Page 105 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

21oha “krkCnh esa vkpk;Z fouksck Hkkos dh izklafxdrk

of money, perhaps he could have been more pragmatic, more like Gandhi, and looked for ways to limit
abuse rather than trying to eliminate money altogether. For whatever reason, however, Vinoba could

not come to this understanding. Perhaps it clashed with deeper philosophical principles or dashed a
dream where everyone works and shars just like an ideal joint family.

There is, I think, absolutely no scope for reviving interest in Vinoba today through kânchan-
mukti. There are currents of thought today—like the survivalists who prepare for a world in chaos

where money will be useless, or the young people who dedicate themselves to collecting experiences
rather than money—which might seem to carry hints of the kânchan-mukti ethos. But I don’t think they

do.

Rishi-Kheti
With rishi-kheti, the situation is different. The term is still in use today as “natural farming,” a

meaning rather tenuously connected to the original one. Consider:
Rishi-kheti (as “manual farming”) Rishi-kheti (as “natural farming”)

hard work minimize labor inputs
dig by hand, dig, dig, digno-till

bread-labor, swadeshi respect nature

This is not to say one cannot find compatibilities. Bhaskar Save did and used this to strengthen
his faith in the knowledge he was accumulating from his own experience. Like Gandhi, Vinoba was a

sensitive observer of the world and said many, many things, some of which have relevant environmental
connotations or implications. With environmentalism being so popular today, it is only natural that

people make efforts to show how Gandhi was an environmentalist (which he obviously was in some
senses). You could do the same with Vinoba. And if people want to do this, they will, and I see no harm

in it. It may even have benefits.

Reference :
1. Vinoba Sahitya, 14:206-7 (Vinoba at Paunar, Nov. 8, 1950)

2. This is only a brief summary of Vinoba’s view. See Dada Dharmadhikari (ed.), Sevagram
rachanatmak karyakartasammelan ka vivran (Gandhi Seva Sangh, 1949), pp. 4-7 of the

main section, for the full and very sharp exchange between Kakasaheb Kalelkar and Vinoaba
Bhave on March 11, 1948.

3. Harijan, XII:19 (July 11, 1948), 168. Translation from Marathi of part of a letter from Vinoba
to workers about Khadi direction and experimentation.

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