Vinoba Bhave
Vinoba Bhave was born in India on September 11, 1895. Though his father, a textile expert believed in western education and induced his son to go to England for higher education. Vinoba refused to go overseas at twelve he vowed not to marry and burnt all his school and college certificates into ashes when he was twenty. He wants to Benares and studied Sanskrit.
He ate the simplest of foods, bathed in Ganges dressed like a poor man and led a hard and disciplined life.
Vinoba hated the British but tit) had no sympathy for nationalists who talked of violence and terror. He was attracted to the principles of nonviolence preached and followed by Mahatma Gandhi and joined him at Sabarmati. He took the vow to wear only one garment at a time and live on a salt free diet.
Mahatma Gandhi chose Vinoba Bhave to set up an ashram at Paunar at the request of Jamnalal Bajaj. He set up housekeeping with a cot, a blanket, a spinning wheel and a few books. With the help of Jamnalal Bajaj, he established village industries to aid the poor, teaching them to make paper, soap, pottery and oil lamps.
Vinoba Bhave was imprisoned by the; British in 1923 for taking part in a flag demonstration and courted imprisonment several times during the freedom struggle.
After the assassination of Gandhi, he went to Sava-gram where in unison with the followers of Gandhi, the Sarvodaya Samaj, the society for the welfare of all was formed. But he did ‘not like a life of a leader being adored by the people. So he returned back to his ashram life at Paunar.
From there, he started his walking all over India to help the poor and needy. The villagers on the way gave him food and shelter. His first march was towards Hyderabad where there was unrest among the landlords and the landless. His first meeting with the local land-lord resulted in a gift of one hundred acres of land that he distributed among the Harijans. This vies the birth of the Bhoodan Yagna. From that day onwards wherever he went, he was able to receive acres of land which he was able to distribute among the poor. During his tour of fifty days in Hyderabad, he collected about 12,000 acres of land.
When Jawaharlal Nehru invited Vinoba to Delhi,he walked all the 795 miles from Paunar to Delhi. Though it took two months for him to reach Delhi, he collected on his journey 17,000 acres of land. This movement continued and flourished “My aim is bringing about a threefold revolution. First I want a change in people’s heart second I want to create a change in their life, third I want to change the social structure. I am a soldier of the peace brigade” said Vinoba Bhave.
Vinoba Bhave suggested that people of all faiths unite in building the Kingdom of kindness.
