Pandurang Shastri Athavale

From Free net encyclopedia

Pandurang Shastri Vaijnath Athavale (1920-2003, affectionately known as dadaji, meaning elder brother) A philospher and social reformer who created the Swadhyay movement in India. Swadhyay is the incorporation of the message of the Bhagavad Gita in one's life.

[edit]

Youth

Athavale was born on 19th October 1920 in the village of Roha near Mumbai. His grandfather was a renowned scholar and brahmin in the area and regularly, against the public opinion, visited untouchables to explain to them the thoughts of the Bhagavad Gita. Once when he returned, the young Athavale, then aged five, saw him take a bath. Athavale was surprised and posed the question that if in the Bhagavad Gita the Lord exclaims that God exists within all human hearts then how can anyone including the so-called 'untouchables' be considered inferior to anyone else? It is this thought that triggered Athavale's mind.

When Athavale was twelve years old, his grandfather Laxman Rao set up an independent course of study for the young boy with individual tuition. Thus Athavale was taught in a system very similar to that of the Tapovan system of ancient India. In 1942 he started to give discourses at the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Pathshala, a Vedic centre set up by his father.

[edit]

Swadhyay

The Swadhyay (self-study) movement started in the 1950s in Mumbai. Athavale was influenced when he was invited in 1954 to the Second World Religious Conference in Japan. Here he explicated on the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita and linked them to modern life. He discussed the idea of an in-dwelling God and contended that the ego is a gift from God and thus rather than being removed should be sublimed with God.

When Athavale was speaking on the Gita and its application to modern life, he was asked whether there was a single village in India practising the ideals of the Gita. Athavale could not answer this question. This is what made him ever more determined to return to India to rejuvenate the ancient concept of Swadhyay. At the conference, Athavale met Arthur Holly Compton, the 1927 winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics. Impressed by Athavale, Compton invited the young man to the United States and suggested that the concepts of the Gita could solve their problems. Athavale politely declined and suggested that he would rather put the ideas to use in India before the West.

Swadhyay literally means the study, knowledge, and discovery of the self. According to proponents, it is a 'journey to work out a unity in a multiverse of cultures and worldviews, of harmonizing the self with a network of relationships, of creating and maintaining vital connections between self, society, and God, of knowing and enriching human action with sacredness'. The understanding of an indwelling God imbibed into Swadhyayees by Athavale is claimed to motivate them towards true expression of devotion (Bhakti). The concept of devotion has two important aspects in Swadhyay: one of self exploration, with a view to becoming closer to God (Bhav Bhakti), and an active and creative principle of devotion to promote communal good (Kruti Bhakti). Athavale taught that through a series of practical steps and programmes, the awareness that the self is the abode of the Divine would be facilitated.

Per Athavale, "In human society, there are many kinds of barriers such as caste, color, status, religion etc. that separate man from man. What is the way to unite the human race in spite of these barriers? The differences do exist from person to person. But there is a common factor which binds all of us. Our Creator is one and our Operator is one. This is the only factor which can unite the human race in spite of multitude of differences. Today, crude hedonism and materialism are on the ascent. As a result of these isms, modern man is becoming heartless. Human life without noble feelings and higher sentiments is dry, dull and mechanical. The consciousness of God within will promote self-respect and respect for the whole of humanity and creation. The essence of devotion is an understanding of nearness of God. In conclusion, I would like to assert that Devotion to God is a force for the individual, a force for social harmony and a force for international unity."

Athavale's thoughts have about five million followers, mainly in Gujarat, Maharashtra and other parts of India. There are also some Swadhyayees in the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada, and in the Middle East. The Iranian Majid Rehnema called Swadhyay a 'silent yet singing revolution'. On a recently concluded (December 31, 2004) elocution competition on Geeta, 1.45 millions youth of age 16 through 30 of different religion took part. The speakers were from 16 states of India as well as Canada, USA, UK, East and South Africa, Middle East, New Zealand and Australia spanning five subcontinents and in 12 languages - English, Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi, Sanskrit, Bangla, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Konkani and Nepali. Forty-five percent of the participants were female.

Athavale has introduced educational institutions, developed wealth redistribution measures and social welfare projects. Over 100,000 villages are now actively practising Swadhyay. Athavale has shown that individual transformation eventually can lead to wider social change. Devotion, he says, can be turned into a social force. "Since God is with us and within us, he is a partner in all our transactions. Naturally, he has his share..." God's part of our wealth, Athavale suggests, can be redistributed among the poor and needy.

Athavale presented the idea of "Yogeshwar Krishi" ('divine farming') to the farming community. In this social experiment, each family contributes to the purchase of a plot of land. Thereafter each person subsequently, one day a month, works for its cultivation. Seen as God's plot, the income thus generated is called "impersonal wealth" and belongs to no one but God. The wealth is consecrated in the local temple (called Amritalayam) and later disbursed to those in need as prasad or divine blessings. Swadhyay emphasizes "graceful giving" where 'the help to the needy family's house is taken in the middle of the night so that others may not know that the family concerned has received help from the community'.

Swadhyay says its activities differ from social development projects due to the incorporation of bhakti, or devotion to God, in its work. Swadhyayees believe that no human being is superior or inferior to any other. When wealthy Swadhyayees participate in movement activities, they do not look upon poorer Swadhyayees as 'the other person' in need of public assistance, but as brothers and sisters, as children of the same Creator.

Athavale has also set up a range of educational institutions. In the Bal Sanskar Kendras, children are instilled with a love of Indian culture and values through stories and tales, and in the Tatvajnana Vidyapeeth (philosophical university) at Thane students are taught Indian and western philosophy, comparative religion, logic, Sanskrit, Vedic rites and rituals. Athavale has also taught Sanskrit in the form of verses to illiterate villagers and trained many people of all castes in the Vedic rites of priesthood.

In recognition of his rejuvenation of the Vedic concepts of knowledge, devotion and action, Athavale received the Magsaysay award in 1996 and the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1997. The government of India has rewarded Athavale with the second highest civic honour, Padma Vibhushan, in 1998.

[edit]