Mario Luis Rodríguez Cobos

Mario Luis Rodríguez Cobos known with the penname Silo was born on the 6^th January 1938 in Mendoza; he died on the 16^th September 2010. He was an argentine writer and also the founder of the Humanist Movement in the country. He is an active speaker who wrote books, short stories, articles and studies that are related to the politics of the country, the society, psychology, spirituality and other topics. Though he saw himself as just a writer, many saw him be also a thinker because of the diversity of the issues he wrote about.

source of picture: humanismeemergent.blogspot.com

Biography

Silo was born into a middle-class family of Spanish Origin in Mendoza, Argentina. The father, Don Rafael Rodriguez was a producer of wine and the mother, Dona Maria Luisa Cobis was a Basque and teacher of music. He is the youngest of three children with siblings Guillermo and Raquel.

He passed through his primary and secondary education with the school called Maristas Brotherhood and came out with good result, while he was practicing gymnastics and focusing in the Pommel horse and getting to the highest position. He passed through special studies in different languages like French and Italian and he also studied philosophy. He also published articles in rhe cultural magazines of the country.

Silo studied law for three years at the University of Buenos Aires and later when the faculty of political science was opened in Mendoza, he went back home to his home town and continued with his education in political science. When he was in the University, Silo started arranging for research groups on human beings and the existence of human being as well as the social problems of the society.

Silo toured around the country as well as many Southern American countries and Europe and did many works. By the year 1960, he started presenting his proposals, while he was still forging study groups in Argentina and in Chile. With the members of the group, Silo was able to arrange for a public talk that was first banned by the military government of the country, though was later allowed in the mountains, away from the centers of the population of the country. 

On the 4^th May 1969, Silo spoke to about 200 people that are gathered in Punta de Vacas in the high mountain of Andes beside Mount Aconcagua and there he gave his first public exposition of the ideas, which in time formed the basis for the Humanist Movement in the country.

In the year 1972, Silo published the book called The Inner Look and the Initial groups were extended in many other countries partly due to the military dictatorships brought up the exile of the participants. In the early part of the 1970s, he founded the current thought that is known to be the New Humanism and he also founded the Humanism Movement. Since the 1980s, and under his orientation, the Humanist Movement started a period of expansion in the world with the creation of front of action and organism. The Humanist party was in more than 30 countries in the world.

He was invited to express his proposals in many public rallies in the European and Asian countries and he visited Rome, Madrid, Barcelona and Mumbai in India and also Colombo in Sri Lanka before he went back to Paris and later to California and Mexico City.

On the 6^th October 1993, in Moscow, Silo was given the award of doctorate honoriscausa by the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Academy of Science of the Soviet Union.

In the early days of the year 2002, Silo announced his retirement from the Humanist Movement after being the driving force of the party for the total of 32 years.

In the mid-2002, Silo launched Silo’s Message known to be a book, an experience and a path and among the most recent works he did, he gave motivation to the erection of complexes called Parks of Study and Reflection in the following countries; Argentina, Chile, Spain, USA, Italy, India and Egypt, and some other geographical locations around the world. The money for the construction of the complexes was raised from voluntary donations.

One of the last public addresses he had was on the 11^th November 2009 in Berlin at the Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, at the time of the passage through the city of the World March for Peace and Nonviolence. On the occasion, he called for nuclear disarmament for the world to be the best problem to be tackled by the entire planet.

His last years were spent in Charcas de Coria, a town that is on the outskirt of the city of Mendoza. He died at his residence on the 16^th September 2010, and that was after he had suffered for over a year with the renal disease.

Published Books

Ø  The Inner Look, 1979.

Ø  The Internal Landscape, 1981.

Ø  Humanize the Earth1989.

Ø  Guided Experiences1989.

Ø  Contributions to Thought1991.

Ø  Universal Root Myths1991.

Ø  Letters to my Friends1993.

Ø  The Day of the Winged Lion1993.

Ø  Dictionary of New Humanism1996.

Ø  Silo Speaks1996.

Ø  Collected Works - Volume I1998.

Ø  Collected Works - Volume II2002.

Ø  Notes on Psychology 2006: (collection of conferences, 1975, 1976, 1978 and 2006).

Ø  Silo's Message2008.