Page 71 - SocialHarmony

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A Harmonious Village: A Journey
towards Belonging and Prosperity

[Meeting of Sarpanches at Kamrej (Dec. 30, 2006), South
Gujarat; Rajkot, Saurashtra (Dec. 29, 2006) and
Mehsana, North Gujarat (Dec. 30, 2006)]

The soil of the nation, the water of the nation, the air of the
nation,

Let them be good, O God! Let them be good.
The houses of the nation and its valleys, the forests of the

nation and its roads,
Let them be simple, O God! Let them be simple.
The body of the nation and its soul, the brothers of the

nation and its sisters,
Let them be pure, O God! Let them be pure.

—Rabindranath Tagore

In the last five years, thousands of villages in Gujarat have
benefited from the Panchayati System that has taken them
closer to the concept of the perfect harmonious village. The
vision of an ideal society as given by the great poet Rabindranath
Tagore is very similar to that of Shri Vinoba Bhave, outlined
during his padyatra in the company of Dr. Dwarkadas. I feel
that this shared vision is very important in creating a feeling of
consensus in villages.

Vinobaji once said that it is imperative to keep the poison
of elections away from the villages and ensure that an
environment of mutual understanding in villages.