Three Types of Charity
"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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