ARTICLES > Means for extricating ourselves from the present day problems

 

Means for extricating ourselves from the present day problems

Vinoba

Decentralized Social order:

The world is now a days engulfed in injustice, torture and exploitations. Its breadth is being squeezed in The .It is suffering from the curse of war and armour. The power of science which should have become a God's gift has now become a curse. because it is sold out to Science, power and Selfishness.

Gandhiji had realized long back that science and technology will open up the path for power and centralization of wealth and that centralized power and wealth would enslave the entire humanity. That is why he had pleaded for GRAMA SWARAJYA.

He had said that if India had to progress towards non-violence, non-exploitation and justice, it has to decentralize many things. On the other hand, if things are centralized, it become absolutely unavoidable to adopt violence for protecting it and making it permanent. Nonviolent society can be built only with the support of self dependant villages.

The concepts of decentralization of Gramaswarajya are the unique gifts given by Gandhiji to the humanity. Centralization of the entire human activities is the curse of science. Gandhiji represented the efforts of the entire humanity to escape from the problem faced by this age. Gandhi was not a person, but he was a symbol of philosophy of AHIMSA Humanity has received from Gandhiji a good guideline for establishing a nonviolent society.

Whatever be the work, to do it in a centralized way is not the method of AHIMSA. Ahimsak planning cannot be done in a very centralized way. If we start doing a thing in a centralized way, there come big machines, Then it requires army. Then things will happen as the big leader dictates. This becomes unavoidable if the affairs of the whole world are to be carried on in a centralized way. This is not the method of AHIMSA.

Nonviolence enjoins a decentralized order guided by the enlightened collective wisdom. Day by day it will become more and more necessary that people act by the light of their own wisdom. It is true that the age of science will unite the world. But if it leads to every problem taking a global dimension, no problem could ever be solved. We should therefore strive to tackle most of the problems at the local level and not let them entangle in the global issues.

For this, planning should be local and only co-ordination should be at the top level . Maximum power should be at the lower level and only the responsibility of advising and co-ordination should be at the top level. That should be the planning for AHIMSA. In such an order, local problems will be solved locally. Local people will use their own brains.


The seed of universal management:

The world today is torn by conflicts. I believe that this heralds the birth of a new era, marked by a new world order wherein nations of the present will be like the present provinces. The seeds of this new world order are present in the Gramaswarajya. If we succeed in making the village a greater family, it will not only ensure greater production, equal distribution and security of livelihood , but it will  also lay the foundation of a new, co-operative world order. Let the people of the village unite. Village is the world in miniature. Whatever schemes could be conceived for the development of the world should be implemented at the village level. Then only the nation could become strong and developed.

The Veda has said, on the one hand , that the village should be strengthened and on the other, that the cities should be destroyed. While it calls for making the village the world in miniature, it also calls for the destruction of urban centers. Indra, the king of the gods, is eulogized there in as' Purandar'-destroyer of the cities.

Even today, we have to do these two things. On the side Purandhar work and on the other strengthening of village. Breaking up of village and the city becoming bigger and bigger is not desirable . Even on the people living in cities this is a type of attack. Even the condition of the people living in cities is worsening.


Help of science is also available:

In my opinion even science will help us in this endeavors. As  the science progresses, the cities cannot withstand it. Even the science demands that the village should not become too big. Today science is co-operating with capitalism. That is why a very centralized system has developed. But tomorrow if a demand for a different decentralized life develops then science will take a similar direction and shape.


Poorna Adah : Poorna Idam :

In the Indian sociology, the main idea is that, the entire village should become one family. The village should become one and for that matter, the right one and the entire world should be made one family. Village family should become the foundation and the world family the tower. By this, our society will become the temple of world welfare. In our mind, there will be wider thinking and in our legs there will be service to our villages. Wide thinking and specialized service will be our prayer.

The Gramaswarajya we envisage will be an integral whole and so will be world family (i.e. self rule and freedom for the whole world) of our conception, 'Purnam Adah: Purnam Edam :' This is an integral whole. both will be strong, healthy and prosperous. Even while being true Indians we shall be world citizens. There is no contradiction between these two roles; they are rather in harmony.

Our slogan will be 'Jai-Jagat' and our methodology will be 'Gramaswarajya'. Every village in India will become  'Sarvodaya Village' and this will automatically lead to Jai Jagat.


Village-a small idol of the world :

Every verse in the vedas is for all the villages. It is said there that ' let our villagers live in happiness and every four legged animal also live happily'. There is mention of Vishwa Manush in Vedas just as we say Jai Jagat. Village is on one side and the world is on the other. In this there is double vision. This, on one side develops relationship with the world and on the other preaches about devotion towards villages.

Rigveda is the first treatise in the world. Even in that hoary past the visionary sages did not let anything come between universal love and commitment for the village. The village is the medium through which we offer our services. It gives scope for various types of services. Economic development, sanitation, industries, education-whatever departments are there i a national administration are bound to be there in a village administration. The village is an image of the world. We can not worship God  immanent in the whole universe, and have therefore to take experiments which sustained our culture. I to take an idol as his image. In the same way, we cannot directly serve the whole world; we have to turn to the village community as its image. Only when all of our actions are wholly devoted to the village while thinking about global all the time, peace could truly be attained.


Village culture an experiments for establishing a nonviolent society:

Our social structure is based on villages . Our country is standing on this village culture. There are still villages which are 5000 years old. This heritage of village culture that is there in India is the real strength of our country. In spite of several attacks on our country, it is still exiting, because of this village culture.

If any Greek Homer's period goes to Greece an d stands there, he may not recognize any person of his own clan. Their residence, culture, language, etc., have all changed. But I am confident that if a Rishi who lived ten thousand years ago comes and stands here, he will be able to recognize us. Villages remained the foundation for protection of the Indian culture, In my view. This is an experiment of Ahimsa only. This type of planning of village culture is itself the planning for Ahimsa.

People say, the time has now changed and the villages will not survive. But I say, the age is mine, whichever way I want to build the age, it will be built accordingly. If the ideas of the world capture us, can't our ideas capture the world? It may not be correct to think that this type of one -way traffic will continue. I feel that India has her own ideas, which we can strengthen and this can spread to other countries. There is nothing wrong to adopt good ideas of other countries in our country. Similarly there is nothing wrong in exporting our good ideas to other countries. Village culture is what India had offered to the entire world. This is an experiment a trial for establishing a non-violent society. That is why Sarvodaya Movement thinks that decentralized village structure is unavoidable.

Today there is need for strengthening this village culture. Through these strengthened villages, we have to see the vision of a strong world. Just as we do planning for the country, we have to do planning for village. Just like the Swadeshi spirit, we have to develop the village spirit. We have to see as to how best we can make the village life prosperous. This means, we have to establish Gramaswaraj  in our villages.


Temple of Gramswaraj :

Removal of ownership is the foundation of Gramswaraj. For contracting a house, we have to put the foundation first. Removal of ownership is the foundation. The walls of such a house are the village industries. Windows are required for lighting. Basis education are these windows. Devotion represent the roofing. We have to build such beautiful temple in every village.