Pandurang Shastri Athavale

Pandurang Vaijnath Athavale was born on October 19, 1920 in the village of Roha in Maharashra (konkan) India. He was one of 5 children of Sanskrit teacher Vaijanath Athavale and Parvati Athavale. When Athavale was twelve years old, his grandfather 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 Srimad Bhagavad Gita Pathshala, a centre set up by his father in 1926. Swadhyay began its journey in the early 1940s when Revered Dadaji (Pandurang Shastri Athavale), a young scholar then in his early twenties, began to deliver discourses in the Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta Pathshala in Mumbai, India. Swadhyay is a Sanskrit word meaning self-study, but it is more than merely a "study". The word movement is an incomplete description of what Swadhyay is and what it does; rather, it is a tribute to Rev. Dadaji, who has founded it, nurtured it, and inspired millions of people to join the Swadhyay stream. He has single-handedly spearheaded a silent revolution which aims at the social and cultural transformation of man. A process of self-transformation and self-empowerment, for Swadhyayees it is a life-changing experience, an experience that gives dignity, self-respect, and self-esteem to the individual. It is a network of interacting individuals and communities. They may have different identities and orientations, yet they come together to share a system of beliefs and a sense of belonging. Such integration facilitates community regeneration and healing at both the individual and social levels. The primary goal of Swadhyay is to develop an awareness of the indwelling God -- the divine presence within every human being. Another basic idea of Swadhyay is that bhakti (devotion) is not strictly an introverted activity; rather, it is also a social force. Bhakti is at the foundation of Swadhyay'. Bhakti is an understanding of man's relationship with the Divine and with others. But for bhakti to be a social force and move beyond ritualism, temple worship, scriptural learning and attending religious discourses, it would have to be transformed into selfless and righteous action based on devotion. Self-perfection sublimated through constructive work for a collective good is seen as kruti-bhakti (devotional activism), which fosters a universal brotherhood under the fatherhood of God. Swadhyay Movement is a philosophy found all over the world. "Swadhyayees", as the divine family members of the Swadhyay Pariwar are called. Swadhyay is a family where individuals come from all parts of society, regardless of social strata, and are considered divine brothers

and sister, equal in the eyes of God. Many Swadhyayees who continue Athavale's work in spreading his ideas throughout India and to other parts of the world are known as "krutisheels" or people of action. Over the years, his followers (Swadhyayees), have taken his message of love for God and God's love for all to people across caste, social and economic lines to about 100,000 Indian villages, and started various cooperative farming, fishing and tree-planting projects in the spirit of collective, divine work of the Lord. Swadhyayees have never reached out to fellow brothers in sister in the name of converting or even attracting to Swadhyay, but in the spirit of or meeting and establishing relationships, and taking the message of the universal Gita to every man. Today, Swadhyay has spread to numerous countries in the Caribbean, the Americas, Asia, and even Africa. The divine parivar, or family, has extended to many millions. As Dadaji always dreamed of, Swadhyay is creating a "Universal brotherhood under the Divine Fatherhood of God." Having founded a school combining India's sacred knowledge with Western learning, he began meeting regularly with a group of earnest young truth seekers - entrepreneurs, doctors, engineers & lawyers. He led them to cultivate self-awareness (Swadhyaya) and to devote a portion of their free time to acts of devotion and gratitude to God. Taking up the call in 1958, Athavle's middle-class disciples ventured into rural villages to propogate Swadhyaya & to advance their teacher's beleif that barriers of caste, gender & religion must be transcended in order to recognize the true equality of all people. In the ensuing decades, Athavales volunteers swelled to hundreds, ten thousands, ten ten of thousands. Today Athavle, or Dada (elder brother) as he is popularly known, guides a huge spiritual movement that courses through thousands of villages and touches millons of urban and rural India. Although empatically spiritual, the Swadyaya movement has brought striking social and material benefits to its adherents. In hundreds of villages, Swadyaya devotees have abandoned drunkeness, gamblings, wife beating and preety crime to devote themselves to community betterment. Fisherfolk, chanting sanskrit hyumns, ply "boat temples whose daily catchis reserved for the local hungry. Villagers plant multi hectare "tree temple" to restore degradedland and to make their habbitats green again. Farmers cultivate the common fields of "Gods farm" to grow food to share with needy neighboures. Swadyaya imbuied villages are clean, tidy and prosperous children faithfully attend schools. Villages of all castes, men and women, worship side by side. Untouchability is not recognized. Moreover, communal strife is rare in Swadyaya communities and, in some places, Muslims, Hindu and Christians share the same place of worship. Even so Athavale often reminds people that Swadhyaya has nothing to do with politics and is not undertaken to solve the ploblem of the world. He says "We are, merely planting a bouquet of flowers of love, compasion, selflessness, and peace". A small organisation of volunteers give some coordination to Athavle's vast "family" and guides the work of Swadhyaya schools. But it is largely through teaching that Athavle leads the movement. His pithy, conversational sermons hold multitudes in rapt attention and circulate widely in print and on cassetes.

Athavale read diligently in the Royal Asiatic Library for 14 years, reading and digesting every non-fiction literature (ranging from Marx's philosophy to Whitehead's writings to ancient Indian philosophy). In 1954, he attended the Second World Philosophers Conference, held in Japan. There, Athavale presented the concepts of Vedic ideals and the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. All the participants deeply impressed by his ideas and wanted evidence of such ideals being put into practice in towns across India. A Dr. Wilson Compton was impressed with Athavale's ideas and offered him a post in the US, where he could spread his ideas. Athavale politely declined, saying that he had work to accomplish if he wanted to show the world a model community peacefully practicing and spreading the divine Vedic thoughts and the message of the Bhagavad Gita.

An idea so unique in thought and action cannot escape recognition. Dadaji was sought after by His Holiness The Pope John Paul IV during the First Papal Visit for Philosophical Discussions. Dadaji was the Chief Guest at the 1982 celebrations in Germany honouring the 15th century saint-philosopher Nicholas of Cusa. On Saturday August 31, 1996 as our own Dada, Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavle, walked a few steps to receive the coveted Magasaysay Award for Community Leadership from His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos, President of the Republic of the Philipines, the capacity filled grand hall of the Cultural Centre of the Philippines gave a thunderous ovation to honour this profound thinker, counsellor and activist from India. Various national and international awards have been conferred upon Rev. Dadaji in recognition of his incessant selfless work. He has gracefully accepted these awards, treating them as "love letters from God". Athavle teaches them that "God resides in every one" and that acheiving "spititual omeness" will bring with it solutions for wordly problems. Calling upon the oldest of the hindu teaching, but alluting to western thinkers as well 75 years ago Athavle exhorts his listeners to liberate themselves from preconceived ideas and "baseless beleifs". The basic revolution, he asserts, "should be of the human mind". In the United States there are about 15,000 of them spread over 38 states. They are the Swadhayayis and they are dedicated to quiet, selfless volunteerism, be it farming vegetables or packing boxes. The wages they earn for this work are given to charity. Most are affluent Indian Americans, but their philosophy is one of compassion and charity, of giving of themselves. Every Sunday they gather to listen to the recorded discourses of Pandurang Shastri Athavale, the remarkable man in whose footsteps they attempt to follow. So who is Athavale? The eye sees a very fragile figure in a wheelchair, but this 85-year-old man from the village of Roha has the power to move multitudes. Known simply as Dada (Elder Brother) to his followers, he propagates Swadhyaya (study of self) that has spread to nearly 100,000 villages across India and improved the lives of over 20 million people.

The year was 1925 and Athavale was all of five years old. Wrapping his tiny hand around his grandfather's finger, he accompanied the Vedic scholar to the forsaken tenements where the Harijans, the untouchables, lived. There his grandfather, a strong believer in Gandhian values, would hold a discourse on the Bhagavad Gita, especially for these outcasts of society. At that early age, the child learned about the healing power of religion. But he learned something more: when they returned home, his orthodox Brahmin grandfather, having been in touch with the untouchables, would still undergo the ritual bath to cleanse himself. Young Athavale questioned this custom: if God resides in everyone as the Gita says, he reasoned, and the Harijans were worthy of listening to its holy words, then why were they regarded as unclean? The seeds of serving God through serving humanity were sown in childhood for Athavale and through his revolutionary Swadhyaya movement he has worked to move outcasts into the mainstream of society. Indeed, if there is a Utopia on Earth, it is probably the world created by Athavale in thousands of obscure villages that are the heartbeat of India. Through the concept of bhaktiferi (devotional visits) he has spread a healing message of love to all communities. He has created amrutalayam (village temples), built by joint efforts of the villagers for people from all religions, castes and economic strata to worship together; yogeshwar krushis (farms for God) where the villagers give a few days of labor a year to show their devotion to God, with the village's needy sharing the produce; matsyagandas (floating temples of God) fishing boats on which the fishermen give their time for a few days per year, as devotion to God, and share the harvest with the needy. There are also vrikshamandirs (orchard temples) which are cultivated impersonally by the villagers and the produce given to the needy. Through the ingenious jeevan sampada (wealth of life), religious songs are recorded on each Swadhyaya activity, explaining in song, for example, the proper religious attitude to take while caring for the trees in the orchard temples. There are gauras (home dairies) which are village-level milk cooperatives, and bahna kendras, (ladies centers.) Nor are the children forgotten: bal sanskar kendras (children's value centers) are socialization hubs for children, and dhananjay kreeda samuh (Arjuna's sport group) promotes games and sports for the young. DBT (divine brain trusts )are discussion centers for youth. There is also the tattavajnana vidyapeeth (philosophic knowledge center), which offers a free two-year course in Vedic and comparative religion. Does this sound like a fantasy? It is every inch a reality, affecting the lives of over 20 million people in 100,000 villages in rural India. This seeming miracle is the work of Athavale, who has started a quiet revolution in India by changing lives in remote villages. In March, 1997, the world doffed its cap in recognition of his work, conferring on him the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, valued at $1.21 million, the largest annual award in the world.

Global investor John Marks Templeton instituted the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1972 because he felt the Nobel Prize unfairly excluded spirituality from the disciplines it honors. This prize's monetary value exceeds that of the Nobel Prize. Templeton says of the award, "It is not for saintliness or mere good works, it is for progress." Athavale's philosophy is logical and stunning in its simplicity. He explains: "It is my experience that awareness of nearness of God and reverence for that power creates reverence for self, reverence for the other, reverence for nature and reverence for the entire creation. And devotion as an expression of gratitude to God can turn into a social force to bring about transformative changes in all aspects of human life and at all levels in the society." Born in 1920 in the small village of Roha near Mumbai, Athavale was the son of a Brahmin scholar, Vaijnath Laxman Athavale Shastri, who founded the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Pathashala, a seat of Vedic learning. His grandfather was a headmaster and Vedic scholar under whose guidance Athavale learned not only classic literature, Sanskrit and Hindi, but also English, comparative religions and Eastern and Western philosophy. By 20, Athavale was preaching the virtues of the Bhagavad Gita and attracting people. In 1954 he addressed the Second World Religious Conference in Japan where his message was so impressive that he was asked to speak in other parts of the world. Athavale, however, chose instead to take the Gita to the villages of India, to teach people to live by its tenets. In 1956 he established his first social program, the tattvajnana vidyapeeth, to teach the Vedic way of life, which eventually developed into the all-India and worldwide movement it is today. Athavale's family are worshipers of Siva, but in his temples he gives equal honor to all deities, for he believes that devotional temple worship is vital for concentration on God. He leaves the choice of deity to the worshipers. As a boy, Athavale would trudge miles rather than ask his father for bus money. When he was reprimanded, he would say, "Asking for money is not in my nature." Even today he never asks for donations or even for volunteers. Says Dilip Patel, a member of Swadhyaya's U.S. Devotional Associates of Yogeshwar, "I've been doing this work for 20 years, and it still amazes me. Dada never asks for anything. He merely says, this is an idea, and if you intellectually accept it, then it is your moral duty to do it. It has become second nature to us." At the awards ceremony, one of the Rockefellers asked what they could do to help him. Athavale replied, "Nothing." The surprised member of the billionaire family replied that no one had ever before answered that way to a Rockefeller. The fame and prestige has not made a dent in Athavale's frugal way of life. Says Patel, "He has a Spartan lifestyle; his needs are very few. He's a man who enjoys ideas, not possessions." He lives with his wife in a meager onebedroom apartment in Mumbai, in the same place where he has lived for 45 years. He gets up around 3 a.m to meditate, and never misses his daily worship. His day is devoted to discourses and work. In the evening he relishes long walks, health permitting. Recently his poor health has put him in a wheelchair, but work is still his way of worshiping God. He takes no credit for the awards and the honors, knowing in his heart who orchestrates these happy events. Since its

founding, swadhyaya has spread across the sub-continent and is now active around the world, from the United States to Germany to Kenya to Sweden to the United Arab Emirates. Since 1978 Athavale has been visiting the United States for Bhaktiferi in nearly every major American city. Like a handful of seeds, these principles have scattered on every soil and bloomed in many countries. Over the years, Athavale has received many prizes and honors, including the Mahatma Gandhi Prize and and the Raymond Magsaysay award for outstanding leadership. In jubilant celebration of the Templeton Prize, over 6,000 members of the Swadhyaya Pariwar gathered at Madison Square Gardens to greet Athavale with flowers, song and dance. A lesser man could be swayed by so much devotion but Athavale remains unfazed by material fame. With the attention of the world press on him, and all the hoopla, he remains unmoved by celebrity - even when the prize was presented to him by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey. Athavale had a perfectly logical and simple answer to the furor caused by his winning this prestigious international award. He thought for a minute, smiled and said, "The Templeton Prize is God's love-letter to me, and the delivery man is Sir John Templeton." Revered as an Activist Philosopher, Dadaji died on October 25, 2003, in at Khetwadi in south Mumbai, India. He was 83 years old at the time of his demise. He was cremated on the evening of October 26 at Tatvagnyaan Vidyapeeth, Ghodbunder in Thane district, where around 10,000 people were present. Subsequently his ashes were immersed at Ujjain, Pushkar, Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Gaya, Jagannath Puri, and lastly at Rameswaram. On December 2021 of 2010, 3 million Swadhyayees gathered in Kharghar, Mumbai, India, to celebrate late Pujya Dadaji's 90th birthday. The program, "Dadaji Namastubbyam" (respects to Dadaji) was held on a large, cleared ground. Swadhyayee families from South Africa, Hong Kong, Europe, America, and all parts of India gathered to pay their respects and to celebrate Athavale's 90th birthday. To begin the program, a youth celebration was held. The performance featured a dance by 83,000 youth, who creating unique formations with their multicolored shirts. The dance was recorded by a remote controlled helicopter, and displayed on 2 massive LED screens and more than 10 big projector screens. This was followed by a speech from Jayashree "Didiji" Talwalkar, the daughter of Pandurang Shastri and head of Swadhyay Parivar.