On the fourth of July in 2015, I had a conversation with Dr. Bira in which he expressed a wish that I might do my best to popularize Tenggerissm. His wish directly correlated to my own private intention and so I was emboldened to begin a process that continues to evolve along three interwoven lines: historical research, analysis of the present and an imaginative line that extends into the future. The third should not be understood as speculation or prediction, which are passive modalities of limited value. It rather proceeds from the notion that the future is formed firstly in the imaginative realm, and so care and attention must attend this formative process. Chingiss Khaan summarized thus: “I receive my inspiration from Father Sky, but it is through Mother Earth that I am able to turn my inspiration into reality.” Chingiss Khaan sought inspiration as a matter of great practical necessity, especially as each successive phase in his leadership produced unprecedented challenges. It was his Tenggerist outlook that gave coherence to his efforts, harmonizing often radical ideas with all available human and natural resources.  Inherent also in this Tenggerist perspective is the spirit of gratitude, which all people of faith and wisdom regard as the foundation of prosperity. We see in Tenggerism an elegant, multi-dimensional conceptualization of life which remains as whole, distinct and unblemished today as it was in its primodial inception. We see, moreover, a conceptualization which agrees with our modern aspirational notions of Development. It is in this regard that the task of popularizing Tenggerism takes on, for this writer, great immediacy. The symbolic representation of Tenggerism–three circles in triadic symmetry–expresses the balanced relationship between Father Sky’s inspirational energies, Mother Earth’s material blessings and Human initiative.  For this writer, this symbol represents the infinite, unbounded nature of creative potential, constituting a promise whose ongoing fulfillment depends upon universal laws of harmony. It is, I believe, no coincidence that the same symbol appears on the banner of the Roerich Pact.  The Pact’s principle advocate, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was also one of the modern age’s most forward-thinking proponents of Development.  Roosevelt’s vision of a world uplifted by the spirit of Development remains Humankind’s best hope. It is my hope that my efforts to popularize Tenggerism might contribute something to the actualization of Roosevelt’s vision.

Peace through Development. Development through Culture. Pax Cultura.