, they held a candle-light vigil. Police arrested about 60 people, tying them together, then tying their hands behind their backs, making them sit in long rows, although there was no violence.

Youth leader Deepa Gupta, the initiator of IYCN the Indian Youth Climate Network that has for two years brought a delegation of Indian Youth to the COP negotiations, gave a passionate and stirring speech to the massive gathering, exhorting them to feel and respond to the terrible penance of the Climate Justice Fasters, now in its 37th day. The call was on the side of humanity, the unborn and the natural Creation, calling for commitment and determination to awaken awareness throughout the planet of the dangers facing mankind if we do not change our patterns of development, our relationship to the Earth. To not settle for less, here at the UNFCCC COP-15.

In the final session of SBSTA, (the Subsidary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice to the COP) the International Youth Climate Movement was allowed to speak at the end of the session for 90 seconds. Spokesman Linkesh Diwan, invoked Gandhi to the leaders in his address saying:

Thank you Madam Chair,

Respected negotiators, my name is Linkesh Diwan.

On behalf of the International Youth Climate Movement, I speak for 2 . 2 billion people, the children on this Earth.

We demand that forests be preserved in their natural purity, rightfully protected by International Law, and kept out of the carbon market. Take the brackets off our future.

Forests are more than carbon sinks. Forests provide homes, food, soil, clean water, for diverse life forms. Forests are different from plantations.

Forested lands, all lands, must be held in trust by and for the local or indigenous peoples that depend upon them.

REDD, (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) as it stands, presents a huge danger to human rights, natural forests and the climate.

This we can not accept.

As youth we fear your plans for us. Seeking Climate Justice, some of us have been fasting and praying for 37 days on water only. We are desperate.

To avoid a disastrous outcome from COP15, we demand that any agreement must include:

• a clear definition, and distinction between plantations and natural forests;

• explicit language protecting intact natural forests, and ensuring conservation of

biological diversity;

• accounting for emissions from peat soils and other ecosystems;

• safeguards for the rights of local and indigenous peoples;

• and we need to address the causes for continued forest destruction.

Dear Leaders, before you make your decisions, please ask yourselves: what would Mahatma Gandhi do? Please do that.

Thank You

Everywhere, the Youth  of the Earth are clinging to the ideals of Gandhi  and invoking them for planetary and resource governance and management, to help them redefine their relationship to the Earth. They all recognise that development that licences greed can no longer be called development.

Will adults, elected and unelected leaders wake up to their call?

Loving You,

Aunty Kamala, Anni and Link

posted by Kamala on Dec 12

Dearest Friends and Family,

One of the most heart-wrenching things I have seen is the presence of some very young  children, particularly a young boy working with NGO’s deeply sincere and committed to climate change awareness among party delegates, pounding away at his computer.  The unconscious behavior of the last 4 generations has taken away the childhood, even the ability to play from our children.  We allowed an unbridled media to infect  and induct them into false values - of greed, of sexuality, of intoxicants, of short sighted ideals, and they rolled with the punches, but now, the playground is getting messed up, and they are standing up all over the world.  It is heart-breaking to see these babes, their mother’s milk still on their breath,  being forced to leave their childhoods to redirect misguided and besotted adults towards a path of dharma.    Its hard to believe that the people negotiating here have any concerns for the Children of the Earth.

We wanted to share with you the concerns of Youth over the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) Text in a statement put out by them this morning.  Forests were added on to the negotiations in Montreal, 2005,   but in a way that does nothing to protect them [SCA and SBSTA refer to two committees  appointed in Montreal to study the scientific data and suggest methodologies to the negotiations].  This is their statement:

“The Youth are in Copenhagen to secure a climate deal to protect our future.  We are here to make sure that developed countries commit to science-based reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions and get a commitment form all countries to work to protect the world’s forests.

REDD must protect intact natural forests, restore degraded natural forests and support  Indigenous peoples and local communities in developing countries who wish to reduce their emissions from deforestation and forest degradation through a fair and substantial funding mechanism.

We have everything to lose if we do not achieve this.  Please do not let us down.

We have grave fears over the current REDD deal.  We are worried because the SCA and SBSTA  REDD text does not:

Secure the rights and interests of indigenous peoples and forest dependent communities who lived in and have taken care of these forests in accordance with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People;

Specifically state that REDD will prioritize protecting intact natural forests and restoring degraded forests;

Rule out incentivizing the conversion of natural forests to plantations;

Rule out providing funds, incentives or rights ot carbon credits to logging companies who practice so called Sustainable Forest Management;

Exclude REDD forest credits from the carbon maket and include serious commitments from developed countries to provide funds of a similar scare to the recent financial recovery efforts during the global financial crisis;

And despite our numerous attempts  (and several t-shirts!) the REDD deal still does not have a forest definition that distinguishes between natural forests and plantations which are an agricultural tree crop,  not a forest.

The destruction of forests accounts for around 20 % of global greenhouse gas emissions.  We cannot secure a safe climate without reducing these emissions as well as fossil fuel emissions.  REDD should facilitate sustainable development,  reduce poverty and respond to climate change in developing country Parties rather than be a way  to help developed country Parties to fulfill their commitments to reduce emissions.

If you do not commit to fixing the fraft REDD deal we will lose confience in your ability to secure a safe furture for us and for future generations.

PLEASE DO NOT LET US DOWN.  WE NEED YOU TO ACT ON OUR BEHALF TODAY AND MAKE THESE CRITICAL CHANGES TO THE REDD TEXT.

For more information or to arrange a meeting with the Youth’s forest working group in Copenhagen contact youthforests@gmail.com

END of Youth statement to Party Delegates, Dec. 12, 2009

These Youth are the only ones here who are struggling on behalf of commonsense, on behalf of all humanity.  Please pray for the clear thinking of the UN party delegates.

Loving you,

Aunty Kamala

posted by Kamala on Dec 12

Dearest Friends and Family,

My last more personal letter extolled the sense of human brotherhood that was palpable at the COP. Its interesting. on Thursday, another energy settled in at the COP, that of the choke hold by the stinking hand of politics. For Three days, the meeting had had a different energy. Everyone can feel the change.  People are looking at each other sharper-ly.  There is seeing and not-seeing  of one another going on, more and more posturing.

The Annex 1 countries are often the Chair persons or ‘Presidents’ of the plenary meetings. Now, these are all human beings, although they represent millions upon millions. In the evening, they drink and socialize together, and their ‘guan-shi’ their well oiled relations play out the next day in negotiations. It is clear that the Annex 1 countries, the rich guys, have no real intention to alter their course from Business as usual. The rich developed countries want to sell or invest their clean technologies into the poorer nations. So, the same patterns of investment, debt, etc., can go on, as they have done. That pattern will keep the planet in its current course of destruction of the human civilization.

India is taking a stance that India cannot stop its development, and that apparently, the model held out by rich nations is the only one that the Indian government thinks or sees is feasible, although all attempts at copying it have only increased human misery and abject poverty in India 347% in the last 70 years and all around the world. Despite the obvious fact that we are having this meeting because this model has failed not only human beings but the entire creation. India does not want to be responsible for the carbon emissions, deforestation. The only thing that I have heard that makes sense from Indian politicos here is that the technology for clean emissions should be given freely to everyone from the rich nations. That, I agree with. If we know something and have something that can help others, it is our duty to share it. Yet, India already has the technology herself to freely green India, she has the brains, she doesn’t need it from outside…its so sad and irritating to see India crying, vying and trying to develop like the fat nations.  A simple, good, and godly life for all is within her reach..

Tuvalu, the island state that won the ‘Ray’ award, continues to be a Ray. Link was in one plenary meet, and noted how Tuvalu kept standing up to the Annex 1 powers, insisting that they follow the rules of the meetings and allow the amendments they had proposed to be acted upon. A lady from EU was ‘president’, and she did absolutely NOTHING to acknowledge the credence or facilitate their amendment, she suspended the talks until Saturday. Everyone who can is stalling on taking actions that would make a difference. Things that are of real import are adjourned to other meeting times, and there are only two weeks. At the most, there may be 2-5 clear statements at any meeting….

Africa, island nations, some South American, Central American and Eastern bloc countries are really getting shafted. And they hate it. The one reason that I can see as to why Brazil is being given a more ‘heavy clout’ position has to do with the massive ‘natural untapped resources’ in Brazil, and the lecherous eyes of the multinational companies running the Annex 1 countries….

All this development of alternative energy sources talk and action here, still doesn’t address any of the real issues. Its all based upon the assumption that we will still follow the model of greed and capitalism as suitable for human society. We will just do it ‘cleaner and greener’. This is a pipe dream. We cannot afford to keep up the models of consumerism….None of these grandiose schemes has worked in the last 100 years, ‘development’ so called is just making more poverty, environmental degradation and life dissatisfaction among the masses.

There are many who deny that climate change is even happening. Holy Mother Amma has said that the imbalance of Nature is due to our selfishness and greed, which has resulted in actions that have polluted the Earth massively. Its really kind of blind to think that 1000’s of scientists from all over the world who have found tremendous imbalance to be occurring are all in on some sort of conspiracy. To think like that betrays a rather paranoid mind-set.

From this, you should all understand that we are dealing with archaic mind sets. Above all, the priority seems to be not to disturb the status quo unduly and to get the short sighted goals of the unelected, undemocratic WTO as law.  The fat-cats just want to go out if this life with as much of the goodies as they can. Its just amazing how very little ‘life thinking’ is going on.

The root of all of this lack of commonsense caring and responsibility, is the shoddy education these people have received at what are considered ‘top notch’ institutions…

The Climate Justice Fasters, Anna Keenan and Sara Svensson met with Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the COP-15, and told him we are calling for an International Day of Prayer and Fasting on next Thursday, Dec. 17. They asked him to participate; he said he would think about it. They asked for 8 minutes with Barak Obama….I don’t anticipate being in on that, unless Lord wills otherwise.

The Youth are making an impact, Link is going to represent the World Youth Congress in an 90 second Congress assessment presented to the UN on the necessity of putting the preservation of Forests into the agreement on Saturday. When he gets over that, I’ll post it for you all….There are all these utterly frustratin’ moves to make ‘plantation forests’ to allow the greedy ones to hew down the older forests…

The Youth all wore bright orange T-shirts on Thursday that said, “How old will you be in 2050?” One EU UN party delegate in the meeting with Tuvalu, stood up and commented that she thought it was a good point to consider as most of the people making the death dealing obfuscations at the negotiations won’t be around then…and she asked them to consider what is in the interest of Youth…and the unborn…that was pretty big for this point to receive any acknowledgement. By this you should all understand how far removed the UN party delegates are from the concerns of the people.

One does see here, at these meetings, even among the Youth who are becoming ‘regulars’ the ever present politicking, its really a big club, and as such, disappointing. Many of our Youth seek careers in this world. To that extent, perhaps, they may lose sight of their ideals. Clubs are groups, and subject to all the ridiculous stupidity of acceptance, rejections, ostracism, denial, favouritism and jockeying for position that groups do to members and non-members.

There is drinking, even among the Youth. The party Delegates are regularly pretty soused by 6PM…Wine, beer, ‘hard’ liquors, cheese and pastries conclude the day. Its more than a little scary that our future is in the hands of people who have no difficulty to cloud their thinking and discriminative capacities when they need to be very alert the next morning in order to serve the public trust in them. We need moral and ethical people to run the planet, not the reverse. I don’t agree that people need to ‘party’ together in order to work well and respect each others views together. If we are here to serve Truth, then this kind of hob-nobbing is unimportant. Link doesn’t bother with it.

Interestingly, several more  Youth have come from India on various pretexts, 2 from winning a computer contest, others rellies in some way of official party members. They appear to have been groomed to an extent, like the Chinese youth delegation, to repeat and support party lines. Thankfully, these youth are not part of Youngo, the International Youth Congress, which the team that Link is on is part of. It is unfortunate that the older cultures of Asia, India and China, do not really want to hear nor really accept nor respect the voice of youth…these cultures don’t want any questioning, yet, there surely needs to be as their progress shows.   Pity.

As Youth’s participation is becoming more and more of a serious affair, I suspect that next year there will be more and more hurdles to overcome in getting the opportunity to participate…Link’s and now my coming are purely Amma’s Grace. It’s a heady world, I don’t know if I really can serve well in it.  Indian youth are great organizers, good dramatists, bright beyond bright, and I suspect that their energy is a little unnerving to the Indian party delegates.

I’m just grateful that throughout the day and at the end of the Day, I can say to myself, “What will serve You, my Beloved? Make me to do That.” and give it all back to Her at the end of the Day…Poor Dearest Lord. What a mess we offer Thee.

On another note, I have observed that I feel very safe to walk around at night alone in Denmark. There is a general air of honesty and respecting other persons present in the Danish atmosphere. I do not feel safe to walk alone even during the day is isolated areas in the USA or India. Nor do other people. I have rarely seen a woman walking alone in the US without a dog or a man. There is a general social confidence that people won’t steal here.

Also, I do observe that whilst in the USA, there is a great deal of ‘public display of sexual affection’ there is absolutely none here. There are filthy ads up, but not nearly as much as on the way to Kollam. Also, the stores close quite early, by 6, and people have gone home to their families, and everything is closed on Sundays except public transport and churches. We hope to go to visit a church in Sweden on Sunday. I should like to see the expression of Christianity here.

And, I do observe that Friday night and Saturday night seems to be heavy drinking night for many people, including youth. There is also alot of smoking. Maybe the cold influences these factors, I don’t know.

I met a Swedish lady, the Swedes are also a very nice, honest, forthright people, and asked her why everyone is wearing black. She said she felt it was due to an ethos of not wanting to stand out too much in the public eye.

We have the same in India, but we have it at the real level of personality, and self-aggrandisement- people should appear to be chaste, humble and modest to demonstrate ethical virtues in their bearing and expressions of themselves, rather than just their clothing. I see very few swaggering youth here, unlike what I have seen in the US…

In a certain sense, I really do feel that while the EU countries have been able to impart alot of social instruction to their children, crossing the roads at the right places, environmental awareness, recycling, electricity saving, general honesty, etc.,  the real rules for living life by, the restraints on acquisition, of brahmacharya in all aspects of life, duty, etc. are not being imparted anywhere in the world, nor is this frankly going on in India among the ‘rising middle’. The US is now a very poor model for anything, particularly the development of Youth. So, I can’t say what the future will be, if we teach our children that to get drunk is a good thing to do with their time, etc., rather than the sanctity of their body temples and their brains….if we teach them to amass for themselves at all costs…that he who dies with the most ‘wins’ or that he who ‘has’ is ’successful’.

All of the adult-child interactions that I have been able to observe make me feel that Children are by and large, loved by society in Denmark. I do not have this feeling in the US, which follows the old hidebound english customs, of  “To be seen and not heard.” In this, perhaps Denmark is taking a more realistic outlook on their societal development…but it is very far from the ideal…however, the honesty and non-stealing, the safety one feels for ones person is most refreshing. And Danish art is expressed through very simple  and pleasing designs with clean lines in furniture, facilities, the kitchen, etc.  Ostentatiousness is not part of Danish culture.

In Denmark, everyone except Family members, is addressed by their first name. The dr., the lawyer, the teacher, the policeman, the mayor…are just Bob or Tina, the queen is just Queen, etc. In this and through this, a great sense of social equality pervades. It allows people to meet each other in a place that is not a pre-determined hierarchical relationship – a place closer to Truth. I like this quality very much.

Thursday night after the Klima press meet, we met the Italian Youth delegation, and brought them into see the Fasters. They left Friday morning…they all want to come to India. Italy does have alot of heart energy…its refreshing….

Well, I have to get ready and get out the door….I’m not feeling too well, I think I have strained the cardiac with carrying this heavy computer, thermos, lunch, etc, on my back, buying groceries, hauling laundry…my shoulder nerves burn…I felt so refreshed by the coolness in the air when we came that I slipped into my old mode of heavy physical activities, and now feel quite strained.

I’m hoping to get out to the Klima Forum and meet Vandana Shiva…tried to meet her last summer, but was held up by the Dr.-in Dharamsala from travelling…I’m really not sure I can go though….its pretty tight in the chest.

Anyhow, all will be well…as long as my Anni and Amma are with me.

Note: Now Saturday Dec. 12, 09. I’m at the COP. In the place where there are at least 300 free use computers set up. Due to crowding ( its getting like darshan time in Amritapuri) there is going to be a huge reduction in those of us from ngo’s. I will probably be cut, as I have less to do here than others. In this event, I will be attending the Klima Forum full time. Today is the day of a huge walk from Bella Center to the middle of Copenhagen, everyone wearing blue ponchos, to represent the wave of water, the pralaya that is rather quickly submerging the land on Earth.

The second day we were here a beautful fat and furry black and white kitty spent the morning with me.  Of course, from my Anni.    I had an urge to have a cat lie upon my chest while I hugged it, and ‘Suddha’ as it seemed her name was, showed up at the door, insisting on being allowed in.  She didn’t want to leave either.  I haven’t seen her since.  There are big black and white birds, that look like huge versions of the magpie robbin of Amritapuri, they have very long tails that bob alot as they try to balance. They seem a bit like Carrawonks… We have sighted several flocks of birds in the sky…not pidges, other people…there are seagulls too, and their more angular white shapes against the grey skies are striking. The vegetation is similar to where Link and Anni grew up, so we feel quite at home.  Good to see the dried out goldenrods of winter.

I planned to meet Link at the Klima but really couldn’t,  spent the day in total silence and stillness, and am much better today, although I dare not lift anything. Link went to Vandana Shiva’s talk, and she was very concerned about the Climate Justice Fast and has happily agreed to join on Dec. 17^th Thursday, the International Call for Prayer and Fasting as Penance and Plea to Mother Earth. Hope you all will as well.

Loving you,

Aunty Kamala