Holy Ones of Our Times
Vinoba Bhave, 1895-1982
By Sister Irene Hartman, O.P.
This apostle of non-violence, Vinoba Bhave, was born Sept. 11, 1895 of a Brahmin family near Bombay, India. As a youth, he had two choices, namely, to be a spiritual seeker in the Himalayas or join the violent revolution against the British oppression of colonial rule.
In 1916, when Vinoba met Gandhi, his choice was made. Gandhi was a prophet, a model of holiness, armed only with truth and a simple spinning wheel. Vinoba knew that Gandhi wanted more than independence from the British; he wanted his beloved India to become "the Kingdom of God." Spinning their own Indian cloth made British cloth unnecessary, and was a first step toward independence.
Vinoba became involved in civil disobedience against the British and was sentenced to five years in prison. Here he was inspired by reading the Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Scripture) and gave many lectures to the inmates. Later his lectures were published in many languages. Then came independence and Gandhi’s assassination. But the independence was not stable and Vinoba carried on the struggle in Gandhi’s place.
His first endeavor was to secure land for the poor. He walked all over India begging for land. A rich farmer gave 100 acres to the project that was named Bhoodan or land-gift. He begged more land from the rich and dispersed it among the poor. In seven weeks he had gained 1,400 acres, later collecting another 100,000 acres. All told the acreage amounted to more than 2.5 million acres. His aim was to create a "Kingdom of Kindness." Non-violence and compassion became his hallmarks. He observed the life of the average Indian in the villages and tried to find solutions with a spiritual foundation.
A new phase of his work was called Gramdan or village-gift movement whereby the villagers agreed to hold the land in trust for the benefit of the community. This spread like wildfire but soon problems arose. Much of the donated land was unusable. Some landowners reneged on their promises. The disappointed Vinoba devoted his last years to intense prayer in an ashram. He died Nov. 15, 1982 at the age of 87.
"In non-violence go full steam ahead. If you want the good to come speedily, you must go about it with vigor." "Peace is mental and spiritual. If there is peace in one’s life, it will affect the whole world."
Did Vinoba end poverty? No, even though his efforts were heroic. But he did accomplish a great goal; he unlocked the consciences of many persons and gave them a good look at a society based on goodness and solidarity and not on instincts of self-preservation.