BLOGS BY ASHOK VASANDANI, MUMBAI, INDIA

DONATION OR CHARITY

It is often seen that Charitable Organisations and NGOs use Logical Explanation to stir up people’s Emotions to encourage them to do charities. Whereas people who donate money to Places of Worship, for them, it is purely an Emotional Decision. As a result, they sometimes start doubting their own decision. In this article an effort has been made to provide Logical Explanation to the inherent Emotional behaviour of People who Donate money to places of worship. This article is an attempt to highlight the Logical Expression of other side. There is no intention to encourage people to change their minds and decisions.

In this article, the Term Donation has been used for the offerings that we willingly make to places of Worship like: Temples, Gurudwaras, Masjids & Churches; and the Term Charity has been used for the offerings that we make to Charitable Institutions or NGOs or to Individuals.

Charities and Donations during the periods of Natural Disasters & Calamities are invariably emotional decisions and are out of the purview of this discussion, though some people may find some relevance in this discussion.

There are two Facts which actually compel all of us to offer Donation and Charity:

1)      Everyone wants to Donate or do Charity – Irrespective of the fact whether one is Rich or Poor:

Surprised!! While it is understandable that Rich would like to Donate as they have sufficient means & resources to do so. But Poor?? Even they want to Donate.

  

·         A recent News item in TOI, 26^th May 2017:

“Five years after the death of her husband and daughter in the town in MP, Phoolwati came to Mathura in 1982. She has been collecting donations from visitors to Banke Bihari Temple by taking care of their shoes. With the savings, she has made over the decades, and the money she got from selling her property in Katni, she put together Rs 40 lakh to build a gaushala and a Dharamshala in Vrindavan and for holding rituals in honour of Lord Krishna at Banke Bihari Temple.”

·         Sometime back there was a news on TV that a Beggar named Kamaraju Donated Rs. 1.25 Lakh for Shiva Temple in Vizainagaram, Andhra Pradesh.

These are only two examples of many such cases.

2)      Our Inherent Emotions of (रहम) Pity or (दया) Compassion:

All of us have a strong urge to help the Needy which is governed by our emotions of Pity or Compassion, that gets extremely satisfied when we help someone in need. In fact it is this very emotion that the Charitable Organisations rely on to generate funds from us – by sharing the stories and pictures of those in distress and creating the feeling of sympathy in us. By this, I am definitely not demeaning the Charitable Organisations, because it is their job to generate funds for the Charitable work they are doing. In fact if they don’t do this, they will be failing in their objectives.

Having said that, now let us examine the Process of Donation and Charity. It involves two entities: Receiver & Giver. Both have some responsibilities:

Receiver’s Responsibilities are Limited. It is restricted to his/her or its (in case of organisation) own consciousness. Whether the receiver utilises the donation or charity for the right reason or not – is receiver’s personal responsibility and accordingly the receiver accumulates his/her/its KARMA

But, Giver’s Responsibilities are Unlimited. In addition to his/her/its own consciousness, Giver is responsible for Receiver’s Consciousness as well. You may find it strange, in fact agitating – but it is true. I am not saying that, our Scriptures say that.

In Shrimad Bhagvad Gita, in Shlok 17.20, KRISHNA specifies the responsibilities of Giver:

दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेअनुपकारिणे |

देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्विकं स्मृतम् ||

अर्थात:  “दान देना ही कर्त्तव्य है - ऐसे भाव से जो दान देश तथा काल और पात्र के प्राप्त होने पर उपकार न करने वाले के प्रति दिया जाता है, वह दान सात्विक कहा गया है|”

It means:  giving alms is a Duty – Donation or Charity given with this intention alone, at Proper Place, at Proper Time and to a Deserving Receiver, without any feeling of any kind of favour done to the Receive, is the True Donation.

It appears very simple, but on analysing it closely, you will find KRISHNA has fixed lots of responsibilities on Giver.

·         Giver has to understand that donating is nothing but Giver’s Duty and nothing beyond that. Giver doesn’t have to have any feeling of doing any favours to Receiver – Not even Pity (रहम) or Compassion (दया). One’s name on the wall or plaque, expectations of privileged treatment etc. are way beyond. This responsibility is personal in nature for the Giver and the Giver can easily manage it if he/she/it really wants to

In addition, the Giver has to take upon himself certain Responsibilities pertaining to the Receiver also, which is a serious matter. Let us examine those responsibilities:

Giver has to donate:

·         At Proper Place: If someone or some organisation is requesting for some donation or charity for some cause like Children Education, Health issues of Elderly, for providing help to disaster or famine affected people and so on….., then it is Giver’s responsibility to make sure that his donations are going at right place

·         At Proper Time:  In a particular period of time if the Receiver needs Food, then Giver must provide Food, if it is Medicine then Medicine, if it is clean Drinking water then Drinking Water, if it is Education then Provision for Education and so on. It is Giver’s responsibility to ensure that right help is provided to Receiver at that particular period in time

·         To a Deserving Receiver: This is the most difficult responsibility that has been entrusted on Giver. Because how the Receiver utilises that donation – in a right way or wrong – part of the KARMA generated by that usage comes back to the Giver.

It is similar to what is mentioned in Scriptures about duties of a King: In addition to his own KARMA, the King gets back 1/6^th of all the KARMAs performed by his pupil. Depending on the right or wrong deeds of his Pupil, the King gets Positive or Negative KARMAs. This makes Giver’s Responsibilities much higher & more serious in nature than that of the Receiver.

A safe player can always say, “OK, I will not donate at all, and I will be free from these responsibilities and its reactions.” Even that choice is not available to the Giver. Because in Shlok 18.59, KRISHNA says “whatever is in your nature, you will definitely do it, whether you like it or not.” Remember – it is everyone’s nature to donate or do charity – Rich or Poor. It is in your nature to donate or do charity, you have no choice. So, what do we do?

KRISHNA suggests in Bhagvad Gita, in Shlok 9.27 & 9.28

यत्करोषि यद्ष्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत्

यत्पस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम्

अर्थात:  हे अर्जुन ! तू जो कर्म करता है, जो खाता है, जो हवन करता है, जो दान देता है और जो तप करता है, वह

सब मुझको अर्पण कर

शुभाशुभफलैरेवं मोक्ष्यसे कर्मबन्धनेः

सन्यास्योगयुक्तात्मा विमुक्तो मामुपैष्यसि

अर्थात:  इस प्रकार, जिसमे समस्त कर्म मुझ भगवान् के अर्पण होते हैं - ऐसे सन्यासयोग से युक्त चित्तवाला तू

शुभाशुभ फलरूप कर्मबन्धन से मुक्त हो जायेगा और उनसे मुक्त होकर मुझको ही प्राप्त होगा

Means: Whatever you do, eat, donate, or do any other activity – everything you offer it to me. If you do that, you will be relieved from all the KARMAs.

KRISHNA also says in Bhagvad Gita, Shlok 4.34 and in Shrimad Bhagvatam Shlok 3.16.10, that “the Brahmin and Gyani or Guru are my own Swaroopas, my own Body.”

From this we can understand, whatever offerings that we make, if we offer it to THE LORD (i.e., the Place of Worship like: Temple, Gurudwara, Masjid or Church & such other places) or a Brahmin or a Guru – we will be relieved of all the KARMAs.

This means: in this case, since LORD HIMSELF OR HIS representative (i.e., Brahmin or Guru) are the Receivers of our offerings, any part of KARMA arising from utilisation of our Donation or Charity cannot come back to us.

We also need to remember that दिव्यता (Divineness) is far better than मानवता (Humanity), because Divineness is All Encompassing. Humanity is but a small part of Divineness. If you chose to become Divine, you will automatically be Humane.

Therefore, we can safely chose an organisation that does Charity as-well-as Educates you in Spirituality and helps you in Progressing towards Divineness.   

Even after taking utmost care while selecting the organisation, by any chance if we make an error, no part of KARMA can come back to us, since that has been promised by KRISHNA HIMSELF.