Satsang by Swami Sivananda SaraswatiCharity (bhet) is universal love, generosity and benevolence. It is the disposition to think favourably of others and to do good to them. True charity is the desire to be useful to others without thought of recompense or. reward. It is love in action and a great purifier of the heart. Charity begins at home, but since the whole world is your home, it should reach abroad also. You are a citizen of the world. Cultivate a generous feeling for the welfare of the whole world.
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Charity is the sister virtue of generosity and the fulfilment of magnanimity and nobility. It is not merely an act of offering certain material goods, but generosity of disposition, of feeling, and of understanding and knowledge. In the highest sense it is equivalent to jnana yajna, the sacrifice of wisdom.
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Imparting wisdom is the best form of charity. If you give food to the hungry, after a while they will again be hungry. If you give clothes to the naked, after a while they will again be so. If you give money to the needy, when they have spent it they will again be in want. But if you give knowledge to all, you will have given them the means to take care of themselves. Wisdom removes ignorance and totally destroys all sorts of miseries and suffering forever.
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Forget and forgive any harm done to you. Say a kind word to a suffering person. Charity is not confined to giving in terms of dollars, rupees or shillings. A little good thinking and a little kindness are often worth more than giving a great deal of money. In the beginning do discriminate giving. Later on begin to practise indiscriminate giving. When you feel that every being is a manifestation of the Lord, it is difficult to discriminate. Who is good? Who is bad?
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Compassion should go hand in hand with charity. Compassion is fellow-feeling for others. It prompts one to relieve the pain and suffering of others. By making another's misery your own and by relieving them, you relieve yourself. Compassion embraces all human beings and animals, not only one's own equals or those who are above oneself. Compassion is dynamic in thought, word and deed. Sacrifice your own needs and comforts for the sake of others. Remember your own defects and weaknesses. Be slow in your criticism of others and generous towards those who do wrong actions.
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Many people are unsympathetic and have no compassion They may present a car worth many thousands of rupees to their son or daughter, and spend many more rupees on the petrol But they will not spend even one rupee to relieve the suffering of the poor. They have their eyes and ears closed. They do not hear the cries of people in distress. They do not see the stream of tears flowing from their neighbours. They close their doors and eat magnificent food.
The whole world is one family. All are children of God. Feel this. Open your heart to compassion. Understand the suffering of others and be ever ready to help them. Compassion gives strength and joy. It prepares your mind for the descent of divine light. May compassion arise in your heart!
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Once I chanced to see an ashram resident trying to frighten away a monkey wanting to drink water from a pot kept near the office for drinking purposes. You cannot judge a person's heart from the big charity that he does and the huge hospital that he builds. Watch for little incidents such as these. When you have brought water for a good purpose and a monkey happens to spoil it, how do you react during that first split second? What is the first thought that arises in your mind? What is the first impulse? That determines the real quality of your heart.
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Always give the best things to others, only then will your heart expand. Some people want to keep the best things for their personal use and give the worst to others. Do not close the door and take first class coffee, tea or fruit. As soon as you close the door, you should feel that God is witnessing your actions. You should not act selfishly. The moment your stock is exhausted by giving to others, a fresh supply will come. Even if you do not desire prosperity, grace will come to you in this form. If one possesses generosity and purity, these attributes automatically bring forth prosperity and liberation. This is the unalterable law.
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Give generously, with modesty and with sympathy. The food that you offer a guest may be meagre fare, but if you offer it with love it acquires great power, nutrition and taste. Be it a relative, friend or beggar, give food with love and affection, whatever the quality of the food may be. Hospitality is the very essence of giving.
Once a visitor and his family came for darshan without giving any previous intimation of their arrival. After inquiring about their welfare, I asked a disciple to give them lunch. The disciple hesitated as it was past lunch hour and the food was also finished. I told him, "It doesn't matter. Take them and manage somehow. Give them some curd, pappad and fruit. Even if you are unable to give food at least talk pleasantly. Unless you are pleasant at heart, how are you going to be good in your actions? To be good in actions is to be good at heart because actions are the expressions of one's thoughts. The external action does not matter much because one's action will only be in accordance with what is in one's heart. Therefore, be good in order to do good."
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Giving should be spontaneous and unrestrained. Some people give and are anxious to see their names published in the newspapers with their photos. This is not giving at all. You must experience extreme joy in giving. You must not think, "I have done a very charitable act. I will enjoy happiness in heaven. I will be born as a rich man in the next birth. The charitable act will wash away my sins." Give silently. Do not boast. Your left hand should not know what your right hand is doing. It can be difficult to give a gift silently, without manifesting pride and without expressing to others.
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Generosity, tolerance, kindness, compassion, affection and sympathy are all synonymous with charity. Greediness, harshness, ill-will, inhumanity, selfishness and unkindness are all the opposites. Giving should extend to all beings, whether humans or animals, in prosperity or in. distress. Tenderness especially goes out towards the young, feeble and needy. Generosity is self-forgetful kindness in disposition or action. It includes much besides giving.
Generosity is giving freely and kindly. A generous person has a large and magnanimous heart. A generous person always gives and gives. The essence of generosity is self- sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is the surrender of one's own self or personal happiness or comfort for the sake of advancing the interests of others. It kills egoism and leads to the descent of divine grace and divine light. Rejoice in the welfare rather than the punishment of an offender. Magnanimity is a greatness of soul that rises above injury or insult.
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Charity is sharing what you have with others. Sharing destroys greed, removes selfishness and creates selflessness. Always give with faith, in plenty and with modesty. Giving with an unwilling heart is not giving. Think well towards suffering people. Pray for their welfare. This will accomplish more good than much money. Do not be mean-minded.
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Be tolerant of others. Tolerance is not judging harshly where there are differences of opinion or conduct. Your neighbour's ways and opinions may not be your own, but may nevertheless be good according to him. Never condemn rashly but judge righteously. Forgive others.
Intolerance is petty-mindedness. It is unreasonable dislike of little things. All these petty differences are pure mental creations. Expand! Expand! Include all and love all in a spirit of mental charity. Change the angle of vision. Be liberal in your views. Destroy all barriers that separate one person from another.
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