Page:My Dear Pranav.pdf/59

 the great Mahaveera, who did not even wear a stitch of cloth on him (Digambara), is kept in an idol form with gold, diamonds and valuables in Bihar? The idol was kept with armed guards and enclosed by several walls and locked gates,. Vinoba was very critical of such institutionalisation, and avoided it through out his life.

With love,

Yours, L.N. Godbole

Letter 27

5th August, 1990 My dear Pranav,

Another idea Vinoba propounds on the basis of Vedanta is that of Abimsa (Non-violence). In fact, his life story has been compiled by disciples and it summarises Vinoba’s life in two words; Abimsa/ki/khoj (search for non-violence).

In his inimitable style, Vinoba puts to you the necessity of Abimsa in the following words. Again you will see that he expounds it from the basic assumptions of Vedanta.

“Each one of us is in a body, and our body separates us from all other bodies. If I fall ill, | alone experience the illness. Another man may imagine my troubles, he cannot feel my bodily aches and pains. Neither can he reap the benefit of the sound sleep that I enjoyed last night. Since our bodies are seperate, they are a source of our divisions...

“Because each one of us is bound to a body, we feel bound also to those with whom we have some bodily relationship: fathers, mothers, children. Around our bodies we build up circle of relatives. The caste into which I am born is mine too; I associate with it and keep others at a distance. This is the basic Teason for all those divisions of race, caste, creed, language,

49 �