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

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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

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

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Freedom struggle

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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

Vinoba Kutir at Sabarmati

Ashram

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.

Religious and social work

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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

Gandhi and Vinoba

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

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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 BhagavadGita 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 largescale 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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)