6th May, 1990 My dear Pranav,
Vinoba’s pravachans used to be with all kinds of people. Once he was asked a question. Bhakti of God assumes that God and Bhakta are a duality. They are two /Dwaita]. How can he then equate Jnana [knowledge of the ultimate reality] and Bhakti (devotion to the ultimate reality as one) in Adwaita? Jnanadeva says: “Only know Vitthal. This is bhakti, this is jnana.” Bhakti and Jnana are two names for the same thing. Knowing the Lord and loving Him are not two different things.
An act performed through love is very different from an ordinary act. As the son comes home tired from the field, the mother looks at him with natural love, and says, “You are tired, my child.” Look, how much power there is in this small action. Weave all the actions of your life with the warp and woof of bhakti and jnana. This is what is called Purushottama-Yoga. 2
Vinoba said, “The Vedas are not hidden in the Sambitas (collection of Mantras) or in your books and treatises. They pervade the whole universe. Shakespeare speaks of:
Tongues in trees, books in running brroks, sermons in stones....
The idea is that the Vedas are neither in Sanskrit nor in the sambitas, but in all creation. When we say, prabbate karadarsanam, all the Vedas are in that palm, and they say, “serve.” Consider whether your hands worked yesterday, whether they are fit to work again today and whether they carry the marks of service. When the hands are worn out with service, then the destiny that Brahma ordained for you becomes clear. This is the meaning of looking at one’s palm in the moming. Where are the Vedas? They are in your hands. I
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