Vinayak Narahari "Vinoba" Bhave ( pronunciation (helpinfo); 11 September 1895 15

November 1982) was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often

called Acharya (Sanskrit for teacher), he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He is

considered as a National Teacher of India and the spiritual successor of Mohandas Gandhi.[1]

Contents [hide]

1 Early life and background

2 Career

2.1 Freedom struggle

2.2 Religious and social work

2.3 Brahma Vidya Mandir

2.4 Literary career

2.5 Vinobha Bhave and Land Donation Movement

3 Later life and death

4 Criticism

5 Awards

6 Bibliography

7 See also

8 References

9 Further reading

10 External links

Early life and background [edit]

Vinoba (born Vinayaka Rao Bhave) was born into a pious Chitpavan Brahmin family on 11

September 1895 in a small village called Gagode (present day Gagode Budruk[2])

in Kolaba now in Pen, Raigad district of Maharashtra. Vinayaka was the eldest son of Narahari

Shambhu Rao and Rukmini Devi. The couple had five children four sons and one daughter,

named Vinayaka (affectionately called Vinya), Balakrishna, Shivaji and Dattatreya. His father,

Narahari Shambhu Rao was a trained weaver with a rationalist modern outlook, and worked

in Baroda.[3] Vinayaka was brought up by his grandfather, Shamburao Bhave and was greatly

influenced by his mother Rukmini Devi, a religious woman from Karnataka.[3] Vinayak was

highly inspired after reading theBhagavad Gita, at a very young age.[3]

A report in the newspapers about Gandhiji's speech at the newly founded Benaras Hindu

University attracted Vinoba's attention. In 1916, on his way to Mumbai (then Bombay) to

appear for the intermediate examination, Vinoba Bhave put his school and college certificates

into a fire. Vinoba took the decision after reading the piece of writing in the newspaper written

by Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote a letter to Gandhiji and after an exchange of letters, Gandhiji

advised Vinoba to come for a personal meeting atKochrab Ashram in Ahmedabad. Vinoba met

Gandhiji on 7 June 1916 and subsequently abandoned his studies. Vinoba participated with

Vinoba Kutir at Sabarmati

Ashram

keen interest in the activities at Gandhiji's ashram, like teaching, studying, spinning and

improving the life of the community. His involvement with Gandhiji's constructive programmes

related to Khadi, village industries, new education (Nai Talim), sanitation and hygiene also

kept on increasing.

Vinoba went to Wardha on 8 April 1921 to take charge of the Ashram as desired by Gandhiji.

In 1923, he brought out 'Maharashtra Dharma', a Marathi monthly which had his essays on the

Upanishads. Later on, this monthly became a weekly and continued for three years. In 1925,

he was sent by Gandhiji to Vaikom, Kerala to supervise the entry of the Harijans to the temple.

Vinoba was arrested several times during the 1920s and '30s and served a five-year jail

sentence in the '40s for leading non-violent resistance to British rule. The jails for Vinoba had

become the places of reading and writing. He wrote Ishavasyavritti and Sthitaprajna Darshan

jail. He also learnt four South Indian languages and created the script of Lok Nagari

at Vellore jail. In the jails, he gave a series of talks on Bhagavad Gita in Marathi, to his fellow

prisoners. Bhave participated in the nationwide civil disobedience periodically conducted

against the British, and was imprisoned with other nationalists. Despite these many activities,

he was not well known to the public. He gained national prominence when Gandhi chose him

as the first participant in a new nonviolent campaign in 1940.

Career [edit]

Freedom struggle [edit]

He was associated with Mahatma Gandhi in theIndian

independence movement. He stayed for some time at

Gandhi's Sabarmati ashram in a cottage that was named

after him, 'Vinoba Kutir'. In 1932 he was sent to jail by the

British colonial government because of his activism

against British rule. There he gave a series of talks on the

Gita, in his native language Marathi, to his fellow prisoners.

These highly inspiring talks were later published as the

book "Talks on the Gita", and it has been translated into

many languages both in India and elsewhere. Vinoba felt

that the source of these talks was something from above and he believed that its influence will

endure even if his other works were forgotten.

In 1940 he was chosen by Gandhi to be the first individual Satyagrahi (an individual standing

up for Truth instead of a collective action) against the British rule.[4] It is said that Gandhi

envied and respected Bhave's celibacy, a vow he made in his adolescence, in fitting with his

belief in the Brahmacharyaprinciple. Bhave also participated in the Quit India Movement.

Gandhi and Vinoba

Religious and social work [edit]

Vinoba's religious outlook was very broad and it

synthesised the truths of many religions. This can be seen

in one of his hymns "Om Tat Sat" which contains symbols of

many religions. His slogan " " (Jay Jagat) i.e.

"victory to the world" finds reflection in his views about the

world as a whole.

Vinoba observed the life of the average Indian living in a

village and tried to find solutions for the problems he faced

with a firm spiritual foundation. This formed the core of his Sarvoda movement. Another

example of this is the Bhoodan (land gift) movement started at Pochampally on 18 April 1951,

after interacting with 80 Harijan families. He walked all across India asking people with land to

consider him as one of their sons and so give him one sixth of their land which he then

distributed to landless poor. Non-violence and compassion being a hallmark of his philosophy,

he also campaigned against the slaughtering of cows.

Vinoba said, "I have walked all over India for 13 years. In the backdrop of enduring perpetuity

of my life's work, I have established 6 ashrams.

Brahma Vidya Mandir [edit]

The Brahma Vidya Mandir is one of the ashrams that Bhave created. It is a small community

for women that was created in order for them to become self-sufficient and non-violent in a

community. This group farms to get their own food, but uses Gandhi's beliefs about food

production, which include sustainability and social justice, as a guide. This community, like

Gandhi and Bhave, has been influenced greatly by the Bhagavad-Gita and that is also used to

determine their practices. The community perform prayers as a group every day, reciting from

the Isha Upanishadat dawn, the Vishnu Sahasranama at mid-morning, and the Bhagavad-

Gita in the evening. As of today, there are around 25 women who are members of the

community and several men have also been allowed to join in the community.[5]

Since its' founding in 1959, members of Brahma Vidya Mandir (BVM), an intentional community

for women in Paunar, Maharashtra, have dealt with the struggle of translating Ghandian

values such as self-sufficiency, non-violence, and public-service into specific practices of food

production and consumption. BVM's existence and the counter-narrative its residents practice

demonstrate how one community debate the practicalities and tradeoffs in their application of

self-sufficiency, non-violence, and radical democracy to their own social and geographic

context. One narrative described by BVM and the farmers that work with them is that large-

scale agriculture is inevitable, necessary, and the sole possibility of feeding the world. They

reject the narrative that success in agriculture comes from expensive technology. BVM is a

small community in India, therefore it does not hold much power in its beliefs and practices.

However, India today proudly proclaims its large and growing middle class, and although many

see Gandhi as a hero, some reject his views in favor of US-style-consumerism and look for an

alternate route in agriculture with technological advancements. The existence of BVM provides

a counter-narrative on enacting alternate agriculture practices and social practices that were

believed by woman back in the 1960s.[6]

Literary career [edit]

Vinoba Bhave was a scholar, thinker, and writer who produced numerous books. He was a

translator who made Sanskrit texts accessible to the common man. He was also an orator and

linguist who had an excellent command of several languages (Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu,

English, Sanskrit). Vinoba Bhave was an innovative social reformer. Shri Vinoba Bhave called

"Kannada" script as "Queen of World Scripts" "Vishwa Lipigala Raani" He wrote brief

introductions to, and criticisms of, several religious and philosophical works like the Bhagavad

Gita, works of Adi Shankaracharya, the Bible and Quran. His criticism of Dnyaneshwar's poetry

and works by other Marathi saints is quite brilliant and a testimony to the breadth of his

intellect.

Vinoba Bhave had translated the Bhagavad Gita into Marathi. He was deeply influenced by the

Gita and attempted to imbibe its teachings into his life, often stating that "The Gita is my life's

breath".[7]

Some of his works are:

The essence of Quran

The essence of Christian teachings

Thoughts on education

Swarajya Sastra

A University has been named after him, Vinoba Bhave University, which is located in

Hazaribagh district in the State of Jharkhand.

Vinobha Bhave and Land Donation Movement [edit]

On 18 April 1951,[8] Vinoba Bhave started his land donation movement at Pochampally of

nalgonda district Telangana,[9] theBhoodan Movement. He took donated land from land owner

Indians and gave it away to the poor and landless, for them to cultivate. Then after 1954, he

started to ask for donations of whole villages in a programme he called Gramdan. He got more

than 1000 villages by way of donation. Out of these, he obtained 175 donated villages in Tamil

Nadu alone. Noted Gandhian and atheistLavanam was the interpreter of Vinoba Bhave during

his land reform movement in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Orissa[1]

Later life and death [edit]

Vinoba spent the later part of his life at his Brahma Vidya Mandir ashram in Paunar in Wardha

district of Maharashtra. He died on 15 November 1982 after refusing food and medicine for a

few days. The Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, who was visiting Moscow to attend the

funeral of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, cut short her visit to be at the funeral of Vinoba.

Criticism [edit]

V.S. Naipaul has given scathing criticism of Bhave in his collection of essays citing his lack of

connection with rationality and excessive imitation of Gandhi. Even some of his admirers find

fault with the extent of his devotion to Gandhi. Much more controversial was his support,

ranging from covert to open, to Congress Party's government under Indira Gandhi, which was

fast becoming unpopular. He controversially backed the Indian Emergency imposed by Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi, calling itAnushasana Parva (Time for Discipline). Congress party

opponents at that time had coined the derogatory term "Sarkari Sant (Government Saint)" to

describe him. Noted Marathi writer Purushottam Laxman Deshpande publicly criticised him and

mocked him by writing article titled as "Vanaroba" which is disambiguation of name "Vinoba"

and literally means monkey. However, in his end days he was very much against Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi as she had ordered a shootout of the Sant Samaj who had undertaken

a gherao of Parliiiament against cow slaughter.[citation needed] The criticism has been

considered objectionable and unfounded later. By Anushasan Parva Time for Discipline he

meant everyone to follow the rule including the rulers of that time. At a later stage he called

Intelligentsia to chart a path for the ruling community and public in general. During anushasn

Parva the king has to take the permission of the great men of his time by that he meant to

put the government under the guidance of the learned.[citation needed] The identified persons

included Late Shrimannarayan former Governor of Gujarat and a great Gandhian of his

time. They had suggested lifting of emergency. Yet the erstwhile government did not pay heed

to the advice which had Vinoba Bhave's blessings and initiative.

Awards [edit]

In 1958 Vinoba was the first recipient of the international Ramon Magsaysay Award for

Community Leadership.[10] He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1983.[11]

Bibliography [edit]Geeta Pravachane (in all Indian languages)

Vichar Pothi (in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English)

Sthitapragnya Darshan (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati also translated in English)

Madhukar (collection and compilation of his articles written over the years (before freedom

was achieved.)

Krant Darshan

Teesri Shakti or The Third Power (his views on political life of the nation)

Swarajya Shastra (his political treatise)

Bhoodan Ganga in 9/10 volumes, (in Marathi, Hindi) collection and compilation of his

speeches from 18 April 1951)

Selected Works (in Hindi in 21 volumes, edited by Gautam Bajaj)

Moved by Love (his life in his own words)