Personality development thro' Gita 8. Be Charitable

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8. Be Charitable Madduri Rajya Sri

 

 

`Will you gift me one car if you have two cars ?'

`Why not ?'

`Will you give away a part of your site at Kukatpally ?'

`Of course I will !'

`Will you part with your tape recorder ?'

`Definitely !'

`Will you give me two hundred rupees ?'

`Of course not !'

`Why ?'

`All the other above mentioned things I don't have. So I

don't mind giving them away, whereas I have only two hundred rupees

in my pocket. How do I part with them ? Impossible !'

This is a joke between two friends but it is more than

real. When it comes to parting with something we have, we are not

at all inclined to give.

Strictly speaking, the money we earn should be spent in four

ways - One on the dire necessities like food, clothing , rent,

school fees etc. the second on saving for a rainy day, the third on

luxuries like some special comforts and the fourth on charities. I

will not elaborate on the first three types now, but will dwelve on

charity.

Krishna explained in detail three types of dana and showed

how Satvika dana is the best.

Datavyamiti yaddanam deeyateanupakarine.

Dese kale cha patra cha tatddanam sattvikam smrutam [bhagavadgita

17-20]

datavyam - it is one's duty to give, it - with this idea,

yat + danam - a gift which, dese - in a fit place, cha - and, kale -

at a suitable time, cha - and (also) patre - on the appearance of a

deserving person, an upakarine - on one who is no benefactor,

deeyate - is bestowed, tat + danam - that gift, sattivikam -

sattvika, smrutam - has been pronounced.

That gift alone is wholly satvika in character, which is

bestowed with a pure sense of duty without expecting any return

either here or hereafter. Normally places like Kasi, Prayaga,

Haridvara etc, the holy places, are treated as suitable places and

Ekadasi, Samkranti, Solar and Lunar Eclipses etc are suitable times

for dana. But he who is in need of a particular object at a

particular place and time is a `patra' or a fit person to receive a

gift at the place where there is famine and at the time when there

is drought.

Why should charity be shown ? There are various reasons for

that !

Some do charity to an individual or institution to get name

and fame, to see their photo in the newspapers, to be praised as

Dana Karna, to avoid income tax problems, as a prestige issue being

flattered etc. There is yet another reason. Some people learn from

religious scriptures that children money and power doesn't go with

them, but only their act of charity takes them closer to Heaven.

Our elders proclaimed, what you give with your right hand, your left

hand should not know. But for whatever reason we give, ultimately

it is coloured by selfishness.

A gift which is bestowed in a grudging spirit and with the

object of getting a service in return or in the hope of obtaining a

reward, is called Rajasika.

Some very generously give away things but they don't show

courtesy to the one who receives them, they don't give what is good

or useful to the others. One bachelor used to complain `whenever I

went to my friend's house, his sister gave me a warm welcome. Do

you know why ? Her slogan was, `You are just in time. I was about

to throw away this food item to our dog or give away to my servant

maid. Thank God, you have come to eat it.' Can any man of self

respect bear with it ? Is that the way to offer food ? Should such

food be offered ?

Nachiketa's father used to do yagas and give away cows as

donation to brahmins, but he offered cows which were not healthy or

which could not produce milk ! He felt bad for his father since

such danas would lead the donor to hell. `Apatradanam' also is bad.

Apatradanam is giving alms to an underserving person like a

hypocrite, a cruel man, a drunkard, a thief etc.

So a gift which is made without good grace and in a

disdainful spirit out of time and place and to an undeserving person

is said to be Tamasika dana.

So both Rajasika dana and Tamasika dana are bad. We should

give alms - to a deserving person, in a right time in a right place,

the right object in a right spirit, without expecting any return.

It is also obligatory to render good offices to those to

whom one owes a debt of gratitude. Of course to attempt to return a

true obligation is to undervalue it, for a real obligation cannot be

repaid at all. Rama expressed to his devotee Hanuman - `There is

none among celestial, human beings and sages, who has rendered such

valuable services to me as yourself. How should I repay your

services ?'

Offering any thing to such benefactor can never be

unjustifiable or a Rajasika act. Of course it does not come within

the purview of Dana or charity. If they regard it as an act of

charity it is an insult to the benefactor and if they don't repay,

it becomes ungratefulness.

Sattvika dan is one which is given to a person who is not a

benefactor. It should be done with no selfish interest. We can

proudly quote the example of Karna for this type of Dan. Once when

Karna was having his bath and when he was holding the oil vessel in

his left hand, brahmin sought a favour from him. The next minute

Karna gave it away with his left hand. The brahmin, known for his

orthodoxy, was shocked, since a dana has to done with the right

hand. Karna explained, `By the time I bring it to my right hand I

may lose the intention of giving. This shows how we should give

without any second thoughts ! If we observe carefully - we don't

use many things, but also we don't feel like parting with them. We

feel we will use them at a later date, but the later date never

comes to the next day. If we don't use a thing for nearly a year, we

should give it away to the needy person instead of storing it in the

attic.

Dharmaraja once postponed the act of charity to a brahmin.

Bhima arranged a gathering and announced. `My brother has won

death.' He explained, `He is sure he is going to live till

tomorrow.' This shows we should not postpone our kind gesture. Many

a time we keep aside certain things to give away to somebody, but

after a few days we change our mind.

Once one beggar, saw a golden chariot coming towards him.

He hoped to get a large donation, but surprisingly he saw a king

decked in gold all over, asking him for alms. He could not say no

to a king but also could not part with anything useful. So he

searched all over his bag, and very generously offered just a grain

of rice. At night, when he was counting his collection, he was

surprised to see a golden grain. He could guess that was the

showering offered by God. Then he lamented, Had I given the whole

bag of my collections, I would have got a bag of gold coins !

It is true ! The more we give the more we get ! We may not

get from the person we donated to , but from another source, as a

sign of blessing from God.

Of course we shouldn't behave like Mr. Madan ? He was poor

but he was kind to the fellow human beings. God was impressed by

his philanthropic gesture and made him a rich man in the next birth

and also gave him the `Divya Drishti' to know his previous birth.

He continued giving alms but was always saying `So much for that.

How much more for this ?' God came as a beggar and pronounced `Only

this much!' It was because he expected a return ! His Sattvika dan

was converted into Rajasika dan.

Give generously, give selflessly

Give a right thing to a right person.

Madduri Rajya Sri