Page 88 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

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from all corners of the country on the happenings in the field. He also applied his mind continuously.
With this kind of rich exposure and experience his contribution is remarkable. For instance he brought

in the concept of Avidya with simple beauty. He remarked at one place that there could not be any set
rules and regulations about what items of knowledge should be incorporated in a Nai Talim syllabus.

Anything could be there but on one challenging condition. We eat today to satisfy today’s hunger and
not to satisfy the hunger ten days ahead! Similarly, the child should be given knowledge that is needed

to satisfy the demands of his life today. If one does not follow this knowledge acquisition becomes a
form of greed. What is selected to be included in a syllabus should nourish the learners, their reason,

and their intelligence. It should be able to facilitate gaining direct knowledge, power to gain knowledge
and self-knowledge.

According to Vinoba the Nai Talim Syllabus should enable the child in his school education
period to get trained in speech by learning bhajans and poetry for clear pronunciations and a general

understanding of the meaning. The child’s body should be trained with appropriate craft which would
later give him livelihood and the mind should be educated to help the child control and regulate senses

and gather the knowledge of truth. Vinoba also deliberated at length on choice of a basic craft and
outlining the educational principles that underlie.

In selection of basic craft for education Vinoba has discussed the principles that are involved.
He discussed that taking up fisheries had all the potential of a basic craft, and livelihoods were clearly

linked. The educating potential was there but it violated the basic principles of building a society based
on truth and non-violence. He observed, “I find myself unable to think of using it as a means of education

for children…I have to show them how to deceive the fish. We say to the fish, “See here is something
to ear,” and when the poor things come to eat and take the hook, we lay hands on them and carry them

off. There is a lot of untruth in this, as well as violence…are we to make a distinction between truth
towards men and truth towards other creatures? I do not see how I can teach children to kill creatures

into whose feelings I can enter like this.” 27
Interestingly, Vinoba thought that poultry was acceptable. It does not have untruth and deceit,

but some violence. In survival of the species some violence is inevitable, but to Vinoba it was clear that
deceit and untruth were not to be accepted. Vinoba clearly stated that the meaning of Samanvay was

that divorce between work and knowledge was to be healed, but the purpose and the instruments
should be pure. One has to be careful to see that both the means and the ends were clean.

Vinoba has also contributed substantially in the area of learning of craft itself. The first point he
makes is that teacher should be clearly conscious of the hazards of pursuing a craft. The physical

development of the child has to be monitored with careful attention. In this context Vinoba refers to an
old occupational hazard in carpentry. He says that in the Rig-Veda example of “carpenter’s back” is

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