Notes on Kumar’s philosophy Kumar, in his life and actions, was deeply committed to recognizing the Gandhian principles of nonviolence (ahimsa) and the force of truth (satyagraha — literally “holding firmly to truth”). And he saw these principles as mutually reflecting a deeper truth; namely that we are all interconnected and interdependent, and that in being so, are unified at the deepest levels. The sustainability of life rests on the maintenance of this unity, and this in turn requires insuring our actions serve the Common Good. Nonviolence embodies this attitude, encouraging values of tolerance, respect, compassion, and the ideal of universal love, as Kumar would use that phrase. In 1994 he wrote “I am beginning to feel that the practice of ahimsa, as the living of universal love, in everyday life is the only effective solution for most of the social and ecological problems of today.” He also stated. “The un-sustainability of our society, and its threat to life on Earth, is a global issue that requires a global solution. Discovering universal truths, and integrating them into everyday life, is the only way out. Globalization should no longer be used for global exploitation but as an opportunity for selfless service to build peaceful and prosperous communities.” His sense of the Common Good covered the material, social, and philosophical. At the material level, in focusing on the Common Good, he reinvented the chemistry and technology of making concrete to increase its sustainability and to reduce its environmental impact. He responded to the social dimension of Common Good by offering his patents to India, and by direct social action such as restoring water tanks in Indian villages. And he drew on the spiritual and philosophical grounds of ahimsa to explore how a society may cultivate the Common Good. In 1993, The Centennial of the First Parliament of Religions (which had been held in conjunction with the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago Illinois), Kumar, (along with Henry Baer and Nik Warren) founded a non-profit, AHIMSA, which was dedicated to sponsoring interdisciplinary conferences which explored global issues from a platform drawing on the spirit and practicum of ahimsa. Kumar dedicated the profits from the sales of his now famous textbook (“Concrete” by Paulo J. M. Monteiro and Povindar Kumar Mehta) to support this organization. Kumar offered all of us who knew him a model of a life dedicated to global awareness and to a humility in service to the Common Good. We remain, not in debt to him, but in enrichment to pass on from him what we have learned from him — a man who gave all away in a practice of universal love.