The Unknown Srivaishnava

Words of Wisdom from Srimad Azhagiyasingar the 44^th Pontiff of Sri Ahobila Mutt:

“daaney dvishantho mithraa bhavanthi”

(Translated into English from Sri Azhagiyasingar’s Tamizh discourses -“arul mozhigal”)— by M.K.Sudarshan

(This article has been previously published in edited form in the August 2021 issue of “SRI NRISIMHA PRIYA” (English Edition) — the official magazine of the Sri AHOBILA MATTAM, INDIA)

Few in this world realize the blessed quality of charity. But from whatever I have learnt about it from the words of our wise forebears, I shall now write about and share with you in the hope that you shall then be sufficiently urged to engage in generous charity in life, each in accordance with your own means and capacity.

Try imagining a lake or a pond whose water-level is rising to dangerous levels due to incessant inflows. What do you think the person responsible for its safe upkeep ought to do about it? You would all say he should immediately see to it that a channel is cut to allow excess water from rising levels of the lake drain out slowly, and thus prevent breaches in the lake’s embankment resulting in far greater loss of its precious waters. Similarly, we can say, that as the levels of the wealth we go on earning begin to rise steadily as we progress in life, we must let it percolate out little by little through the channel of generous charity. Otherwise, there is every possibility that we might end up losing a greater part of it through sudden, unfortunate vagaries, mishaps or accidents in life such as theft, taxes or expropriation. Therefore, we must understand that both spending and giving in charity, in generous measure, do go a long way in life to not only help retain but also protect our larger stock of wealth.  

A wise man once said this: When we neither spend our Wealth in living well ourselves nor do we give it in charity for the wellbeing of others, the Wealth very soon gets reduced to naught —

“daanam bhogho naasha-tisro gathayo bhavanthi vitthasya,

Yo na dadaathi na bhunkthe tasya tritheeyaa gathirbhavathi.”

People often ask, “How is charity to be given? What is the proper way?”

The answer is short and sweet: “Whenever done, any act of Charity firstly must be made with a pure heart? What does that mean? It means when I give in charity I must feel that the act itself is verily the fulfilment of my life”. 

I am often asked this too: “To whom must be charity done and in what proper ways?”

Listen then to the answers I shall give you now:

First and foremost, one should proceed with an act of charity if it is known for certain that what is about to be given away in charity to a person will in turn get used by the latter, either directly or indirectly, but solely and surely for true, godly purpose only (bhagavath aaraadanam).

Next, persons who have studied and imbibed well the Vedic and Vedantic body of knowledge as well as those who do no more in life than sport a tuft on their crowns (kudumi), and are satisfied with performing no more than the ‘sandhyaavandanam’ rite, are both deserving of charity but then the former should get the first priority and the latter the last. 

Charity should also be timely and made appropriately… It has been said in the Bhagavath Gita:  

“paatrey anupakaariNey”

If one gives to another in charity with the tainted thought “If I gift this man now at this time, I can expect him to owe me something valuable in return at a later time”, then such charity carries really no merit at all.

Secondly, one must know that to be able to give in charity from out of one’s wealth, one must know first the means of its proper enjoyment. Merely possessing wealth means nothing if one knows not the means to experience delight out of it. No delight ever accrued to a man of wealth who simply wore it on his sleeves and strutted about. Real delight is derived from one’s wealth only when it is enjoyed collectively with one’s kith, kin and friends. But greater is the delight derived when it is put to use for godly purposes – for “bhagavath tiruvaaraadanam’, for preparing varieties of delicious and wholesome food-offerings to “bhagavaan” and thereafter enjoying them (as prasaadam) in the holy company of other devotees… that is certainly one form of delectation to be derived from one’s wealth.      

Another way of putting to use one’s wealth in a wholesome way and derive delight from it is to regard oneself, one’s own family members and one’s own community at large as though they were all temples or places of worship. Thus when one’s wealth is spent in providing them all with all material wherewithal and good things in life, it is can be likened to spending generously on erecting festive festoons to the temple, and lavishing rich clothing, finery, jewelry and other ornaments and embellishments for the Deity and the sanctum.

However, on the contrary, spending one’s wealth for nothing more than self-gratification in so many profligate ways that are sinful, ungracious and are prohibited too by ‘saastras’ as being the cause for  “bhagavaan’s” displeasure is indeed the surest path to perdition and can in no way secure any kind of delight or wellbeing to the owner of such wealth.  The perils of squandering away one’s wealth in such fashion is severely condemned by the “paasuram-s” of the holy “prabhandhams” well known to us such as this one for example:

….“vambulaankoonthal manaiviyyai toorandhu…”

To contribute through charity towards the celebration of temple ‘utsavam’ (public religious festivity) and to be able to enjoy the fervor and fanfare is indeed one of the ways to delight in the use of one’s wealth. So is being able to offer beautiful and lavish floral tributes to temples and enjoying the sight of the Deity adorned with them. Similarly, donating a bit of one’s wealth towards organizing the temple-kitchens to provide sumptuous and wholesome food-offerings to “bhagavaan” and then having it all distributed to vast assembly of devotees and pilgrims (bhaagavatha goshti) can also be a source of immense mental pleasure and fulfilment for the donor.

Just as one spends one’s wealth in the periodic renovation and refurbishment of one’s dwelling, and then he is able, along with his family, to feel tremendous pride and pleasure from simply watching the new surroundings, so can a man of wealth who uses a part of it to gift it to the temples of our deities like Rama, Krishna, Ranganatha or Lakshminrisimha and others then able to savor the great delight of witnessing their precincts renovated and beautified with his donation and beginning to shine and sparkle again with new life and energy (“jeernOdhaaranam”).

There is yet another source from which springs very great satisfaction and enjoyment for the man of wealth: when he decides to gift a part of his wealth to arrange for young boys from underprivileged families to undergo the ritual investiture of “upanayanam” or to conduct the weddings of daughters (“vivaaham”, “kalyaanam”) hailing from such very poor families.   

It is through the vehicle of such charity as described above that one may ensure that what is given away through generosity or philanthropy ensures in turn that what remains as wealth thereafter continues to be a fund worthy of respect and honor. It is akin to water inside a well. If the copious store of water inside the well is not periodically drawn out from it for use in a variety of ways in domestic, household life, the well is sure very soon to turn turbid and the water will begin to smell putrid. Likewise, we can say that periodic drawing out of excess wealth that accumulates with us and given away partly in charity helps to render the residual wealth free from the taint of sinful selfishness and the stigma of miserliness.

A great message on the subject of Charity was once conveyed by Sri Krishna to Yudhishtira in the following words (in the Mahabharatha):

“daridra Bhara kowntheya maa prayaccheshvarey dhanam,

vyaadhitasyowshadham patthyam neerujasya kimowshadhaihi.”

“O Dharmaputra! Take it upon yourself as duty to give generously in charity to ‘saadhus’, ‘yogis’ and “bhaktas” who suffer silently in dire poverty… And there is no need at all for you to gift anything of any value to those who are already well to do.”

What Sri Krishna meant in the above shloka was this:

“The gifts of charity must be made in favor of those who are truly needy and in utter poverty for the much the same reason why medicines are administered to the grievously ill — the medicine relieves their suffering and cures them. What is the purpose of giving medicines to perfectly healthy persons?! Far from curing them, it might actually create in them only disease or affliction, will it not? Likewise, when one bestows charity on persons that are already well-to-do, the surfeit of beneficence at their disposal might only end up tempting them to either misuse or even abuse it to their own detriment.” 

Even today all of us hear about and cherish in our hearts the glory of King Mahabali’s act of extraordinary charity in giving away everything he held as his empire to Vaamana bhagavaan who came to him disguised as a poor “brahmin brahmachaari” begging alms and made a demand for just 3 yards of land. The king’s royal counsellor, Sukraachaariar, when asked his opinion, voiced his suspicion and warned Mahabali not to give away the gift the boy was demanding and told him that it would mean the loss of his entire kingdom, crown and all his wealth. But Mahabali as a benefactor, even knowing fully the impending consequence of his charitable deed, went on still to confer the gift of “daana” on the boy and lost everything… Such is the glory of Mahabali and his exemplary generosity!

Have we all also not heard about the famous legend of Karnan (in the Mahabharatha) whose act of charity was magnificent and simply takes our breath away? And that when asked to be given it, he did not hesitate even a moment to rip out from his chest the coat of protective armor which had been conferred upon him at birth as a divine boon and gave it away in charity!    

Then isn’t there also the legend that we all know of about how King Sibi Chakravarthy, in order to save the life of a mere winged creature, a poor pigeon, did not hesitate to slice out with his own hand a piece of flesh from his body to give the bird a lease of life?

A wise man once illustrated through a very telling analogy indeed how the many acts of genuine daana or charity by a person all raise him to very great heights of status and nobility. He compared the oceans and the rain-bearing clouds in the skies in this context. The waters of the vast seas are always held down by it and never given away for any great use by the rest of the natural world. Whereas the rain-bearing clouds shower down every bit of the moisture that they are laden with in such abundant measure upon all creatures and life on earth. And so we find that it is the clouds which for their self-less charity, get rewarded with a place of great prominence in the lofty heights in the vast skies of the heavens… and why too, the selfish oceans that do never part with their waters, get relegated to such a lowly, earth-bound status in nature.   

Another wise man had this observation to make about Charity:

A man’s wealth is much like the stream that springs forth from the high mountains. That stream empties itself incessantly by letting its waters gush down the slopes of its meandering course. Does anyone need to spell it out to anybody at all as to what great dangers might arise if the mountain stream did not drain itself of its waters that way constantly? And instead if it stored or dammed itself up somewhere high up there in stagnant condition on the mountain slopes?

It is much the same with Wealth… even as it springs up and accumulates, so must it also be continually drained through charity. If it is allowed instead to amass and stagnate, such wealth only ends up attracting unwanted attention of covetous people including taxmen and other authorities. It then becomes difficult to account for such disproportionate accumulation of wealth and the mode of its disposal. (These days we hear often about some people, caught unable to properly account for their wealth, being hauled away from their cozy homes to live out their days in other very “specially protected and secure kind of homes”, don’t we?) 

On the other hand, when a part of wealth is wholeheartedly given away in charity — to the needy, the orphaned and to the destitute men of learning (such as learned Vedantins) of this world — such large-heartedness yields unseen but very certain blessings to one.

Thus, when all is said is done, a prudent man of the world will ensure that a third of all his income and wealth is put away as his savings, a third is spent well in enjoying the pleasures of all good things in life together with family, relatives, friends and community; and finally, a third will be earmarked for charity to be given for worthy causes described above as ‘daanam’. At the same, without first accumulating a basic corpus, he should never begin to freely spend his earnings and wealth. 

One of the blessed qualities of Charity or “daanam” is that it has the power to turn even foes into friends. Those who harbor any sort of enmity or rivalry against a man known well otherwise for his philanthropy usually end up making light of the rancor and making much more instead of his generosity. Charity (of the kind with no strings attached) indeed conquers all and that is why it is said (in the Veda): 

“daaney dvishanto mithraa bhavanthi”

The Upanishad also goes on to say this of Charity:

“daaney sarvam pratishTitham”

I.e. All good things in life that a charitable man may desire get realized by him, sooner or later, by virtue of those very own charitable deeds of his. Many indeed are the gifts of “daanam” which are revealed to us by our ancient “dharma saastras”:

foodgrain (daanyam), apparel (vastram), meals (annam), utensils (paathram), milk (ksheeram), yoghurt (thadhi, or thayeer), a son for adoption (puthra daanam), a bride in marriage (kanya daanam), jaggery (vella daanam), salt (uppu daanam), cows (go daanam), land (bhu daanam), cereals (tila daanam), gold (swarnam), butter (aajya daanam),  silver, property, trees or grove (vruksha daanam), temple elephants (gaja daanam), horses (ashva daanam), camels (ushtra daanam) etc.

Amongst the many “daanams” one can give as a gift of spiritual knowledge (intellectual property), the most priceless is that of “Sri Bhaashyam” (the commentary of Sri Ramanujacharya on the Brahma Sutra of Bodhaayana), “bhagavath-vishayam” (the commentary of Sri Kurugoor Piraan Pillaan on Nammazwar’s “tirvoimozhi”), Srimad Ramaayanam, and books on the sacred Stotra works of great Vedic and Vedantic Acharyas. The exposition by very learned men of the deep meanings and significance of such great works can also be deemed to be very valuable intellectual gifts given away by them. Some people of learning out of sheer vanity keep hoarding valuable books in their private libraries and gloat about it without sharing their treasure with others. In time, those libraries used by none become moth-eaten and waste away. Rather than let such intellectual treasures decay, books of knowledge should be given away as gifts to young students and sincere seekers of knowledge.

I must now dwell a bit upon an important aspect of charitableness:

Imagine a father of his only child, a beloved daughter, saying, “She is the only child I have! How can I give her away in marriage (kanya daanam)? Should my home not be blessed with the presence of at least one loving child of mine?” Irrespective of such paternal sentiments, one must yield to our ‘saastra’ which stipulates that a father soon after his daughter attains age of puberty must seek out a worthy brahmachaari groom for her; one who belongs to another “gotra” (genetic group);  is able bodied, well-educated; and the father should then dutifully confer all ceremonial honors on such a groom — with gifts, flowers, perfumed offerings and to the sound of mantra-chants for the occasion — and forthwith give away his daughter’s hand in marriage to such a worthy man. Such a gift of nubile daughters (“kanya daanam”) must be performed whether a father has only one or fifty daughters! If a father fails to perform the sacred duty of “kanya daanam” in a timely manner, and instead continues to keep her in his own paternal custody indefinitely at home, he is deemed by the dharma-saastras to be guilty of such heinous sins as “bruNa hathya (feticide), “maathru hathya” (matricide), “pithru hathya” (patricide), “brahmahathi” (slaying Brahmin), homicide, thieving, felony, crime, and social treason.  

A daughter born to a father ought to be parented with love and care as a child. But the day she attains the age of puberty, it is the duty of the father to gift her away in marriage to a worthy groom; no delay in the matter for any reason should be brooked. That duty when performed in a timely manner is said to please all the gods (devataas), sages (rshi-s) and men of Vaideeka ancestry (i.e. I mean the venerable persons of our past who were wedded to the Vedic way of life). It is so common these days to blame the secular laws for the late marriage of our daughters — and thus marriages get postponed to even ages far advanced as 30 and 35 years. Lack of financial resources is yet another excuse for postponing marriage of our daughters. There is also the pretext of the evils of the dowry system. And then these days, we also come across nubile girls in our community who baulk at the prospect of getting married to grooms who are of orthodox mien and demeanor (such as wearing the traditional kudumi)! Anyway, so long as the daughters (kanni-s) in our community are married in time, that in itself should be a cause for happiness, and welcomed and encouraged as a form of ‘daana’, an act of good charity. At least, let us hope that the groom is one who believes in and knows how to offer “daily worship” to his household deity (‘saalagraama poojai’ or “tiruvaaraadanam’).

Then there is the gift of “anna daanam” to be spoken about. It is the gift of feeding masses of common people. How is this to be done by a man of wealth? This “daana” must be made only for the benefit and heartfelt satisfaction of those poor people who truly know and have experienced the pain and pangs of hunger and have no other reliable or sustainable means of providing themselves at least one square meal a day. Food given as gift to such people provides instant relief and sustenance to them, energizes them, makes them active and in turn enables them to offer thanksgiving and prayers to “bhagavaan”… Hence, the merit of such “daana” accrues and arises immediately and in abundant measure too to the “anna daatha”, the donor.

The gift of cows – “go daanam” – can be made to worthy men devoted to Vedic learning (vedaviths). But such gifts should be given only to those who can be expected to protect and husband the animal and enjoy the copious milk it yields. The donor must ensure that the recipient of “go daana” is not negligent in protecting the cows. Also, once the gift of the cow is made, the donor should never, later on, try to regain or claim it back for any reason whatsoever. Several scriptures condemn it as heinous sin. Again, no man should make a gift of a cow to vedaviths knowing it to be frail of health, sick, decrepit, disabled, infecund or unproductive of milk. Such gifts only earn for the donor all manner of ill fate in life.

Giving away one’s son by way of gift to foster parents for purpose of legal adoption is “puthra daanam” and it is approved by our saastras. But such ‘daana’ is best made when the adoption is accepted (sveekaara) by one’s own kith (gnyaathee-s). Next in order of preference, the gift of adoption may be given to relatives belonging to the same “gotra” lineage. The least preferred mode of “puthra daanam” is to arrange for adoption of a son on mere pecuniary considerations.

Another praiseworthy mode of gifting particularly to temples and religious monasteries (mattam) is what is known as “gaja daanam”, elephants. But the gift of these magnificent animals were once made only by maharajas and noblemen who had both the resources and willingness to make such munificent endowment.

Then there is also the custom of gifting to great temples massive accessories for use in the temple festivities (utsavam). Such accessories are great big umbrellas known as “kudai”. They are ceremonially carried to provide shade and cover to the idols of the deities when they are taken out in procession – with all attendant pomp, pageantry and parade – and are admired and witnessed by delighted, awe-struck crowds of teeming devotees thronging the streets along the way. There have been a few great donors who have spared no cost in gifting these gigantic umbrellas to the Kanchipuram Sri Varadarajaswamy Perumal Temple on the occasion of the annual “Garuda sevai”. Likewise, for the Sri Veeraraghava Perumal temple in Tiruvallur too.  We know that the temple administrators (devasthaanam) of these big temples also regularly lend out the service of these magnificent festive-accessories to other smaller temples and shrines in and around the province… which is a matter of pride indeed since it is good use of the “daanam’ made in the first place. Another similar kind of daana is made with temple horses too.

Finally, the ‘daanam’ that reigns supreme over all other “daana” is what is called “rathna daana” — the gift of priceless diamonds. But then even amongst such invaluable “rathna daana”, there is one that stands unequalled and unrivalled by any other and it is called “jeeva rathna daanam”.

What makes this “jeeva rathna daanam” unique and exceptional? Why are other forms of daana — whether it is “go-daanam, bhu-daanam, kannika daanam, sri-moorthy daanam, Sri Kosa daanam, vastra daanam” – all never at par with “jeeva rathna daanam”? It is because all of them, while capable of yielding “phalan” of the highest order viz.: blessings, benediction or exquisite states of happiness in the realms of the highest heavens (such as “brahma lokam”, “svarga lokam”), their phalan nonetheless is tainted by the defect of impermanence and  “dukkhaanubhavam” or ultimate grief that inevitably follows such a condition and must be experienced.    

On the contrary, the resultant “phalan” which “jeeva rathna daanam” promises is one that is eternal, limitless and capable of bestowing “aanandam” or ceaseless pure, unalloyed bliss in the realm called “Sri Vaikuntam”. Having reached that state, there is no question of returning to mortal or mundane existence ever again through endless cycles of rebirths. It means everlasting blissful coexistence with the Supreme One who has deigned to receive and accept such “jeeva rathna daanam”.  

Now who is this recipient of such a gift called “jeeva rathna”? To whom should one be ready to make a gift of one’s “Jeevan”? Let me explain:

Many are the different kinds and forms of “daana” that have been listed above. It should be understood that in making such several types of “daanam”, certain rules and procedure are to be abided. The gifts are to be made at the proper time, in the proper place and settings, with proper pre-qualifications and pre-conditions etc.  This “jeeva rathna daana” (Atma daana), on the other hand, is a gift to be made solely to our Lord Sriya: pathi Srimann Naaraayanan, the only one who is fit and able to receive and accept such a supreme gift. It is He who being ever solicitous of the well-being of our Atmaa or soul, awaits expectantly, and constantly too, the moment when we ourselves are ready to go forward to make the final gift of “jeeva rathna daana” to Him and ascend to his abode in Sri Vaikuntam to thereafter enjoy eternal bliss in His Company. Such mortal souls are not differentiated in any manner at all: it is utterly immaterial to Him whether we mortals are men, women, belonging to either this or that caste, sect or denomination. So long as we truly make the ultimate gift of our “Atma” to Him, he is ever ready to accept the offered “jeeva rathna” of ours and bestows upon us everlasting experience of “mukthaanandam” or the Bliss of “moksha” upon us.

He who seeks “moksha” and is willing to make the supreme gift of “jeeva rathna daana” should understand that it cannot be made to gods other than Srimann Naaraayana who alone can bestow “moksha phalan”. Offer of “daana” to please other deities such as Rudra or Brahma may at best secure for one the heavenly delights abounding in Brahma-loka or Kailaasa-loka. But then even those realms are impermanent and subject to “pralaya” or ultimate cosmic dissolution. The Creator of all the fourteen realms of all mortal existence (i.e. heaven and earth, matter and spirit, all spatio-temporal existence), the scriptures reveal to us, is none other than Naaraayana into which all gets finally subsumed.

To make the gift of such “atma samarpaNam” or “jeeva rathna” there is really no specific time or place designated, no occasion, personal status or qualification is required; no age is barred, nor is wealth or social standing a criteria; it does not matter whether one is healthy or afflicted by disease or disability; nationality does not matter nor does one’s faith or even if one is atheistic… So long as one is possessed of a soul that finally recognizes Sriman Naaraayana as the one and only Ultimate Reality, and has gained true “gnyaana” of that Reality; and so long as such a soul has realized too that it is by gifting itself as “jeeva rathna” at the feet of Naaraayana it absolves itself of all taint and traces of sin, infirmity and defects, it gets welcomed and admitted into the company of the celestials and liberated souls who have already performed “jeeva rathna daana” to the Almighty; and together with all of them it delights in Sri Vaikuntam.

It must therefore be realized that nothing stands as obstacle between us and the deed of “jeeva samarpanam”: not religion, not caste, not country, not age, and nothing… no bar or exclusion of any kind!  Just never forget that there is none other who can receive your final gift of “jeeva rathna” than this Sriman Naaraayana.

There is one other matter that must be underscored here:

Gifts are effected by a donor to the recipient usually through designated intermediaries who aid in the proper conveyance of the object of gift. In the case of the many aforesaid “daana” (such as go-daana, kanya daana etc.), the intermediaries are elected persons with sufficient competence in terms of good knowledge of saastra, mantra and ritual. For the gift of “jeeva rathna daana” those intermediaries may not possess the requisite qualifications or experience. So, one must be aware that one needs a proper and genuine guide and mentor, “upaadhyaya” or “Acharya”,  who alone can show the way for one to effect the great and profound gift of one’s Atma through mantra, ritual and saastra-based procedure. By doing so, he who completes the “jeeva rathna daana”, secures release from all mortal bondage (of “sukha” and “dukkha”) and ascends to the supreme state of bliss and liberation. This is what is vouchsafed in that great doctrine called Saranaagathi.

To conclude, whatever may be the fruits of one’s charitable deeds that one may expect to reap in life, one must realize that it is only through renouncing them – ‘bharannyaasam’ – that they ultimately all get realized. But if it is “moksham” (or liberation from the eternal cycle of mortal rebirth) that one is seeking, then performing “bharannyaasam” alone is not sufficient. Sriman Naaraayanan bestows the grace of eternal salvation only on souls that have gifted him with renunciation of both the deed and as well of the fruits of the deed.

“atra rakshaabharannyaasaha samaha sarvaphalaarThinaam,

Svarupaphalanikshepaastvadhiko mokshaankshinaam.”

“subhamasthu”