Page 23 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

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

Metaphysical Basis of Vinoba Bhave’s Philosophy
Dr. Geeta Mehta

Brahman

Acharya Vinoba Bhave was brought up in the very ancient Indian tradition. He develops all his
social Philosophy and action starting from the basic reality that is Brahman.* Gandhi and Vinoba saw

that the life in the realm of the spiritual and the life in the realm of the physical are not incompatible. They
must have surely got their inspiration from Ishavasya Upanishad which declares:

Om ! Ishavasyam idam sarvam
Yat Kim ca jagatyam jagat

Tena tyaktena bhunjithah
Ma gridhah kasya swid dhanam

(All this that is in the world here is God’s abode. You should enjoy everything after offering a
sacrifice of everything, to His name. Do not covet anyone’s wealth.)

Gandhi said about this gem of Upanishadic text, “If all the literature of Hinduism were destroyed
1
and only these lines remained, there would be a sound basis in these for the Hindu religion”. Perhaps
Vinoba said in this context that “Life = ta2 + Bha (T2 Bha = Tyaga2 + Bhoga). In chemistry, the well-
known equation H2 + 0 water has been sought to be formulated by Vinoba for the purpose of human

life as two parts of inward detachment and one part of enjoyment. 2
Vinoba seems to be inclined to think in Upanishadic manner that the ultimate prepositions

about reality or Brahman cannot be expressed in language: Rather, one has to observe silence on such
issues. Bahva, a vedic sage, is said to have kept quiet when asked about the nature of Ultimate

Reality. The great Buddha also when questioned about some ultimate unknowable, preferred to maintain
silence. Vinoba with his characteristic wit and humour, answers the question with a counter statement.

When asked, “What was there before the world came into existence? He replied, “Absence of this
3
question of yours.” As the author of the book The Creed of Saint Vinoba, has aptly observed “This

23