A collection of quotes of Vinoba Bhave.
Peace, prosperity and happiness are in the interest of all.
These are the universal gains, which are accomplished when personal gains
are forgotten. When personal gains are pursued, universal gains are lost. If
universal gains are lost where are the personal gains?
Garden for the joy of gardening, without impatience and
without anxiety, then fruit, flowers and vegetables will flow from the garden
of their own accord.
Work itself is beautiful but the desire to impress others is
what makes it ugly.
God has given three priceless gifts to humans: One, of speech. Animals don’t have it. Let us speak the truth with love. Let us take Rama’s name. Two, hands. Even monkeys have hands, but they only know how to uproot, not how to sow. Let us serve with our hands. … God’s third great gift is an empathic heart. None can be cruel forever. God has not made anyone hard-hearted. Let us be sympathetic towards all. — (To the Chambal Valley, 1960)
Living In The Moment
When performed with love, action becomes its own reward.
When action is performed without ulterior motives, when it is spontaneous,
joyful and pure, our attention is present in the here and the now. There is no
cunning, there is no calculation, there is no speculation, there is no
planning, there is no past, there is no future, there is no worry, there is no
burden. Our action flows without stress, without strain or pressure.
Creativity And Joyful Work
Those who are devoted to cooking or gardening will not feel
satisfied if we say to them that they need not cook or garden, we will provide
ready-made meals and pre-packed vegetables. A true cook or gardener will not
feel happy, because in that way they have been deprived of their creativity and
joyful work.
We should perform our actions as naturally as a bird sings.
We need not expect recognition for acting according to our own nature.
Gardening comes to a gardener as naturally as eating, drinking or sleeping.
There is nothing special about it. There is no vanity in it.
Reason For Action
We cannot give up action. Action is in front of us and
behind us. Even sitting still is action, and if we sit still for too long we
will find even that uncomfortable. So we need not try to give up action. All we
can give up is the desire for an outcome.
Why Work Is Important?
Through work we express ourselves. Work manifests our
imagination. Work is love made visible. Through work we establish relationships
with people and material things. Thus work in itself is beautiful. It is the
desire to impress others, desire for recognition, for fame and fortune, which
makes work ugly. There is no need to desire any gains. All gains are
by-products. The main product of work is work itself.
Source – Book titled - You Are, Therefore I Am