which can be seen, but groups, families, castes, religions, parties, countries, governments etc, are all social constructs. His stress on this individuality is of cautious far reaching importance. This individual’s swarajya (self-governance) is more important than Su-rajya (good government) by others.
In Mahabharata, this idea is expressed in the following words:
Tyajet ekam Kulasyarthe,
Gramasyarthe Kulam tyajet,
Gramam. Janapadasyarthe,
Atmarthe prithivim tyajet.
You should sacrifice an individual (ekam) for the family (kulam); the family for the village (grama), the village for the state Ganapada); but for self-realisation (amarthe) sacrifice the world (prithivi). This sequence and its climax are a very major theoretical position in Hindu civilisation.
Where the individual is so important, how does one awaken his social consciousness or experience of power? Vinoba says that it is possible only through the spread of thought (Vichar Prasar) and the discipline of thought (Vichar Sasan).
“By discipline of thought, | mean that ideas should be clearly understood and expounded. Nothing should be accepted without understanding the principles involved. It should be a matter for regret when anyone accepted our ideas without having understood them; we should be satisfied with explaning our ideas without imposing our will on others. Some people say that the Sarvodaya Samaj is a "loose orgainsation“. A loose organisation would certainly be useless and serve no purpose. The Sarvodaya Samaj is not a loose organisation; it is not an organisation at all. It is a society based solely on ideas. We compel none to carry them out without understanding them, and we will not obey anyone’s orders without first considering and approving them. We meet only to exchange ideas. The Koran, in singing the praises of the saints, says that their work is marked by mutual consultation. We too
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