Carbon Dharma: The Occupation of Butterflies

Using the metaphor of metamorphosis, Carbon Dharma calls for our occupation of the Earth as Butterflies, to undo the damage done by the human species in its present Caterpillar stage of existence. It diagnoses the reasons for our Caterpillar stage of existence as the misinterpretation of the fundamental principles that underlie our democracy and our industrial civilization. It posits that the solution to our predicament was already revealed in the first chapter of the Rig Veda, one of the oldest and foundational texts of human religion, and that we are doing the exact opposite of the Rig Veda's prescription in our modern consumer societies, following false Freudian assertions. The book is intended for the youth of this world who are facing some of the gravest challenges ever faced by any generation of human beings. It is also intended for all those who love the youth of this world, for the youth cannot solve these challenges on their own while their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts continue to pile on more grave challenges for them to solve. While drawing upon the ancient Hindu concept of Dharma, or "right action", the book weaves illustrative stories from the author's life and leads up to a global call to action, action of a very specific, focused kind. Rather than listing hundreds of "change-light-bulb" type actions that a lot of us have been doing disjointly, but somewhat ineffectively, it lists three specific actions that we can begin to do concertedly to make a difference. While changing the world is about changing ourselves, effecting social change requires such concerted action.

Sailesh Rao is the Executive Director of the US 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, Climate Healers. An Electrical Engineer by training with a Ph.D., from Stanford University in Stanford, CA, Sailesh switched careers and became deeply immersed in the various environmental crises facing humanity after some life changing events and after he watched Vice President Al Gore’s slide show on TV. Carbon Dharma is the result of his findings over the years.