Page 111 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

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

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of peace in the world.” Peace and revolution: Peaceful revolution and revolutionary peace—that was
what Vinoba sought. It was this quest that had brought him to Gandhi.

As he continued his trek, people responded enthusiastically—the rich and the poor vyingwith
each other to give what they had and feeling blessed for having an opportunity of participating in this

unique yajna. His words, overflowing with love and compassion and backed by irrefutable arguments,
could just not be resisted. Landlords would often leave the village before his arrival lest they should

give land against their wish under the influence of the mesmerising atmosphere!
Bhoodan aroused noble tendencies in the giver and a sense of self-esteem in the receiver. It

was also instrumental in spreading noble values and arouse an urge for liberty and equality. For example,
when in Bihar, women would not come to public meetings, but would come at night to have darshan of

the saint, Vinoba would chide them, “Are you thieves or robbers to wander at night? Discard purdah.
Move about fearlessly.” When the ladies would refer to the social restrictions in the patriarchal society,

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Vinoba would exhort them to rebel against them. No wonder, Patricia McMahon, a young lady who
travelled over 3,200 km with Vinoba, called herself lucky for being able ‘to observe one of the most

successful attempts in applied social psychology of the age’. 13
Vinoba therefore consistently averred that the Movement had deep philosophical basis. When

Socialist leader Acharya Narendra Dev said in a speech that Bhoodan was good, but did not appear
to have philosophical foundation, he countered, “What can I say about it? I can only say that had there

not been philosophical basis, my legs would have got tired within three years. But my legs have become
stronger. Work progresses faster when there is deep philosophical foundation. Then it continues to get

fresh impetus and blooms with new shoots.
You see that Bhoodan was followed by sampattidan, shramdan and now jivandan. This

work would, in course of time, take into its ambit all the constructive programmes and even all the
moral dimensions of social life. This would not have happened without the foundation of a powerful

philosophy.” 14
Vinoba’s legs did not get tired for years. Compassion coupled with a sense of mission made

him walk on and on: in heavy downpour, in chilling cold, in scorching heat. He walkedthrough muddy
tracts, through waist-deep waters of flooded rivers, through forests and hills.

And naturally this penance inspired hundreds of workers. Wherever he went, people would
throng his meetings. They would come on foot, by bullock-carts and even boats to listen to him in rapt

attention, even to have just a glimpse of the saint. No political leader or rabble-rouser can have such a
response.

I would love to deal in detail with the land problem which Bhoodan tried to tackle andthe
impact of Bhoodan on it. But the theme of this seminar and the constraints of time prevent me from

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