Page 13 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

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

Strategy – System of Gandhi & Vinoba

Dr. Ramjee Singh

Gandhi and Vinoba are a Continuum. There is no essential difference between their fundamental
postulates. However there are some differences in strategies and emphasis. This is also corroborated

because Vinoba Bhave is the most trusted disciple of Mahatma Gandhi as is apparent from the fact that
Vinoba Bhave was selected as the first in the list during individual Satyagrah Movement in 1940. To

add, Mahatma Gandhi is on record to declare that as far as spiritual realization is concerned, Vinoba is
ahead of him (Gandhi). Further when Conclave was held of all varieties of Gandhians after death,

stalwarts like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, U. N. Dheber, Jay Prakash Narayan, J. C.
Kumarappa, Aryanaikam etc. were held to discuss the program and to select a leader to guide about

the Gandhian programme he was none else than Vinoba Bhave. This is reflected in his Bhoodan movement
through which about 45 lacs of acres of Land was collected in the land Gift mission.

However there have been differences with strategies regard to the role of workers against
emergency within united position and Vinoba Bhave, especially the problem to impose emergency on

the people. No doubt Vinoba had invited a meeting of learned people including retired Judges, scholars
and thinkers to give their impartial verdict on this problem. It is tragedy that all the copies of the Journal

of Vinoba’s Ashram were seized and taken away. Again Vinoba had to undertake fast to ban cow-
slaughter where Vinoba blessed Satyagraha. In fact, Vinoba had a defence and improvement in the

Gandhian doctrine that under the two new circumstances, Satyagraha should move from Subtle to
Subtler and to the Subtle-most.

Vinoba was a great linguist and had mastery over Sanskrit language. Hence he could mould
things and without interfering with essential meaning of any word. Both Gandhi and Vinoba had

unflinchingfaith in Satyagraha and according to both,Satyagraha must be based on truth without
sacrificing non-violence. In fact, Satyagraha depends upon both truth andnonviolence. As Joan Bondurant

puts it, there is a difference between Satyagraha and Duragraha which means that there cannot be a
relaxation of nonviolence. But after Gandhi, the spiritual and uncompromising nature of non-violence

had been exhibited for political reasons in India during the post Gandhian period. Therefore, in order to
correct the meaning of Satyagraha Vinoba uses the new phrase of Satyagraha called Satyagrahi i.e.

receptive to truth. Satyagraha is no Satyagraha at the cost of truth and non-violence.

13