Page 36 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

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

Bhoomim tapasa dharayanti meaning that the Global Earth including human Society is upheld by the
austerities of the Saints.

The 16th chapter teaches first and foremost that this inheritance must be protected and carried
forward at any cost. To let it go out of conduct or being will be the most foolish and destructible act,

leading humanity to destruction or holocaust. To learn as to what you should do or not do, honour and
accept the path shown by the scriptures of the wise men, from the past history. Accumulate and learn

from their guidance and imbibe it in your action and mould it according to the present age, circumstances
and intellectual understanding.

In the sphere of action, devotion, austerity etc. which relate to humanity’s actual functioning,
there are so many proved formulae which our forefathers have derived from experience. One must

take them into account and base one’s behaviour on their verdicts. You have every chance to make
further experiments and gain more experience (2.45, 46) but we have to walk on the enlightened path

which the forefathers have created. Otherwise your action shall be dissipated (like a child’s drawing)
or it will be foolishly wasteful. The holy Quran says, “Only those men and women are intelligent who

listen to the words of scriptures manifested by the Lord Creator, and act on their best advice.” The light
of the scriptures does not bind you – it only helps you to put firm steps towards your goal. The “Light”

shall never insist that you choose a particular tradition, it keeps you free. It does not hold your hand and
carry you somewhere. It just gives righteous method to follow any tradition that fits your nature.

Vinoba’s philosophy of Samya Yoga leads him to Samanvaya (Concurrence). Samanvaya
teaches one to turn inwards. Vinoba’s first Samanvaya is seen, at the threshold of his youth, when he

found in Gandhi a unique blend of the peace of the Himalayas and the spirit of revolution of Bengal. His
second Samanvaya was between the various Yogas of the Geeta. Every day he did eight hours of

hard physical labour and yet mastered Bhakti, Dhyana, Jnana and Sewa (Devotion, meditation,
knowledge, and social service). Many definitions of the Geeta were like a close door which baffled the

scholars. Vinoba unfolded all the riddles in such a simple way, unlocked the doors and integrated the
diverse definitions e.g. Karma,Vikarma and Akarma.

In the ninth chapter of the Geeta verse no.11 says that men undervalue God in the human form.
Vinoba’s interpretation of this verse is that Yogi and Sannyasi stand for diametrically opposite approaches

to life. But Vinoba showed that since both have realized the infinite, their value is equalized.
In the fifteenth chapter, he is very practical. He says when you eat a piece of sweet, do you eat

its shape or weight or taste? So also, when you act, that action is impossible without knowledge of its
operation, love and involvement in preparing it, and actual labour involved in it. Thus Jnaan, Bhakti

and Karma invested in every action. He synthesized the need of the body and that of the inner soul. He
synthesized the concept of individual betterment and betterment of all, in the society. The two are

mirrors set against one another and the betterment of one automatically shines in the other.

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