Vinoba was born into a pious Chitpavan Brahmin family on September 11, 1895 in Gagode in Kolaba district of Maharashtra. Vinayak Narahari Bhave was his childhood name and he was greatly influenced by his mother Rukmini Devi, a religious woman. He was highly inspired after reading the Bhagavad Gita, at a very young age.
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 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 at Kochrab Ashram in Ahmedabad.
Vinoba met Gandhiji on June 7, 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 April 8, 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.
Vinoba went to Wardha on April 8, 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 Naga
( Vinoba Kutir In Sabarmati Ashram)
He was associated with Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian 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. It is said that Gandhi envied and respected Bhave's celibacy, a vow he made in his adolescence, in fitting with his belief in theBrahmacharya principle. Bhave also participated in the Quit India Movement.
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 Sat" which contains symbols of many religions.
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
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 Upanishad at 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.
Literary career
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 Nagari script the "Queen of World Scripts". 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".[3]
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
In 1951 Vinoba Bhave started his land donation movement, the Bhoodan 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 atheist Lavanam was the interpreter of Vinoba Bhave during his land reform movement in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Orissa
He observed silence since 25.12.1974.
He observed silence since 25.12.1974.
Later life and death
Vinoba spent the later part of his life at his Brahma Vidya Mandir ashram in Paunar, Maharashtra. He died on 15 November 1982 after refusing food and medicine for a few days. The then 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.
" 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 it Anushasana Parva (Time for Discipline)"
In 1958 Vinoba was the first recipient of the international Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership. He was invited to join a rally of anti-nuclear war. But he did not join expecting a sudden attack on the rally.In 1964 Pope Paul offered a gold medal to Vinoba .He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1983.
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