Page 110 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

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

In a message to Delhiites before his arrival in the city, Vinoba had therefore said, “I amcoming not to
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seek alms (bhiksha), but to initiate you (give deeksha).” Deeksha as against bhiksha—this is one
example of Vinoba’s masterly use of words. Infact, the words, the idioms, the aphorisms, the metaphors,
the illustrations that Vinoba usedhad deep philosophical overtones. As the saints and the ever-moving

sannyasins had madethis language intelligible to even the illiterate folks, Vinoba’s language would directly
reachtheir hearts. It was Vinoba’s practice to study the works of revered saints of the region he wasdue

to enter, and then profusely quote their words.
Vinoba interpreted the words like ‘dana’ and ‘yajna’ in a refreshingly novel way. It washis

belief that traditionally revered terms should not be discarded; they should rather be reinterpreted in
the changed context; and that was an integral part of the process of nonviolent transformation.

Bhoodan, for him, was a ‘yajna’ (sacrifice) in which everyone should participate. Sosmall
landowners should also give whatever they could. He would also ask the landowners to consider him,

the representative of the Daridranarayan (God in the form of the poor), as the sixth member of the
family and give his share. He also called Bhoodan a ‘Prajasooya Yajna’, obviously contrasting it with

Rajasooya.Yajna, a sacrifice in ancient India, undertaken by monarchs to declare their sovereignty
after vanquishing other kings. It was sovereignty of people that Vinoba sought through Bhoodan.

He therefore always maintained that Bhoodan was not just for the solution of a
particulareconomic problem. For him, it was harbinger of a total transformation in man and society. It

was a step towards the creation of a society free from exploitation and domination of any kind and
infused with the spirit of fraternal co-operation. If that was so, why did he take up a problem? “Had I

not taken up such an issue andsimply mouthed homilies telling people to live together amicably and love
each other, whichwould have served little purpose? Many saints had told the same thing. But I do not

just ask the people to love each other, I ask them to provide a proof for it. When people give gifts, it
proves that our message has penetrated their hearts.” 9

Explaining how Bhoodan would set in motion the process of solving different problems, Vinoba
had said, “Bhoodan-yajna has created an atmosphere—the realisation of the primacy of moral values

is growing, a strong sentiment of not tolerating injustice and desire of getting rid of it is being generated,
that the last man should be given attention first is being perceived.

If this atmosphere and the vital spirit in it touch all, then not only the land problem but all the
problems would be solved because all of them spring from morbid tendencies and lack of enlightened

reason, and Bhoodan attacks these two things.” 10
Vinoba had triple claim to make for Bhoodan: “First, it is consistent with the Indian culture.

Secondly, it has seeds of economic and social revolution in it. And thirdly, it can help in the establishment

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