By charity we rise
The purpose of sadhana is evolution, and as you evolve you move up the pyramid, you become responsible for all those under you. A sadhak takes on this responsibility voluntarily, and charity is the foremost tool towards this evolution. Every major religion of the world prescribes
charity as part of its practice. So let us do an experiment
to understand why charity is a must for a person on the spiritual path.
Step 1: Stand up and start inhaling
Step 2: Go on inhaling
Step 3: To ensure that no breath is given back to the atmosphere you must go on inhaling.
Step 4: Continue inhaling. Do not exhale.
No matter how strong your lungs are you will have to exhale at some point. It is impossible to hold on to your breath endlessly. Do you realise that even something as precious as the life-giving breath cannot be hoarded? For it would result in destruction. So, we need to hold on to only what is necessary for us, anything which is in excess of our needs should be given away. How? By doing charity.
One of the five yamas in the eight-fold path of yoga translates as charity. It is considered a purification. There is one important thing we should know about charity: we all think charity is giving something to the needy. But we never realise that whatever we are giving away is not ours because it’s not “you” who is giving anything to anybody. You are just being the channel. Charity is done and not given. You only do something for someone. The simplest definition of charity is when you do something for someone without expecting
anything in return. Charity should be such that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing because it is not the right hand’s business to know.
When somebody at a public function donates a lot of money announcing his contribution to a crowd, he is actually not doing charity but buying fame. There is nothing to be proud of when something is being done for others, because the resources in the world belong to everyone. Someone gets a bigger share, someone gets a smaller; but these resources are meant for each one of us, and are meant for sharing. So, if you are bestowed with fortunes, blessings and the capacity to share, then you should just give.
Yogi Ashwini is an authority on yoga, tantra and the Vedic sciences. He is the guiding light of Dhyan Foundation. He has recently written a book, Sanatan Kriya: 51 Miracles... And a Haunting. He can be contacted at
dhyan@dhyanfoundation.com
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