vacate. If you talk to them they will allow us to stay”. Vinoba told his disciples, “Go now and give notice to the trustees that you are vacating their office one day earlier than their date”. The disciples said, “But, Baba, we have a lot of furniture. Where can we put it?” He said, “Give it to Mani Bhavan as a gift. You have taken help from Mani Bhavan all these years. Now you can give help to it". One fellow said, “But, Baba, we have so many books. What do we do with them?”. “Go to all the neighbouring houses and distribute them. It will be Vichar Prasar.” (dissemination of thoughts).
Vichar Prasar is the main theme or action of Vinoba’s life. I will speak about it quite often in the future. But the disciples persisted. They said, “Then where will we have our meetings?” Baba said, “In the great city of Bombay, don’t you have a garden where you can meet?” He then preached that we should not have any attachment to property. This was his “action”.
His other continuing theme was that one must grow continuously. One most change. Gandhiji wanted the education system to be changed and called it Nayi Talim (New Education). Vinoba practised that idea in reality. He used to call it Nitya Nayi Talim (Continuous New Education). This continuous change, grappling with new ideas, experimenting with new ways, continuous change through spreading of thoughts (Vichar Prasar) was Vinoba’s way of life. He evolved persistently every day. He used to compare life with the Ganga. The Ganga is permanent but the molecules of water you see every moment are new. The Ganga is thus eternal as well as changing.
Here is another story about Vinoba (2). He once asked Meera and Arun, (two asbramites): “Have you seen Mahatma Gandhi’s room at Sevagram (at Wardha)?” They obviously had seen it. Wardha is just 8 kilometers from Pavnar. “Have you seen the things Bapu used to use?”. They are preserved. “Yes, Baba”. “Did you see a tree next to the room?” “Yes”. Then Meera and Arun realised what Vinoba was driving at. The chappal (slippers), the charkba (spinning wheel) and the other things which Gandhiji used have remained unchanged. They are today as they were
9 �
