Vinoba Bhave: Gandhi's spiritual successor and land reform reformer

Vinoba Vhabe

Vinoba Bhave

Throughout his life, Mahatma Gandhi gave emphasis to the notion that his twin principles of truth and nonviolence must be put in practice in every aspect of life as they have the strength to solve a number of human problems. His teachings were being practiced by his faithful disciples after achieving the political independence. The most prominent person in this regard is the leader and the spiritual heir of Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave (Bary, Hay, Weiler & Yarrow, 1958).

Vinoba Bhave is, thus, one of those great devout reformers of modern India whose selfless services have inspired the hearts of innumerable countrymen. At a very early age, Vinoba was determined to undertake a lifetime celibacy & selfless service to the needy. He was in search of a life in which he could synthesize both spirituality and practicality. When he discovered Gandhi, both of them worked for the regeneration and self-sufficiency of Indian nation (Mehta). Gandhi was so moved with the dedication of Vinoba that he praised Vinoba in these words, "At a tender age, Vinoba has acquired a degree of spirituality & ascetism that took me years of patient labour" (as qtd. In Mehta).

Vinoba Bhave (real name Vinayak Narahari Bhave), was born on 11th September, 1895 at Gagode, India. He is one of the most renowned Indian religious figures. He is one of India's most renowned social reformers and is also a widely respected and acclaimed disciple of Mohandas K. Gandhi. He is also the founder of the famous Bhoodan Movement ("Vinoba Bhave," 2012).

It was while studying Sanskrit in Banaras (Varanasi) that Bhave got the chance to become a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. Bhave was such a tough follower of Gandhi that upon his request, he spent about 5 years in prison after resisting British wartime set of laws in 1940. Bhave was recognized by the majority of Indians as Gandhi's spiritual successor after his death in 1948. He was more interested in voluntary land revolutions than participating in politics. This was the reason why he founded the Bhoodan Movement (also known as land-gift movement) in 1951. For his movement, Bhave traveled thousands of miles of Indian land on foot so that he could collect donations of land to be redistributed to the landless later. The success of his land-gift movement is evident from the fact that Bhave was able to collect more than 4 million acres of land for redistribution to the poor and landless Indians by 1969. He also produced some excellent works including The Principles and Philosophy of Bhoodan Yajna (1955), Talks on the Gita (1960) and The Steadfast Wisdom (1966) ("Bhave, Vinoba," 2009). He was also given the noble title "Acharya" meaning teacher ("Vinoba Bhave," 2012). The Hindu tradition also refers to Vinoba as a saint. Even many of his critics considered him to be a moral idol. His personality was indeed a composition of "great compassion, selfless dedication, and relentless energy" (Shepard, 1987, p. 11).

A Distinguished Life

Bhave was born in an affluent Brahman family ("Vinoba Bhave," 2012). He spent some early years of his life at Wai. He belonged to a high-caste family where his father was a textile expert and his mother was a religious, charitable and kind. Vinoba's father had an earnest desire to send his sons to England where they could complete their higher education (Bary, Hay, Weiler & Yarrow, 1958, p. 924). However, Vinoba was different. He had started spending an ascetic life when he was just in his teen age. He abandoned his studies and was so severe in his ways that he burnt school certificates. His austereness is evident when he says, "They ask me, if my ceaseless wanderings are part of a religious pilgrimage, what is the God that I worship and why do I not go to the particular place where I may find Him? But I say that my God does not reside at any one place or point. My God resides in every human heart; He pervades the entire space and every object however small or big" (as qtd in Stiernotte, 1959, p. 136).

He read a public lecture by Gandhi in a newspaper who had arrived from South Africa to India some time ago (Bary, Hay, Weiler & Yarrow, 1958, p. 925). In his lecture, Gandhi had condemned the showy and flamboyant riches of the British officials in India and had called for a national freedom through passive and peaceful means (Shepard, 1987, p. 13). Vinoba felt so drawn and influenced Mahatma's moral and political fusion program that he packed up his bags and set for Benaras to join Gandhi's ashram at Sabarmati, near Ahmedabad in 1916 (Bary, Hay, Weiler & Yarrow, 1958, p. 925). According to Vinoba, Gandhi was a complete institution in whom Vinoba found "the peace of the Himalayas united with the revolutionary fervor of Bengal" (Shepard, 1987, p. 13).

At the Ahmedabad ashram, Vinoba spent 5 years with his spiritual teacher. He was a great learner and impressed his other fellows at ashram with his religious erudition and commitment to hard work (Shepard, 1987, p. 13). Due to Vinoba's distinguished portrayal of asceticism and dependability, Gandhi asked him to go to Wardha in central India in 1921 and open a new ashram (Bary, Hay, Weiler & Yarrow, 1958, p. 925). In due course, Vinoba also got the opportunity to lead a number of nonviolent action campaigns supervised by Gandhi and eventually spent much time in jail. Due to his devotion and dedication, Vinoba was greatly admired by Gandhi. At one point, Gandhi was reported to comment that Vinoba's understanding of Gandhian thought is far better than his own understanding. His regard for Vinoba was became clearly evident when he chose Vinoba over Nehru in 1940 to be the leader of a national protest campaign intended to object the British war policies (Shepard, 1987, p. 13). Gandhi praised Vinoba's qualities in these words, "He is one of the few pearls in the Ashram. They do not come like others to be blessed by the Ashram, but to bless it, not to receive, but to give!" (as qtd. In Narayan, 1970).

Gandhi's teachings influenced Bhave to such a highest degree that he chose for him a life of asceticism that was dedicated towards improving the life of Indian villagers ("Vinoba Bhave," 2012). During the eras of 1920s and 1930s, Bhave was put behind bars more than a few times ("Vinoba Bhave," 2012). In the earlier phase of 1940, civil disobedience movement was started by Gandhi. He thus decided that Vinob? would be the first satyagrahi to court arrest (Bary, Hay, Weiler & Yarrow, 1958, p. 925). As mentioned above, he served a 5-year imprisonment for his nonviolent resistance to British Raj ("Vinoba Bhave," 2012).During these years in prison, Vinob? who was already an expert in Sanskrit, decided to learn Arabic and the Dravidian languages of South India. When Gandhi was assassinated, people started looking Vinoba as the legatee and descendant of Gandhi in the dominion of nonviolent theory and practice (Bary, Hay, Weiler & Yarrow, 1958, p. 925).

The First Satyagarhi

In October 1940, Vinoba Bhave's name was echoed not only all over India but internationally too, for the first time. Without asking the Indian nation, the British Government had drawn the country into the Second World War. The Indian National Congress was, thus, left with no other option than to launch a non-cooperative movement against the British Raj and show its disfavor for involvement in the War. The Congress Working Committee decided to consult Mahatma Gandhi to guide the Indians concerning the scheme of civil resistance. Mahatma considered every aspect of the circumstances and decided that no mass civil disobedience would be feasible in such a scenario. Instead, he made his mind up for an individual satyagarha movement. Considering the political situation in the country, Gandhi put the emphasis on the quality instead of numbers. Thus, he chose Vinoba Bhave as the first satyagarhi (civil resister) followed by Jawahar Lal Nehru. However, he didn't announce Bhave's name and decided to visit him in Pavnar to get his permission (Narayan, 1970). He seek for his consent in the following words, "The Congress has asked me to launch a struggle against the British Government and has left the mode and time of the movement to me. I propose to begin with individual satyagarha and I have your name in mind as the first satyagrahi" (as qtd. In Narayan, 1970). Vinoba's reply was in affirmative.

Vinoba Bhave and the Gandhian Movement

Vinoba moulded the Gandhian ideology in his own manner and informed the Indian people that India has reached its goal of Swaraj (Independence). He emphasized that the new goal of Gandhians must be the creation of a society dedicated to 'Sarvodaya' (Welfare of All). Afterwards, the Gandhians Movement became popularly recognized as the Sarvodaya Movement. Vinoba, thus, turned out before the nation as the chief exponent of the Sarvodaya Movement. He carried out the Gandhi's nonviolent philosophy with brilliance through a series of activities also known as Bhave's constructive works. The constructive work agencies established under the supervision of Gandhi united to form Sarva Seva Sangh. This society was meant for the Service of All. Sarva Seva Sangh became the central part of Sarvodaya Movement and the main organization that worked for broad social change along Gandhian lines (Shepard, 1987, p. 13). In due course, the membership of Sarva Seva Sangh reached around 7,000 which made the organization the country's largest nonpolitical and non-church private organization. People started to see Vinoba as probable heir to Gandhi. However, he didn't want himself to be a leader. His preference was to spend a quiet time in his ashram where he could experience total self-sufficiency along with his close followers (Shepard, 1987, p. 14).

Bhoodan (Land-Gift) Movement

With the appearance of Acharya Vinoba Bhave in India, the country witnessed a noticeable development in land reform. He was started to be recognized as "The god who gives away land" (Trumbal, 1954, p. 41). A strong disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhave, who also resembled the late Mahatma both physically and mentally, walked across Indian land with his band of devotees. He pleaded and beseeched the landowners to donate a small portion of their holdings to his Bhoodan Yagna asking them to think of it as a favor to son from a father. Bhave had the selfless and altruistic proposition of attaining land from the owners as a gift and distributing them to landless peasants. The movement got much attention and was an immediate success as he was gifted 2.5 million acres of land in just two years. His target was to acquire 50 million acres of Indian land, which was 1/6 of the total cultivable land of the country (Trumbal, 1954, p. 41).

If Vinoba had been emerged in any other country, he would have been ridiculed for his peculiarity, oddness and unconventional mission. However, the scenario in India was opposite because the countrymen became all captivated by his mission and Vinoba Bhave became the part of everyday household speech. Jawaharlal Nehru also invited him. Moreover, he regularly got invitations from cabinet ministers and other high officials. Bhave was also offered degrees from Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He got the support of the Socialist party leaders who took the front position in his band of followers (Trumbal, 1954, p. 41). The fragile abstinent soon turned out to be an idol, not only on a national level but also a widely recognized and admired personality all over the world (Trumbal, 1954, p. 42).

How did the Movement Start?

Bhave conceived the noble idea of the land-gift movement in 1951 while visiting villages in the province of Andhra Pradesh. It was during his tour that he came across a landholder who offered Vinoba land in response to the leader's appeal regarding a group of landless members belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the lowest Indian caste also known as untouchables ("Vinoba Bhave," 2012). When the well-known farmer of the village stood up to give away hundred acres of his land; it was unbelievable for Vinoba to gulp down such an act of simple generosity when the country was experiencing a civil war over land domination. He was even more spellbound when the Harijans (the low-caste group that had made the appeal) announced that what they needed is only 80 acres and they wouldn't accept another extra acre (Shepard, 1987, p. 15).

This incident of munificence and bigheartedness made Vinoba realize that the region's turmoil could be solved by employing the same virtues. If truth be told, Vinoba considered the generous event as a sign from God to him. He decided and then announced that he would visit the whole region by walking from place to collect lands from the landowners for the landless. Thus, the movement called Bhoodan began. Vinoba visited 200 villages over the next seven weeks and pleaded for donations of land so that he could gift them to the landless. Wherever he visited, he would say to the landlords, "I am your fifth son. Give me my equal share of land" (as qtd. In Shepard, 1987, p. 15).

Vinoba, thus, provided an alternative to the petrifying and raiding of well-to-do and affluent landlords by putting an emphasis on voluntary donations. He pleaded them to donate land to those who had none of their own. This new method of Vinoba of ensuring the fair distribution and circulation of wealth immediately made the tormented large landholders attentive. He got a positive response from wealthy landlords belonging to every part of India on the basis of morality, ethics and religion (Bary, Hay, Weiler & Yarrow, 1958, p. 925).

This whole mission was fuelled by the principle of ahimsa (nonviolence), the creator of which was Vinoba's spiritual ancestor, Mahatma Gandhi. Bhave was the beholder of the belief that the enforced actions taken by government must not be the cause of land reform; such reforms should be initiated by a change of heart. On the other hand, the people who were against the Bhoodan Movement maintained that Bhudan Yajna has encouraged the land disintegration and crumbling and this fragmentation would get in the way of a normal and coherent approach to large-scale agriculture ("Vinoba Bhave," 2012).

Gramdan

Despite all the criticism, Vinobaji (his affectionate name) made it clear that he prefers fragmented land and not the fragmented and divided hearts. He said, "All revolutions are spiritual at the source. All my activities have the sole purpose of achieving a union of hearts" ("Vinoba Bhave Quotes," 2012). However, soon after Bhave supported the system of Gramdan under which the villagers were asked to pool their land after which it was restructured following a mutually accepted system ("Vinoba Bhave," 2012).

The idea of Gramdan, however, failed to get any popularity in the non-tribal areas. This unpopularity was one of the caused why the movement declined towards the end of the 1950s. The situation remained the same until 1974. Several programs got associated with it such as "Sampattidan (Wealth-gift), Shramdan (Labour-gift), Jeevandan (Life-long commitment to the movement by co-workers), Shanti-Sena (Peace-army), Sadhandan (gift of implements for agricultural operations)" (Mehta).

It was a time when the educated elite in India overlooked the ideas presented by Gandhi and considered them irrelevant. However, the Bhoodan and Gramdan movements solved the primary economic problem of the landless i.e. land collection & equitable redistribution raised the standard of living of the poor and made them self-sufficient. Gandhi's ideas of socio-economic reconstruction were made alive by Vinoba and made the Indians interested in studying the ideas of Gandhi and their relevancy (Mehta).

The famous American correspondent, Louis Fischer, praised Gramdan by regarding it as "the most creative thought coming from the East in recent times" (as qtd. In Mehta). An American ambassador stated, "The Bhoodan Movement is giving the message of Renaissance in India. It offers a revolutionary alternative to communism, as it is founded on human dignity" (as qtd. In Mehta).

To cut a long story short, the Bhoodan mission was catalyzed by the philosophy of love and tolerance introduced by Gandhi. Vinoba had the illuminating example of his guru before him that enlightened his mission. He set out to create a society in which love prevailed instead of oppression, cruelty and duress. He wanted the Indian Territory to be consisted of a network of autonomous and self-reliant village communities (Bary, Hay, Weiler & Yarrow, 1958, p. 925).

The Problems

Although the victory was being thoroughly enjoyed by the Sarvodaya workers, serious problems emerged simultaneously. The Sarvodaya teams that followed up the whole movement found that that much of the land that was being donated wasn't fit for farming. It was also a regrettable finding that many rich landowners had backed down and unfulfilled their commitments (Shepard, 1987, p. 19).

With Vinoba's continuance of the march in which he walked a number of states, it became crystal clear that movement was losing its momentum. A considerable drop in the donations was reported. After 1956, no landowners were ready to donate large gifts of land. The movement was able to collect more than 4 million acres which was "less than a tenth of what Vinoba had said would solve India's land problem" (Shepard, 1987, p. 20). This situation dejected the Sarvodaya workers whose prospects were very bright as compared to the present situation. However, Vinoba was hopeful that the movement would take a new gear. Thus, he shifted the movement to a higher level.

Previously in UP, the first Gramdan was being reported when village of Mangroth donated almost all the land to Vinoba. This was the first village-gift which had been remade by Sarvodaya workers along Gandhian lines in 1952. This event had grown on Vinoba who by 1955 started to ask for the donation of whole villages. By 1957, Vinoba only asked for whole villages. This was the time when Vinoba's lead was again taken by Sarva Seva Sangh. Thus, Gramdan was given way by Bhoodan. Astonishingly, Vinoba was being given 3,500 Gramdan villages by the end of 1955 (Shepard, 1987, p. 20).

Gramdan was a program that was more fundamental and deep-seated than Bhoodan. The condition applied that the whole land in the village "was to be legally owned by the village as a whole, but parceled out for the use of individual families, according to need" (Shepard, 1987, p. 20). In Gramdan, Vinoba saw a revolution whereas Bhoodan was a movement that prepared people for a nonviolent revolution. Vinoba believed that the main reason of the degradation and stagnation of Indian society is its divisiveness. He felt that the villagers need to learn to work together before improving their lot. According to him, Gramdan was the solution to eliminate the divisiveness (Shepard, 1987, p. 20).

However, Gramdan gave an impression of inability to get back the impetus lost by Bhoodan. By 1971, Gramdan collapsed. In the interim, Vinoba, now aged 74, returned to his Paunar ashram in June 1970 (Shepard, 1987, p. 22). Two decades of laborious and exhausting efforts were unsuccessful in bringing about a Gandhian social revolution. However, Bhoodan, though it had many problems, was able to manage to distribute approximately 11/3 million acres. (Shepard, 1987, p. 37)

On November 15th, 1982, Vinoba died at the age of 87 due to a heart attack. His death revealed purposefulness, enlightening, and blitheness in the same fashion he lived his life (Shepard, 1987, p. 37).

Conclusion

Vinoba Bhave's life is a reflection of the harmony of the internal and external life of a great man. He was a man who demonstrated a steadfast and unswerving commitment to the practice of peacefulness, diplomacy, spirituality and the universal power of love, unity and accord.

Thus, the Sarvodaya Movement and Vinoba Bhave translated Gandhi's economic theories, principles and beliefs into authenticity. The Sarvodaya work of Vinoba truly implemented Gandhi's economic teachings. If truth be told, this outstanding and glorious manifestation of Gandhi's economics in action is incomparable to any event in the Indian history (Muzumdar, 1952, p. 74).