Posted on: 18 Dec 2022
[An online spiritual discussion was conducted on Datta Jayanti Day i.e., December 07, 2022, in which several devotees participated. The questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]
[Shri Durgaprasad asked: Paadanamaskaaram Swami, The Ishavasya Upanishad says that the entire wealth is the property of the Lord and one should return back the extra money to the Lord with fear. You said that one should sacrifice with love. Love and fear cannot go together. How to reconcile these two statements on sacrifice to God? At Your lotus feet, -Durgaprasad]
Swami replied:- Veda says that before doing charity, one must have the knowledge (Samvit), which is the knowledge of discrimination of who is deserving and who is undeserving to receive our donation (Saṃvidā deyam— Veda). The Veda says two points regarding the deservingness of a receiver:
1) He/she must be thorough with the knowledge of the Veda i.e., Brahmajnaanam.
2) He/she should not aspire for money from anybody in this world (Śrotriyasycā'kāmahatasya…—Veda).
Lord Krishna did charity only once in His entire lifetime and it was the highest charity done by anybody in this creation. That highest charity was made to Sudaama because he was deserving. Sudaama knows Brahmajnaanam which means identification of Brahman (Kaścinmāṃ vetti - Gita). How do you identify the unimaginable Brahman? We can identify Brahman only when Brahman comes as human incarnation in this world (Avajānanti māṃ mūḍhā mānuṣīṃ tanum āśritam…—Gītā).
Sudaama recognized Krishna as the contemporary human incarnation of God and this means that Sudaama had Brahmajnaanam which is the first quality of a deserving receiver. Sudaama and his family were suffering from severe poverty but he never aspired for anything from God. He came to Dwaraka and stayed in the palace of Krishna for four to five days but he never asked for anything from Krishna. Krishna washed his feet with His tears as He saw a thorn struck in his foot. But when Sudaama started to return back to his home, Krishna did not even give a pair of chappals (footwear) to him. While Sudaama was walking back home with bare foot, Lord Krishna being omniscient was observing the mind of Sudaama whether he was aspiring for anything from Krishna on his way back home. Any ordinary devotee would scold Krishna for His actions but Sudaama did not get a single negative thought about Krishna and he was chanting the holy name of Krishna identifying Him as the contemporary human incarnation of God. This means that Sudaama also has the second qualification of deservingness of a receiver. Therefore, Krishna created a big palace to Sudaama replacing his house. Had Sudaama aspired for anything from anybody until he reached home, the palace would have disappeared and his old hut would have remained instead.
Generally, we do charity in hurry while we are at holy places like Kashi and during holy times like Shivaratri. But, we should not consider the place or time while doing charity and consider only the deservingness of the receiver. When Krishna donated to Sudaama, that place was not Kashi and that day was not Shivaratri. An undeserving receiver may have addictions like drinking and smoking, etc due to which he/she will utilize your charity to do sins. Indirectly, you are purchasing sin through your charity to an undeserving receiver. Charity is a double-edged sword. If you don’t find a deserving receiver right now, do not be in hurry to donate. Store it in a box and give the entire box to the deserving receiver after you find a deserving devotee.
After getting this knowledge of real deservingness, the donor will love the deserving receiver and does charity because donation to deserving devotee is merit leading to heaven. The donor will fear to do charity for the undeserving devotee because the donation to such receiver leads the donor to hell. Hence, in the same subject of charity, both love and fear are involved and they need not go hand in hand at the same time. Love and fear change as per the deservingness of the receiver. In the case of deserving receiver, sometimes, the receiver may be God in human form and in such case, you must donate with shyness because God’s hand is below your hand. King Bali felt ashamed for this point while donating three square feet of land to Vaamana, the human incarnation of God. The Veda says “Saṃvidā deyam (knowledge), Hriyā deyam (shyness) and bhiyā deyam (fear)”. Shyness belongs to a deserving receiver especially when the deserving receiver is God. If the deserving receiver is a good devoted human being, love comes on the receiver. In the case of God also, love appears along with shyness. The word love is hidden in the word shyness.