No..Charity is not Un-Hindu

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"janjm" <janjm

<jajithkumar

29 April, 2001 1:06 PM

RE: Isn't CHARITY un-Hindu?

 

 

> Namaskar Jajithkumar,

>

>

> You question shows a mechanistic understanding of karma, quite common

> among modern Hindus. I heard it at least several times. (Also, they

> often claim they

> know Krishna but this is usually just a superficial grandma-type

> knowledge. If even

> Brahmaji says he doesn't know God what to say about us?)

>

> Karma is a very complex thing. Karma and free will go together. At every

> moment

> of our material life we reap our previous karma (anarabdha - yet

> unmanifested,

> prarabdha - already manifested) and create new karma (kriyamana)

> according to

> our free will based on desire. So karma and free will are like two

> parallel railway

> tracks.

>

> It is not that a person is isolated in his reaping of karma and what

> what we do to him

> is an interference into his karma. Rather, everything what we or others

> do to him is

> a part of his and ours karma too. Karma is a multilevel web of actions

> and reactions

> based on dharma, the cosmic law.

>

> Dharma are ethic and religious principles guiding the human society,

> preventing its

> degradation to the animalistic level. Nowadays, in Kali-yuga, the decay

> of dharma is

> prevalent and we see results everywhere. Thus dharma is just the basis

> of civilized

> human life, it is not really anything spiritual yet. In Vedic times even

> asuras were

> following dharma to some extent. Karna of Mahabharata was famous for his

>

> charitable disposition to brahmanas yet he was inimical to Krishna.

>

> Spiritual life begins with searching for God and establishing a

> connection (yoga) with

> Him. So hinduism (the correct term is Vedic dharma, at least it was

> originally so) doesn't

> discourage charity, just the opposite. Charity and other aspects of

> dharma are meant to

> refine and uplift our character so we can be ready for yoga. Krishna's

> opinion in the

> Bhagavad-gita is that the best yoga is bhakti-yoga. In Kali-yuga it is

> the only efficient

> yoga capable to bring us to realization of Bhagavan, the third and

> ultimate aspect of

> God. Following other yogas may bring us to svarga or brahmajyoti but not

> further.

>

> God set up the dharma-karma-samsara system (analogous to law-court-jail

> system in

> human society) to take care of jivas (living beings) who prefer to live

> independently of

> His will. Therefore they stay in the material world where they can enjoy

> (suffer) the

> illusion of independence of God. Those who are devoted to Him are not

> under this

> material jurisdiction - He takes care of them personally.

>

> At http://veda.harekrsna.cz/html/enc/reincarnation.htm you may see

> various kinds

> of misunderstandings of karma and samsara and their explanations from

> the Vaishnava

> Vedanta point of view.

>

> Hope this helps.

>

> Hari Hari

>

> Yours, Jan

>

> PS: I've seen your text on vediculture forum of which I'm not a member.

> You may post

> this reply there.

>

 

 

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