Paper by Dr T S Rukmani, Hinduism professor in Canada

[Guest guest]

Paper presented at the CASA Conference, Montreal 1999 by T.S.Rukmani

 

"Turmoil, Hope and the

Swadhyayamandali"

 

This paper examines the philosophical underpinnings of the Swadhyaya

Movement (SM); it also compares and contrasts briefly, the

personalities of Mahatma

Gandhi and Panduranga Sastri Athavale, the founder of the SM. It

concludes with a description of the movie called `Antarnad' made by

the well known Director

Shyam Benegal on the SM.

 

There are many kinds of `turmoils' in the world. There are some

`turmoils' of a magnitude which are not of one's own making (at least

in a direct manner) and

therefore one has no control over them. Under them can come the

political and systemic turmoils. But there is another turmoil which

has to do with oneself and

which is well within one's own control. This is the turmoil that

prevents an individual leading a decent life as a member of his/her

immediate family and as a

member of the larger society he/she belongs to.

 

Some of the problems that beset an individual and prevents one from

leading a satisfied and contented life are lack of self esteem, lack

of self confidence, insecurity,

lack of courage to face day to day problems and a host of others. Many

of these negative qualities themselves very often are the result of

societal and systemic

pressures; but it is possible to rectify them in one's own self so

that cumulatively it leads to a healthy society composed of self

confident individuals. This is what

the Swadhyaya Movement started by Panduranga Sastri Athavale

(hereafter called Dadaji in this paper)has done and is still doing in

the many villages and towns,

particularly amongst the downtrodden and destitute.

 

Like a number of thinkers Dadaji was pained to see the degradation

around him and it set him thinking as to the best way to help humans

regain the self respect

they have lost in the modern world. He firmly believes that the lack

of religious or theistic-thinking is at the root of most of modern day

problems. While economic

and sensual gratification have their place in a person's life, in

today's world they seem to be the only way of existence. The worth of

an individual is measured in

terms of material goods and the human being has no worth by

himself/herself. In such a situation only the richest are valued at

the top of the rung; are we not

familiar with the list of the 10 richest people, 10 best dressed women

and so on, publicized regularly in the media where all the indices are

pointing towards the

possession of the maximum of material wealth? Surely in such a

situation there will always be large groups of people who can never

get the kind of respect that is

reserved only for the richest in society. Thus we are witness to

individuals suffering from all kinds of `syndromes' all of which can

be traced to a lack of self esteem

and self confidence that is subliminally promoted in a culture that is

materially oriented.

 

Swadhyaya and Theistic Thinking

 

The fulcrum of the SM. is Theistic Thinking (TT). An erudite scholar

well versed in both Indian and Western Systems of Thought, Dadaji

fervently believes that

the dehumanisation of large sections of the population is due to

forgetting the `God within'.

 

He bases his entire approach on the teachings of the Bhagavadgita

which, however, receives a new interpretation at his hands. The god

which Dadaji talks about is

the antaryamin, the indwelling God in humans (and in everything). God

is not in heaven removed from humans, nor is God only in the temples

to be worshipped on

temple visits.1 In keeping with the antaryamin concept which is an

avatara in some schools like Vaisnavism, (though Dadaji himself does

not use this philosophical

language), Dadaji poses the question as to whether `one can insult the

divine person within' by having a sense of inferiority or by indulging

in reprehensible

behaviour. Moreover, since the same antaryamin is present in all other

beings, there is a kinship between all human beings and logically one

has to treat all others as

part of one's own family. By an inverse understanding the indwelling

divinity also has the obligation to help in the welfare of such a one

who has faith in this

concept of the indwelling God. In this kind of thinking there is no

difference between one person and another, between members of one

caste and another, between

man and woman, even between all things that inhabit the universe.

 

Dadaji uses the concept of TT very imaginatively. Echoing the Gita

concept of the mind being fickle and leading humans to behave in

adharmic ways.2 Dadaji

teaches that TT or spiritual help is needed to steer clear of

temptations in society. "It is his conviction that it is only by

rooting oneself in religious consciousness

that a direction is given to life in the world. He thus comes back to

the paramount importance of dharma regulating artha (economic

activity) and kama (sensual

gratification)."3

 

Swadhyaya and Advaita/Visistadvaita

 

Dadaji has great respect for Sankaracarya the founder of Advaita

Vedanta and uses some of that thought to reinforce his TT. Thus he

expands on the concept `Tat Tvam Asi'

(You are That) to include the ideas `Tena Tvam Asi' (You are living

because of It) and `Tasya Tvam Asi' (You belong to the Divinity

within).4 He straddles between Advaita

and Visistadvaita in understanding `Tat Tvam Asi' in both a

`non-dualistic' and `qualified-dualistic' sense. Dadaji, however,

never enters into this debate in his talks for as he

himself says, he is not concerned with the dialectics of philosophy

but with the dynamics of the lived world. In accordance with this

approach, while Dadaji s to the

notion of the oneness of `atman' and `brahman' he does not for a

moment trivialize the world and assign it a relative reality

(vyavaharika-satta) to be transcended in an

`absolute reality' (paramarttika-satta). Dadaji also talks about

`moksa' or liberation being the goal of human existence. Unlike the

general understanding of `moksa' being an

escape from the world, in Dadaji's SM `moksa' is not running away from

the world nor from wealth and desires.5 Dadaji believes that `The

ultimate goal of human life is

God-realization".6 And when it is linked with the very definition of

`swadhyaya' it can be translated as a realization of the(antaryamin)

Divinity within oneself.

 

Swadhyaya

 

The word Swadhyaya goes back to at least the age of the Upanisads. The

Taittiriya Upanisad warns a student at his `samavartana' (graduation)

not to deviate from the path of

`swadhyaya'.7 This is usually understood as `the study of the sacred

texts' and thus can mean `maintenance of one's cultural heritage'. .

This would denote the `Theistic

Thinking' mentioned earlier. While Dadaji has no quarrel with that

understanding, he does not try to even define the word `swadhyaya' in

itself. At one level `swadhyaya' is

linked with TT and at another level it is `an attitude of the mind'.8

By reflection on the nature of the `self' the whole mental attitude of

a person changes vis-à-vis oneself as

well as society. This will gradually result in the ego-centric

behaviour changing into a god-centered behaviour. That is what is

called `bhava bhakti' (total devotion) in SM.

Thus even without advocating measures like vairagya (self-control) and

tyaga (renunciation), for the achievement of `moksa', `swadhyaya'

realizes its goal of `moksa' in the

attitudinal mental transformation of the individual.

 

The attitudinal changes or `bhava -bhakti' that comes in the wake of

`swadhyaya' are self esteem, self confidence, acceptance of others as

equals, the mind becoming more

god-centered than ego-centered and thus in short, it is a character

building exercise that is rooted in a spiritual outlook. Dadaji calls

this attitudinal change "the art and

theory of god realization."9 He also uses the words `spiritualism' or

`adhyatma' to define it.10 Spiritualism "is an effort to know one's

inner powers and develop them.

Ultimately all these developed energies can be committed to the Divine

work".11 In this stress on spiritualism Dadaji is only harking back to

the threefold ways of Vedic

thinking i.e. the physiological (adhibhautika), divine (adhidaivika)

and spiritual (adhyatmika). The paramount importance of an adhyatmika

attitude is stressed in Yaska's

Nirukta when he says "Spirit is the whole of what God is"12. Thus

Swadhyaya stands for an attitudinal change and is a programme of self

development. It is a character

building exercise like Swami Vivekananda's `philosophy of

man-making'13 and is based on Upanisadic philosophy.

 

Innovations in Swadhyaya

 

In the dialectic of maintaining what is good in the culture and

getting rid of what has crept in as trimmings, Dadaji has embarked

upon reinterpreting the religion and culture

in the language of the common person. For instance there is the custom

of fasting on the eleventh day (ekadasi) after the full moon and new

moon days amongst the Hindus.

While this custom is interpreted in many ways, Dadaji has a novel way

of explaining this fast. "Fasting means withdrawing the senses from

the worldly objects and focussing

them on God".14 "Eleven is the sum of our five sense-organs, five

motor-organs and the mind with which we function. On the eleventh day

of each fortnight the eleven

elements of our personality are to be offered to God. In this sense,

fasting means non-feeding the senses, body and mind on worldly

pleasures...In this way fasting becomes a

spiritual act."15

 

Another noteworthy feature in Dadaji's talks is its simplicity. He

hardly ever uses Sanskrit quotations and his examples are taken from

the everyday lives of ordinary people.

For too long has Hinduism excluded people from the marginalised

sections of society and Dadaji's SM has no place for inequality

amongst human beings. Like the Gita

which proclaims the equality of all,16 based on the immanence of the

Divinity within ,17 the SM looks upon all as equals based on the

indwelling antaryamin. This, in turn,

has led to the teaching of the Vedas and the Gita to all swadhyayees.

"It is a common sight in many villages, nowadays, that humble,

illiterate fisher-folk and farmers recite

from the Geeta while working on their boats and farms." 18 Dadaji goes

further than that . He has given the sacred thread (yajnopavita) to

fishermen and other lower caste

swadhyayees, a blasphemous act in the eyes of the orthodox".19

 

Bhava-bhakti and Krti-Bhakti

 

Thus Swadhyaya results in TT which leads to a changed mental attitude

called bhava-bhakti in the SM. Bhava-bhakti is a surrender to the god

within but not in the age old

fatalistic, resigned kind of surrender but a surrender which is

dynamic. As this bhava-bhakti is the result of knowing oneself as

enlivened by the divine presence, it can be

classified as the highest form of bhakti mentioned in the Gita.20

Dadaji advises the swadhyayees to be completely self-reliant in the

confidence of the divinity within and so

there is no attitude of supplication as in the `arta' and `artharthi'

devotees. 21 The swadhyayee thus fits in with the `jnani-bhakta' of

the Gita. Dadaji himself describes a

swadhyayee as "A devotee who enjoys intellectual love towards God".22

 

Dadaji's one unique contribution is perhaps his concept of

"krti-bhakti" or "krtisil-bhakti" which comes in the wake of

"bhava-bhakti". `Krti-bhakti' in simple language

means the offering of one's skills (nipunata) to God as an expression

of gratitude to God. Dadaji is never tired of emphasizing the

importance of gratitude. "Whatever talents,

skills, efficiency, time and money we have, we will willingly and

lovingly offer them at the feet of the Lord as an expression of love

and gratitude to Him".23

 

Gratitude harkens back to the pancayajna of the Dharmasutras. These

are the five debts or rnas that one owes to society in the Vedic

tradition i.e. the debt that an individual

owes to the gods (deva-rna), to the spiritual heritage (brahma-rna),

to one's ancestors (pitr-rna), to one's fellow beings on the earth

(manusya-rna) and to all living beings

on the earth (bhuta-rna).24 The SM considers `gratitude' as one of its

main character building tools . While the form of that `rna' has taken

a new incarnation as

`krtisil-bhakti' in the SM it is a novel way of interpreting the rna

idea in the Hindu tradition.

 

One is familiar with the concept of `lokasangraha' or idea of `welfare

for all' from the Gita.25 But the `krtisil-bhakti' that Dadaji

advocates has enriched the very concept of

`lokasangraha'. Firstly in the Gita , the doer is the focus of

attention in `lokasangraha'. The doer chooses the area of action. Thus

Sankara and Janaka chose to educate the

people in spirituality because they conceived that there was a need

for that in society. In `krti-bhakti' on the other hand, one has to be

conscious of what benefits the receiver

as well. In both there is an emphasis on `niskama-karma'

(disinterested action) but the Gita `lokasangraha' is centered more on

the giver than on the receiver and also seems

to be tied to the `jivanmukta' (one who is liberated already in life)

concept as well.26 `Krti-bhakti' can be engaged in by those in whom

`bhava-bhakti' has wrought a

complete attitudinal change in which case they are liberated according

to SM. `Krti-bhakti' has the world and those who inhabit it as its

reference point. It is done for the

sake of personal and social benefit. The benefit again is primarily

`character building' though economic well being and material benefits

are its bye products. Thus unlike

many welfare programmes the SM does not target the economically weak

sections of society. A swadhyayee is engaged in awakening the divine

qualities latent in every

person. That `bhava-bhakti' together with `krti-bhakti' has succeeded

economically is not because it was planned that way. It is a

vindication of Dadaji's belief that TT will

lead to an overall betterment of both the individual and society in

every sense of the term. The emphasis in SM is away from social

service and SM does not to the

view that `Service of man is worship of God'.27

 

Like Gandhi who came upon `Satyagraha' as `Social Force', Dadaji has

discovered the social strength that `bhava-bhakti' has. Dadaji is

quick to add that bhava-bhakti

should not be confused with pity for the under dog and compared to the

social service programmes which have been popular amongst governments,

religious organisations

and individuals. Social service carries within itself a

`giver-receiver' syndrome which cannot help in engendering a sense of

equality between the two. In `bhava-bhakti' on

the other hand the approach is between equals. Thus Dadaji's standard

argument would be "God is seated in every human heart. Therefore, when

a man lives a filthy, sensual,

beastly life, does not God immanent in man feel offended? Hence to

make people aware of this fact, we must meet and enlighten them

without an air of superiority, unlike in

case of social service".28

 

Since the SM has succeeded in transforming the lives of millions (more

than 20 million in at least 100,000 villages,)29 it makes one sit up

and try to understand how these

two bhakti concepts are translated into the everyday lives of the

Swadhyayees.

 

The Swadhyaya message of `bhakti' is initially spread by a group of

swadhyayees going to places (mainly villages), which if the group is

small and of short duration of two or

three days is called a `bhakti pheri'(journey of bhakti); if the group

is large and lasts for a week or ten days it is called a teerthayatra

(pilgrimage). It is estimated that "more

than two hundred thousand swadhyayees participate in these

activities."30

 

Bhaktipheris and Teerthayatras draw people into the twin concepts of

bhava -bhakti and krti- bhakti which result in "purposive collective

action for improving

socio-economic conditions". There are many activities that have grown

in the `swadhyaya parivar' (family) and I shall describe briefly two

or three of them.

 

Yogeswar Krsi / Yogeshwar Krishi

 

The majority of India's population lives in the villages and its

economy is based on agriculture. Thus one of the activities of the

`swadhyayees' revolves around farming and

allied areas. The farming itself is called `Yogeswar krsi' and the

`swadhyayee' farmers offer their skills (nipunata) as farmers for

collective benefit. In coining phrases for

different activities, Dadaji has dug into the vast treasures of the

tradition and united humanity in the SM. Yogeswar is used both in the

Gita and the Bhagavata Purana for Sri

Krishna. In the SM, Yogeswar-krsi recalls activity based not only on

`bhava-bhakti' but also based on `niskama-karma' which is at the root

of `kriti-bhakti'. In a sense

`Yogeswar krsi' is a tribute to Krishna who advocates so passionately

the philosophy of `unattached-action'.31 The `swadhyayees' buy a plot

of land (there are no property

rights)and offer `krti -bhakti' voluntarily based on the philosophy of

`bhava -bhakti'. As there are so many farmers willing to donate their

labour, it is mentioned that each

one is able to get only one or two days to work on the farm during the

cropping season.32. The days they work they are called pujaris

(priests), for besides working on the

farm they also manage the community temple on those days. Thus Dadaji

has also got rid of the traditional priest alone doing duty in the

temple. Every person irrespective of

caste, creed or gender is taught some prayers and each one , generally

a couple, is assigned the task of conducting the puja (worship) in the

community temple.

 

Apauruseya Laksmi / Apaurusheya Lakshmi

 

Dadaji, by his conviction of the centrality of the temple to the

psyche of the people has revived the habit of people gathering at

these temples called `Amrtalayams' not only

to conduct prayers but also to discuss their mutual problems and also

to exchange views in general. Here, superstitious religious behaviour

centered on rituals which have lost

their meaning in present day life is replaced by simple prayer and

worship33 where, at the end, everyone contributes a portion of their

earnings as donation. This in turn, is

then given to the needy as prasad, but in an inconspicuous manner,

thus avoiding the "donor-donee syndrome". Just as the farming model is

called `Yogeswar krsi' the

produce generated is called `Apauruseya Laksmi' i.e. wealth that

belongs to no one in particular and to everyone in a sense. The word

`apauruseya' so far has only been heard

with reference to the Vedas in the Hindu tradition. At one stroke

Dadaji has elevated the idea of `apauruseya' into the every day

context of the lived world. As no single

person or even one group collectively owns the land or the produce

since everyone has a hand in acquiring the land and in producing the

produce, the wealth is truly

`apauruseya'.34 The surplus is deposited in a bank (which offers no

interest) called Madhavi Raksha Sankalpa'.

 

Vrksamandir / Vrikshamandir

 

In these days of ecological awareness Dadaji'a `Vrksamandir'

experiment (temple of trees, particularly fruit trees) is truly

befitting. For this project , swadhyayees from about

ten villages and an adjacent city acquire some land which is made fit

for planting trees. As R.K.Shrivastava describes it "Finally the day

arrives, when at a given time,

thousands of swadhyayees...stand with a sapling in their hands to

lower them into the pits. In about five minutes, planting of an

orchard of, say, forty acres is complete." 35

But more important is the fact that these saplings are tended

throughout the year with devotion and "the survival rate of plants is

claimed to be one hundred percent" 36.

 

Matsyagandha

 

One more activity that needs mention is what is known as

`Matsyagandha'; for along with `Yogeswar krsi' and `Vrksamandirs' it

has changed the lives of hundreds of

thousands of fishermen, who are traditionally looked down upon partly

because of their occupation but also because of their unruly and

aggressive life style. Addicted to

drinking, gambling and smuggling they were shunned by society and were

also feared. The `swadhyayees' were able to convert them to their

philosophy of `bhava -bhakti'

and `krti -bhakti' and today they are one of the ardent groups that

support the swadhyaya way of life. Called `sagaraputras', (sons of the

ocean), they started by offering a

day's catch of fish each month and it quickly grew into a substantial

amount. Dadaji then suggested that they buy `motorised boats and more

efficient tools' from this

`apauruseya Laksmi'. This enterprise was called Matsyagandha and "To

date there are seventy five vessels and a few more are added each

year" 37. This involves over a

million fishermen" and "over two million rupees are distributed as

prasad every year" under this sheme.38

 

The United Nations Development Report on Nations 1996 brings out the

disparity that prevails between the rich and the poor. And in today's

global economy there is "more

evidence...that the world wide gap between the rich and the poor...has

widened faster than ever before. Today the richest 20 percent of the

world's population earn 85 percent

of the world's income."39 In such a scenario one can imagine the

plight of the poorest of the poor in developing countries like India.

Apart from economic inequalities there

is the inequality that comes with being born in one of the lower

castes. For such people it is that much more difficult to gain respect

in society which then impinges on one's

self esteem. And for the untouchable it becomes a task of Herculean

proportions.

 

Swadhyaya and Society

 

One has to see the inroads that Swadhyaya has made into each of these

difficult terrains in order to believe the miraculous transformation

that it has wrought in the lives of

ordinary people. TT which indeed proclaims the equality of all humans,

has made such an impact amongst these groups that it is better to hear

them in their own words.

Pushpa Behn, a harijan woman and a swadhyayee proclaims "Because of my

caste I was not allowed to carry the Gita. Now not only have I learnt

the Gita, I have a head full

of its thoughts."40. The restoration of human dignity and self respect

is echoed in Pushpa Behn's words. She comes from Ahmedabad and lives

in one of the poorest slum

areas there. Another harijan, Narayan Bhai, a former alcoholic, summed

up the Swadhyaya philosophy succintly when he said "If we leave our

shoes outside the temple

before going to see God, shouldn't we keep our bodies pure if God is

within us?" 41

 

The vaghris numbering about a 100,000 people in Ahmedabad, belong to

the untouchable group and are associated with gambling, drinking and

other vices. Raju Bhai, one of

them, a swadhyayee now, says "I have changed with Swadhyaya. I do not

gamble or drink. I love and respect my family. I understand that God

is within everyone, including

me. If I ill treat others or myself I am illtreating God."42 In the

face of such evidence it is difficult to ignore the impact of

swadhyaya on the lives of a large number of

people and in particular from the marginalised groups in Indian

society.

 

Gandhiji and Dadaji

 

Dadaji'a capacity to draw millions of people to his meetings

immediately brings to mind Gandhiji who had a similar impact on

humanity at large. One is therefore tempted

to study these two charismatic personalities in comparison. While

Gandhiji won no international awards Dadaji has been honoured with the

Magsaysay Award and the

Templeton Award as well. Gandhiji's capacity to draw large crowds

could be partly due to his political profile; but Dadaji does not

address himself to political issues; in fact

he scrupulously avoids any political statement.

 

Both Gandhiji and Dadaji value deeply the tradition they were born

into and the rich cultural values they inherited. For both religion is

a spiritual expression and Dadaji's

description of religion as "...a spiritual order to go to God...there

may be different kinds of orders, therefore different religions"

reminds one of Gandhiji's statement

"Religions are different roads converging upon the same point. What

does it matter that we take different roads so long as we reach the

same goal."43 Both these great men

believe in action(karma), though their approach to it differs

considerably. Gandhiji tries to justify action using moral arguments

whereas for Dadaji `krti-bhakti' will

naturally result as a corollary to `bhava-bhakti'.

 

One cannot but notice the difference between Gandhiji and Dadaji in

their approach to God and in their understanding of bhakti itself. For

Gandhiji, who was not a Sanskrit

scholar, God came in many forms. Truth, Non-violence, Inner Voice,

Love, Sat-cit-ananda all figure in Gandhiji's writings for the

description of God. Bhakti in Gandhi is

a path to God realization. 44 In Gandhiji, one gets the strong sense

of God being out there to be achieved through various means like

ahimsa, satya, satyagraha and so on.

Though there is a general acknowledgement of the Vedic concept of the

Absolute being both transcendent and immanent in the universe and

therefore residing in "every

human form, indeed in every particle...that is on this earth" in

Gandhiji one is always aware of the otherness of God, whom one has to

reach through transforming oneself

from an impure to a pure state. On the other hand, Dadaji, himself a

great Sanskrit scholar, has revolutionised the concepts of the divine

presence as well the notion of bhakti.

He is perhaps the first person to talk about the presence of God in

oneself in such a concrete manner and use the inner presence to instil

ideas of cleanliness, self respect, self

confidence and surrender for social benefit.

 

While Gandhiji himself did not believe in the Varnasramadharma (caste

system can be the nearest translation), he did not attempt to

reinterpret the custom and did not really

make any effort to change the perception of caste in society. On the

other hand. Dadaji has dared to define the varnasramadharma in an

innovative manner. According to him

everyone who does God's work is a brahmin since God resides in him.

And an `asparsya' (untouchable) is one who has been deserted by God.45

It is such novel ways of

looking at society's evils that is breaking down barriers between the

castes in swadhyaya circles. There are only swadhyayees doing God's

work in Dadaji's eyes and there are

no other castes or classes. It is also relevant to mention that as

women are also accepted as equals in all works and are also recognised

as pujaris, gender differences are also

breaking down in swadhyaya. Thus talking about women swadhyayees Paul

Elkins says "...women are emerging from the cloisters of their homes

to devote themselves to

Swadhyaya work. Forbidden earlier from stepping out of their homes,

they now perform goodwill tours, visiting neighbouring villages to

establish bonds of fraternity."46

"One looks at the violence and discord with which women's liberation

has been achieved in the educated world, and longs for a similar

wisdom to enfold the world."47

 

Antarnada / Antarnad

 

Shyam Benegal in his film called Antarnada (Inner Voice) tries to

depict the way the SM has affected the lives of the common people. He

targets three individuals and makes

the story of swadhyaya unfold itself. The story revolves around Arjun

Seth born in a fisherman's family and at the start of the film is

shown leading the typical life

associated with his class. Smuggling is his main activity and he

bullies others like Shiva, an untouchable, to do his job. Shiva again

personifies the degradation that the

untouchable suffers from in society. There are two villages covered in

this film; one Nimda, which is the fiefdom of a group of dacoits who

live by robbing and terrorising

the community and the other which is ruled by the corrupt smuggler

Arjun Bhai , mentioned above.

 

The aimless routes taken by diverse groups to eke out a day to day

existence without any initiative on their parts is brought out by

Benegal. The common person is led either

by a spirit of vengeance, or is used by a person like Arjun Bhai to do

his evil deeds. They do not seem to have a choice and particularly in

the scene when a young woman

called Hansa fails to prevent her husband from joining the group of

dacoits on their mission of theft, the helplessness of women in the

social network comes out clearly. This

in turn breeds resentment in women and disharmony in the family.

 

Enter the Swadhyayees headed by Arvind Bhai and his two companions

Praveen and Ajit and things start to happen. The initial struggles of

the Bhaktipheri group is captured

by Benegal and the gradual transformation of each one of the

characters is shown in stages. The action covers a little more than a

year. One is aware of the fact that this is a

true story and the events are not the imagination of the director of

the film. When Arjun Bhai traces his wrongdoings to the complexes and

resentments built up in his psyche

due to being taunted for his fisherman's background, or when Shiva is

attracted by the utterly selfless work done by the swadhyayees or yet

again when women come out and

express themselves freely and realise the futility of false pride, we

come to know how a simple message of love and caring can touch the

core of humans and transform them

to a better existence. In the last scene when one witnesses Arjun

Bhai, Hansa and Ragini address a huge gathering and recount their

experiences in the swadhyaya family we

feel that we are in the presence of a truly unique experiment being

carried out in India.

 

In a world which has come to devalue religion it is amazing to find

that it is the religious appeal of swadhyaya that is changing the

lives of many a person from one of

turmoil to one of hope. What is the secret of Swadhyaya? Is it

different from other reform movements? Will its impact last longer

than other movements in the past specially

Gandhiji's Non-violent Movement. We do not know the answers to these

questions. But there are a couple of striking features of the

Swadhyaya Movement which one

notices. One is that when the swadhyayees go on their bhakti pheris

they carry whatever they need by way of food and other necessities

with them. Except for a place to stay

they do not depend on local hospitality for anything. Dadaji was aware

of the scepticism that had crept into the minds of the people in the

villages who were regularly

exploited by social reformers and politicians in particular. It was in

order to avoid that syndrome that he insisted that the swadhyayees

should be self sufficient and not

depend on the villagers during their stay in the village. Swadhyaya is

also different because it dares to use reason in the understanding of

religious beliefs. Dadaji's audience

is the common man and woman, particularly the vast numbers of Indians

living in villages; his approach is that of an elder in the family

teaching the values of family life to

his large family. When my husband and I met him recently in Bombay and

I asked him about the philosophy of swadhyaya he pinpointed its stress

on family values. "In a

family if one brother is economically weak and another is prosperous

do we look down on the weaker one?" he asked. In a similar manner, he

seemed to say that we must

treat all our brothers and sisters, who are all linked by the same

divine presence, as one big family.

 

Some like Daniel Gold have felt that the SM could succeed only in a

predominantly spiritual culture like that of India but perhaps might

not do so well elsewhere.48 We do

not know if that is a fact and I do not think that there are less

spiritually oriented people elsewhere in the world. If approached in

the right manner the Swadhyaya message

can still reach large sections of people round the globe and instil

hope in them for a better life.