Vinoba Bhave Birth Anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Vinoba Bhave on his birth anniversary, saying he carried forward the noble Gandhian principles after India attained independence.

About Vinoba Bhave 

• Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s original name was Vinayak Narahari Bhave.
• Birth: September 11, 1895, in a Chitpavan Brahmin family
• Birth Place: Gagoda village of the Konkan area of Maharashtra
• Nayak Narahari Bhave better known as Vinoba Bhave is regarded as the National Teacher of India.
• Vinoba Bhave had a deep sense of spiritualism instilled in him at a very young age by his religious mother.
• He learnt various regional languages and Sanskrit along with reading the scriptures.
• ??His mother, who hailed from Karnataka, had a major influence on him. He was inspired by her to read The Gita.
• Instead of appearing for an exam in Bombay in 1918, Bhave threw away his books in the fire. This happened after he read an article by Mahatma Gandhi.
• In 1940, Bhave was selected as the ‘First Individual Satyagrahi’ against the British Raj by Gandhi in India.
• Bhave played an important role in the Quit India Movement.
• Bhave took the vow for celibacy and followed it all his life. He dedicated his life to religious work and freedom struggle

Major contributions in independence journey

• He worked towards eliminating social inequities. He started the Sarvodaya Movement which meant ‘Progress for all’.
• Took part in programs of non-cooperation and especially the call for use of Swadeshi goods instead of foreign imports.
• He also took part in nonviolent agitations against the British government, for which he was imprisoned.
• Bhave was imprisoned several times during the 1920s and ’30s and served a five-year prison sentence in the ’40s for leading nonviolent resistance to British rule. He was given the honorific title acharya (“teacher”).
• He created the Brahma Vidya Mandir which was a small community of women that was created in order for them to become self-sufficient and non-violent in a community.
• He authored several books and was well-versed in many languages including Marathi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, English, Urdu and Hindi.
  • He learnt various regional languages and Sanskrit along with reading the scriptures.
• He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1958. 
• He received the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1983.
• Vinoba Bhave died on 15 November 1982 due to a serious illness. 

How were Vinoba Bhave and Mahatma Gandhi related?

• Attracted towards the principles and ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi and considered Gandhi his guru Mahatma Gandhi in 1916, from both political and spiritual point of view.
• Abandoned his high school studies in 1916 to join Gandhi’s ashram (ascetic community) at Sabarmati, near Ahmedabad.
• Gandhi’s teachings led Bhave to a life of austerity dedicated to improving Indian village life.
• Bhave played an important role in the Quit India Movement.
• In 1940, he was chosen as the first Individual Satyagrahi (an Individual standing up for Truth instead of a collective action) against British Raj by Gandhi in India.
• After this event, the unknown Vinoba Bhave became known to the whole country.