EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
Acharya Vinoba Bhave
- Birth:
- Vinayak Narahari Bhave was born on 11th September 1895 in Gagode, Bombay Presidency (Maharashtra).
- He was the eldest son of Narahari Shambhu Rao and Rukmini Devi.
- Brief Profile:
- Acharya Vinoba Bhave was a nonviolence activist, freedom activist, social reformer and spiritual teacher.
- Being an avid follower of Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba upheld his doctrines of non-violence and equality.
- He dedicated his life to serve the poor and the downtrodden, and stood up for their rights.
- Awards & Recognition:
- Vinoba was the first recipient of the international Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1958.
- He was also conferred with the Bharat Ratna (India''s highest civilian awards) posthumously in 1983.
- Association with Gandhi:
- Vinoba met Gandhi on 7th June 1916 and took residence at the Ashram.
- Gandhi’s teachings led Bhave to a life of austerity dedicated to improving Indian village life.
- The name Vinoba (a traditional Marathi epithet signifying great respect) was conferred upon him by Mama Phadke, another member of the Ashram.
- On 8th April 1921, Vinoba went to Wardha to take charge of a Gandhi-ashram there under the directives from Gandhi.
- During his stay at Wardha, Bhave also brought out a monthly in Marathi, named, `Maharashtra Dharma'' which consisted of his essays on the Upanishads.
- Role in Freedom Struggle:
- He took part in programs of non-cooperation and especially the call for use of Swadeshi goods instead of foreign imports.
- He took up the spinning wheel churning out Khadi and urged others to do so, resulting in mass production of the fabric.
- In 1932, Vinoba was sent to jail for six months to Dhulia as he was accused of conspiracy against British rule.
- During the imprisonment, he explained to fellow prisoners the different subjects of ''Bhagwad Gita'', in Marathi.
- All the lectures given by him on Gita in Dhulia jail were collected and later published as a book.
- He was also chosen as the first Individual Satyagrahi (an Individual standing up for Truth instead of a collective action) by Gandhi himself.
- He served a five-year prison sentence in the 1940s for leading nonviolent resistance to British rule.
- He was given the honorific title “Acharya” (teacher).
- Role in Social Work:
- He worked tirelessly towards eradicating social evils like inequality.
- Influenced by the examples set by Gandhi, he took up the cause of people who were referred to as Harijans by Gandhi.
- He adopted the term Sarvodaya from Gandhi which simply means “Progress for All”.
- The Sarvodaya movement under him implemented various programs during the 1950s, the chief among which is the Bhoodan Movement.
- Bhoodan Movement:
- In 1951, Vinoba Bhave started his peace-trek on foot through the violence-torn region of Telangana.
- On 19th 1951, the Harijans of the Pochampalli village requested him to provide them with around 80 acres of land to make a living.
- Vinoba asked the landlords of the village to come forward and save the Harijans.
- A landlord got up and offered the required land.
- It was the beginning of the Bhoodan (Gift of the Land) movement.
- The movement continued for thirteen years and Vinoba toured the length and breadth of the country, a total distance of 58741 Km.
- He was successful in collecting around 4.4 million acres of land, of which around 1.3 million was distributed among poor landless farmers.
- The movement attracted admiration from all over the world and was commended for being the only experiment of his kind to incite voluntary social justice.
- Religious Work:
- He set up a number of Ashrams to promote a simple way of life, devoid of luxuries that took away one’s focus from the Divine.
- He established the Brahma Vidya Mandir in 1959, a small community for women, aiming at self-sufficiency on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings.
- He took a strong stand on cow slaughter and declared to go on fast until it was banned in India.
- Literary Work:
- His important books include: Swarajya Sastra, Geeta Pravachane, Teesri Shakti or The Third Power etc.
- Death:
- Died in 1982, Wardha, Maharashtra.
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