Hope and the Swadyaya Movement pt1

[Guest guest]

Hope and the Swadyaya

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.

Continued