Vinoba Bhave – India
We should think constantly of our svadharma and devote all our energies to it; we should have no thought for anything else. This is the touchstone of svadharma. Karma Yoga is not action which is great or weighty. The Karma Yoga of the Gita is something quite different. Its distinctive virtue consists in progressively acquiring chittashuddhi, inner purity, through performing, without any thought of fruit, the svadharma that comes to one naturally and inescapably. Endless activities go on all the time throughout creation. But Karma Yoga means performing all actions with a special mental attitude.
To sow seed in a field and to scatter a handful of grain somewhere—these are entirely distinct actions. The difference between them is great; we know how much we gain by sowing the seed and what we lose by throwing it away. The karma that the Gita teaches is like the sowing of seed.
There is an unlimited power in carrying out one’s duty, one’s svadharma…
Here, no effort can be too great…
Here, there is no excuse for running around…
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Note from the editor:
Vinayak Narahari Bhave, also known as Vinoba Bhave, was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often called Acharya, he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He is considered as National Teacher of India and the spiritual successor of Mahatma Gandhi. He was an eminent philosopher