The Asian Tsunami of 2004 was a disaster of greater magnitude than most people alive today have ever experienced before—a loss of over 300,000 lives, the destruction of entire cities, and millions of people left homeless. The aftermath of the event also produced the greatest outpouring of help that most of us alive today have ever seen. This global generosity came and is still coming to tsunami-stricken areas in many forms: donations of money, medical supplies, food and clothing, building materials, and personal service for weeks or months by doctors and other professionals.
Giving, dana, is an essential practice in Hinduism, and it comes in many forms. Recently I received an e-mail from a devotee who was preparing to volunteer a few weeks of her time at an orphanage we work with in Malaysia. When her grandchildren heard she was going, they arranged with their parents to sacrifice something they would be getting in the future to send $100 with her to the orphanage for supplies for the children.
Sacrifice is the act of giving up to a greater power a cherished possession, be it money, time, intelligence or a physical object to manifest a greater good. It always involves some form of self-denial, doing with less so that others may have more. This form of giving not only earns the punyam, good karma, that is the result of any act of dana, but it also greatly increases our self-discipline and control over our instinctive mind, especially when the self-denial is significant.
There is a classic story of sacrifice from the life of our Paramaguru Yogaswami. Yogaswami had his devotees cook a huge meal for thousands of people who had gathered for satsanga. When the time came to eat, which was noon, he said, "Let's keep singing." So they continued the devotional hymns. Hours passed. Without explanation, Yogaswami asked the men dig a large pit. The singing continued. Many left, impatient and hungry. But the staunch devotees stood their ground. Finally, around 6 pm, Yogaswami turned and asked all present to offer the cooked dishes into the pit in a nicely organized way, like a huge meal, all on banana leaves, with a big heap of rice in the middle and spiced curries on the side. This done, the satguru invited them to cover it with dirt. Though perplexed, they obeyed the master. Yogaswami then explained, "Mother Earth feeds us every day of the year. Today we are feeding MotherEarth in return for Her abundance." That was sacrifice.
The personal rewards of dana are deeply fulfilling. Women devotees who have served at orphanages in the last few years have been surprised by how much they gained from their giving. One wrote: "I have returned safely from Malaysia. It was a wonderful adventure at the orphanage which has filled me with love and opened my heart and mind more than I ever expected. Thank you for your kindness and wisdom in allowing me to experience this karma yoga." Certainly this is an excellent illustration of the principle that real happiness comes from giving and not from getting.
Let's look now at some examples illustrating another aspect of dana, charity. First example: A family worships regularly at a local temple. At every visit they put a generous offering in the hundi. They also regularly visit a swami at his nearby ashram. Each visit they bring a cash offering, dakshina, as well as an offering of flowers and fruits.
Second example: A representative of a school for the blind visits certain families once a year to ask for a donation to print Braille books for the children. In one family, the husband makes an especially large donation, as the request is only yearly.
Third example: A wife is acutely conscious of the principle that the guest is God. When guests grace her home, she always invites them to stay and join the family for the next meal.
Fourth example: A Hindu society prints and distributes free religious literature at all the major festivals. Each pamphlet is sponsored by a different family as a way of spreading knowledge about Hinduism.
Fifth example: A husband and wife both skip a meal every Friday as an act of self-denial. They give the money saved to a Hindu home for the aged.
Selfless giving effectively lessens the instinctive tendencies of selfishness, greed, avarice and hoarding. It is important to overcome the tendency to tightly cling to everything we acquire, to feel, "It is mine. I may need it." We have to work at becoming less selfish. The less selfish we are, the more spiritual we are. One of the ways of overcoming selfishness is to give things away.
Here is a story to further illustrate dana. A man worships regularly at a temple. There are always a number of beggars outside beseeching him for alms, but he passes them by, purposely ignoring them. One day he feels compelled to give some money to one needy fellow with imploring eyes. After his simple act of charity, he is surprisingly uplifted. From then on he gives a few coins to the beggars before entering the temple, and each time he feels the same upliftment. What's more, the joy he feels inspires him to start a mass feeding which the beggars and others living near the temple attend each month.
The Tirukural, in its chapter on charity, echoes, "How unpleasant a beggar's pleading can become, until one sees his face so sweetly pleased." The Kural describes those who do not give as hard-hearted, bitter men who waste their wealth by hoarding it, and that men of good birth graciously give. The Kural insightfully points out that real dana is giving without any thought of reward in verse 221: "Giving to the poor is true charity. All other giving expects some return."
Gurudeva observed that the reward of joy and the fullness you feel is immediate as the gift passes from your two hands into the outstretched hands of the receiver. He said that the fulfillment of giving that wells up within the giver as the gift is being prepared and as the gift is being presented and released, the fulfillment of the expectancy of the receiver or the surprise of the receiver, and the fullness that exists afterwards are all a part of dana.
Let's look again at the varied forms of giving. Today the most common form of giving is a gift of money. We make cash gifts whenever we visit temples and ashrams. A second form of giving is to make something with our hands, an in-kind gift. For example, a man who has a carpentry shop at home makes furniture on his weekends and donates it to orphanages and homes for the elderly.
A third form of dana is giving of our time. For example, we help out at the local temple by cleaning the floors and other areas once a week. Another form of giving is disseminating spiritual teachings. We purchase religious literature and give it away during major festivals.
A fifth form of giving is religious feedings of the masses called anna yajna or simply yagam. We sponsor a monthly yagam at a large temple in our city, covering all the costs. A universal form of giving is providing hospitality to guests—offering them a seat, taking joy in their presence, serving a beverage and insisting they stay for the next meal.
The Kural speaks of the importance of hospitality in verse 81, "The whole purpose of earning wealth and maintaining a home is to provide hospitality to guests." That same chapter stresses that hospitality yields success and wealth on Earth as well as the joys of heaven.
As we can see from our list, there are many forms of giving that don't require any money or require very little money.By giving in those ways, we can afford to give more than if our gifts were solely gifts of money. The idea that one must be wealthy to give is a misconception. In fact, it is often the least endowed who make the greatest sacrifices in giving.
There are three common ways of financial religious giving: spontaneous offering, pledge and percentage of income. Spontaneous offering refers to a gift given in the spur of the moment not based on any previous promise to give.
A pledge is a promise to donate a fixed amount to a religious or charitable organization. Pledges are usually monthly or yearly. For example, you pledge $100 a month to a temple's building fund for a period of two years and fulfill the pledge by mailing a check each month.
Many donate a designated portion of their income, such as five to fifteen percent. This is a deeper practice usually taken up after one has made a commitment to a swami or ashram and is seriously studying his teachings. The ancient Tamil word for this is makimai, which designates giving one-sixth of one's income for spiritual purposes.
Giving outside the home quite often is done by the husband. However, it is important the wife and children also be allowed to participate. Providing the wife with funds she can give away to religion or charity allows her to experience the upliftment that comes from the practice of dana, which then brings more joy into the home.
Children should be taught to be generous from a very young age. They can be given a small amount of money to give to the temple, to holy ones, and to the needy. When older, they can be trained to give a portion of any gifts they receive on their birthday or on holidays to a Hindu institution the family supports. Besides financial giving, children can also be trained by the parents to give by regularly volunteering their time, perhaps to the same projects their parents help in.
It is also important to train children in self-denial. For example, instead of going out to dinner, you stay at home, or instead of taking a fancy vacation, you go on a budget vacation. Have family discussions beforehand about what you are giving up and the spiritual benefits of this practice. Afterwards discuss with the children how the money you saved together will be given to a Hindu institution for a project that has special meaning to your family.
In conclusion, life offers us many more opportunities to give than we take advantage of. Therefore, the idea to put into practice is to increase our acts of giving without, of course, giving more than we can afford. Besides money, we can always give by volunteering our time, using our skills to make in-kind gifts in our spare time or, through self denial, doing with less to provide someone else with more. Remember, every act of giving earns punyam, good karma, and increases self control over our instincts and desires, thus moving us forward on the spiritual path.
