Page 47 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

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with his fellow-creatures and impelled him, naturally, to work for the freedom of his country. Due to this
urge he felt strongly attracted by the courage, dedication, sincerity and spirit of self-immolation of the

revolutionaries of Bengal. The other urge pulled him towards the Himalayas- the traditional home of
spiritual seekers- for a life of meditation and spiritual fulfilment. While torn between these urges, Vinoba

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came in touch with Gandhi, who seemed to synthesize beautifully the two urges in his own life.” I t
was from Gandhi that Vinoba learnt that there can be an essential unity between his two urges which he

thought were taking him in opposite direction. After meeting Gandhi, he realized that the spiritual goal
can be achieved by pursuing the socio-political activities and by serving humanity. This is the reason

why he dedicated himself to the service of humanity, especially the poor and considered it as a means
to reach the spiritual goal of Moksha. He thus remained thoroughly loyal to his master till the end of his

life. Just as Gandhi brought about a synthesis between religion and politics by spiritualizing politics, we
find spiritualization of social activities in Vinoba.

Vinoba’s social activism was thus founded on a lifetime’s study of the spiritual traditions of
India, and also of the other major world religions. Both the inner and outer life of Vinoba, who has an

unwavering commitment to the practice of non-violence, to an engaged spirituality, and to the power of
love, was thoroughly synthesized. This is the reason why Vinoba was considered a great spiritual

leader and a social reformer of modern India.
Like Gandhi even Vinoba studied all major religions of the world and wrote books highlighting

the teachings of major religions. In 1951, he wrote “Nam Mala”- a prayer in Hindi language with
names of Gods and prophets of all religions. This prayer is called as “sarva dharma prarthana”

(prayer of all religions). In addition, ‘The Essence of the Christian Teachings’ is a selection prepared by
Vinoba from ‘New Testament’ of the Holy Bible. He also composed The Sanskrit Sutras ‘Christ-

Dharma-Sara’ that proved to be a valuable addition. This work by Vinobaji is an addition to his
similar other selections like ‘The talks on the Gita’, ‘Bhagavat Dharma-sara’, ‘Dhammapad-nav-

samhita’, ‘Japuji’ and ‘The Essence of the Quran’, under taken with the spirit of devotion. He undertook
all these works with a view to suggest that the essence of various religions is remarkably common to all.

He observed the essential unity between different religions of the world which is clearly visible in his
writing. As he wrote, ‘In fact, I do not find any difference in the various religions - Hinduism, Islam, Christianity,

Buddhism, Jainism etc. Having grown up in different countries, their outward forms are different, but in
essence they are the same. So, my Hinduism is not exclusive. It includes every other religion. Though my

roots are in Hinduism, yet I have studied the Bible, with as great a respect as the Gita. Likewise, I have
studied the Koran. The Sermon on the Mount satisfies me as much as the Gita. Thus my environment seems

to be Hindu but there is no Hinduism in it.’ 2

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