Saturday, September 14, 2013

(Sep 14,2013) Spiritual Message for the Day – Three Types of Charity

Three Types of Charity
Divine Life Society Publication: Discourse 46 Commentary on the Bhagavadgita by Swami Krishnananda

"There are three kinds of charity, or philanthropy, which are also classifiable into sattvic, rajasic and tamasic."

Sattvica, Rajasica and Tamasica

When we do charity, we should give to that person from whom we expect nothing, or rather from whom we cannot expect anything. If we help a person from whom we cannot expect any kind of recompense – we may not get even a word of thanks from that person, yet we help that person – that is pratyupakarartha rahitam, expecting no recompense to follow from the good deed that we perform. We should not expect our charity to bring us something visible. We will be blessed by the divinities that rule the world. That will be enough for us. Unless we do that, it will not be real charity. We must give in charity because it is necessary under that condition. We feel for the suffering of another because that person is deprived of physical, mental or social needs. If a person is deprived of even minimum needs and does have access to even the minimum needs of life, and we are in a position to help that person merely because it is good to be of assistance to people of that kind, that would be sattvic charity; and again anupakarine – we should not expect anything from that person.

It has to be given in the proper place, proper time, and to the proper person. Three conditions are there in order that charity may be sattvic. We should not give charity at a wrong place where it will be disturbing either to ourselves or to others; it has to be given at the proper time, and not when the person is not in the proper mood to receive it; and he must be a really deserving person, and not a person who does not need our gesture of goodwill. So dese kale cha patre cha – if all these conditions are fulfilled, we give a charity or express a gesture of goodwill because it is to be done in the case of a person who needs it, in the proper place, proper time, and to proper person – that charity, that gesture of goodwill of ours, that kindness, mercy that we show is sattvic in its nature.

If we give in charity because something will come out of it, because if we give something a double benefit will follow – that cannot be regarded as real charity, because we expect something from the good that we do. It cannot be called really a good deed. Phalam uddisya va punah: Because we always concentrate on what follows from this little sacrifice that we have performed, it is not real sacrifice. Diyate cha pariklishtam: If we give charity with great difficulty, reluctantly, niggardly, throw it as the face of a man and say "Go! Don't come again!", it is not charity. Diyate cha pariklishtam is when we give charity with great reluctance and sorrow inside. "Hey, the wretchedest thing has come. Here. Go!" We must offer help with delight in our heart, with satisfaction in our mind, seeing divinity in things, as God manifests in that person who is requiring assistance from us. The kind of charity that is done with an eye on fruit or what we expect from somebody else, and we do it with reluctance, is rajasic charity.

If we offer something in a wrong place, at a wrong time and to a wrong person, without understanding the pros and cons of it, if it is totally out of place and unwarranted – that kind of gesture on our part, the work that we do, the charity, whatever we do which is blunderous in its effect, should be considered as tamasic. That is the worst kind of charity.

Excerpts from:
Discourse 13 Commentary on the Bhagavadgita by Swami Krishnananda

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