Vinoba Bhave
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vinoba Bhave, born Vinayak Narahari Bhave (September 11, 1895 - November 15, 1982) often called Acharya (In Sanskrit and Hindi means teacher), is considered as a National Teacher of India and the spiritual successor of Mahatma Gandhi.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
He was born in Gagode, Maharashtra on September 11, 1895 into a pious family of the Chitpavan Brahmin clan. He was highly inspired after reading the Bhagavad Gita, one of the holiest Hindu scriptures at a very early age.
[edit] Freedom struggle
He was associated with Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian independence movement. In 1932 he was sent to jail by the British colonial government because of his fight 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 to many languages both in India and elsewhere. Vinoba felt that the source of these talks was something 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. Bhave also participated in the Quit India Movement
Shri Vinoba Bhave called "Kannada" script as "Queen of World Scripts" - " Vishwa Lipigala Raani -
[edit] Religious and social work
Vinoba's religious outlook was very broad and it synthesized the truths of many religions. This can be seen in one of his hymns "Om Tat" which contains symbols of many religions. He was also a scholar of many languages.
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 Sarvodaya (Awakening of all potentials) movement. Another example of this is the Bhoodhan (land gift) movement. He walked all across India asking people with land to consider him as one of their sons and so give him a portion 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.
[edit] Later life and death
Vinoba spent the later part of his life at his ashram in Paunar, Maharashtra. He controversially backed the Indian Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, calling it Anushasana Parva (Time for Discipline).
He died on November 15, 1982 after refusing food and medicine few days earlier. Some Indians have identified this as sallekhana.
[edit] Awards
In 1958 Vinoba was the first recipient of the international Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1983.
[edit] Quotes
- "All revolutions are spiritual at the source. All my activities have the sole purpose of achieving a union of hearts."
- "Peace is something mental and spiritual. If there be peace in our (personal) life, it will affect the whole world"
- "Jai Jagat!—Victory to the world!"
- "It is a curious phenomena that God has made the hearts of the poor, rich and those of the rich, poor."
- "What we should aim at is the creation of people power, which is opposed to the power of violence and is different from the coercive power of state."
- "A country should be defended not by arms, but by ethical behavior."
- "We cannot fight new wars with old weapons."
- "There is no need for me to protest against the government’s faults, it is against its good deeds that my protests are needed."
- "Do not allow yourself to imagine that revolutionary thinking can be propagated by governmental power."
- "I beg you not to adopt any “go slow” methods of nonviolence. In nonviolence you must go full steam ahead, if you want the good to come speedily you must go about it with vigor. A merely soft, spineless ineffective kind of nonviolence will actually encourage the growth of the status quo and all the forces of a violent system which we deplore."
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The King of Kindness: Vinoba Bhave and His Nonviolent Revolution
- "Talks on The Gita" by Vinoba Bhave
- Citation for 1958 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership
- Pen and Ink Portrait of Vinoba Bhave
