Charity!

Yudhisthira enquired from Vyāsdev: Which is more effective & more difficult to execute: Charity or Austerity?

Sage said: There is nothing more difficult in this world than to become genuinely charitable. Men have such strong desire to attain wealth that they are willing to work hard day & night to obtain it & sometimes risk their lives too. Because of strong attachment to wealth, it is very difficult for one to cheerfully part with his hard-earned money by giving it in charity

Still, it is a fact that if one gives his honestly earned wealth to a proper recipient, no matter how small it is, that gift will award him great gain in next life. To illustrate this, sage told a story:

There was a sage named Mudgala, who lived like a pigeon, eating only grains which farmers purposely left in fields after harvest. And yet inspite of the austerity, he managed to entertain guests & perform sacrifices. He lived like a pigeon for 2 weeks in a month, & by doing so collected one drone (small clay pot) of corn. During remaining 2 weeks, he would perform yajna & distribute Prasāda to guests

Mudgala & his family would eat only after all guests have been fed. And yet, because of his purity, everytime he distributed food, the quantity would automatically increase, enabling him to feed 100’s of Brāhmanās

Durvāsa Muni, a bald ascetic who wandered about naked, heard of Mudgala’s sacrifice, & came one day to his house. While speaking in a very insulting manner, he begged for some food. Mudgala welcomed Muni, brought water to wash his feet & supplied him excellent food. As Muni was famished, he ate everything quickly

When he saw that Muni was frantically devouring all that was served, Mudgala hurriedly brought more food. At last, after eating everything, Durvāsa left without saying a word. Then after some time he again came & requested to be fed. As before, he hungrily gobbled up all that was served & silently departed. Again & again Muni came & ate Mudgala’s entire stock of food

After Muni’s departure, Mudgala would go to collect more food as nothing remained for his family. In this way Muni came 6 times but yet Mudgala was not slightly agitated in his heart. Durvāsa muni finally became very pleased & praised saying: I see that you’re never agitated by hunger, thirst or anger. I don’t think there is another person on earth who is as pure hearted & charitable as you

Food is sustaining force of life & when one is too oppressed by hunger, he generally gives up all consideration for virtue & loses patience too. Besides this, it is extremely hard for anyone to renounce that which he has gained by honest endeavor. Thus, by your selfless acts of charity, you’ll surely ascend to heaven in your present body

Charity is an important part of spiritual practice. It should be given without any expectation of reward or recognition, with pure heart & with intent to help others. It should be given with humility & without any attachment to result

Thoughts? #gameoflife