When giving or donations are requested, it’s a known fact that the same is not so popular for many within the larger world population, It’s not easy to change the habit and attitudes, where one remained at the receiving end. When the needs and demands are unlimited, it’s never easy to spare something. Having said that, this condition is against Christians, the followers of Jesus Christ including Knannaites.
Few believe Charity associated with church is to promote religious agenda and there is a world- wide campaign to disassociate charitable purpose from the church. And this is one of the reasons, Christians establish community charitable associations, institutes and trusts, and channel the contributions purely to charitable purposes. That’s also one of the main reason for establishing charity commissions in developed countries, which promote and regulate charitable activities of their citizens.
Long before the word charity became popular with Christian charity workers, ancient Indians were deeply associated with charitable work by just giving away their wealth and possessions. Then the concept on Wealth was destined to be spent in three ways: utilizing for just causes; utilizing for liberal donations; and utilizing until it has exhausted when good deeds (punya) are diminished.
The main purpose of the wealth of the best of men is to bring an end to the misfortunes of all living beings. Such wealth is known as "Lakshmi" (The Goddess of Wealth). And followed several types of Charity work, below are the major four types, considered spiritually progressive and highly accepted
(a) Charity of gentleness : This is considered best and most important, Charity of gentleness means shaping one's routine of life in such a manner that all living beings feel safe and secure with you. No external resource is necessary in this charity, all human beings can, therefore, resort to it.
Only if there is a constant awakening of soul, can one succeed in not causing ill to anybody mentally, physically or by speech. Thinking deeply, we will realize that only great people who have renounced all attachment to worldly life, have the full capacity to practice this kind of charity. But we ordinary people also practice it as far as a possible, attempt to attain the good of our own life and souls.
In simple terms allow others to live and work, there are thousands of people who can do better things, leading to the best ever charity work anyone can perform.
(b) Compassionate charity : The main purpose is to remove the sufferings of the afflicted people. In this case, the recipient benefiting from the charitable act is not more virtuous than the liberal donor. The feeling of compassion in the heart of the donor is therefore dominant in this case. The donor, who is inspired by this feeling, helps afflicted people with sympathy and serves them by body, mind or wealth.
Compassionate charity consists of liberal donation by a person who is moved by the pangs of the tormented human being or animal to get rid of sufferings as soon as possible. The donor tries his best to remove others suffering in a variety of ways, considered as voluntary.
This is what we all considers as charity and most of us practice.
(c) Charity of knowledge: In this type of charity, the donors donate knowledge of truth and all rounded philosophy leading the living noble beings to their ultimate well-being. This kind of charity is dispensed through the media of lectures and preaching religious discourses.
In this, both the donor and beneficiary thereof, reap the highest gain for their spiritual progress. Finally, it leads both to the highest benefit and the supreme state of liberation.
This is what our spiritual leaders does, all our great Bible retreat leaders. Lectures and seminars by world leaders, educating the interested public.
(d) Charity accompanied by utter devotion and humility: Purely based on the donor to single receiver or several receivers, who realises the potential of the receiver, passing on the deep knowledge, understanding and skills to an appropriate successor, who is likely to carry forward their work.
An ideal example would be our former Indian Prime Ministers, Mrs Indira Gandhi and her great Father Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mrs Indira Gandhi was nurtured over a period of time by her father to be able to lead the nation as well as to progress all developments he initiated.
Another example would be Swami Vivekananda, successor of his great master Swami Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, who taught him advaita-vedanta (non-dualism), that all religions are true and that service to man was the most effective worship of God.
Persons of three categories stand highest in Indian society and they are the devotee, the donor and the hero and once would be parents used to pray "O Mother, if at all you give birth to a child, let it be a devotee, a donor or a hero. Otherwise, may you prefer to remain barren. Do not lose your vitality in giving birth to others."
To be continued...
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Wisdom!!! Wisdom!!!
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