What is the meaning of donation? What is the importance of charity?

The meaning of donation is to give something of one’s own to others and thereby, giving them happiness.

To give happiness to any other living being, whether human or animal, is called donation. To share what one has for the sake of others, for good and noble deeds, is true donation or charity.

Giving money, food, clothing, or medicine to those in need and offering relief in their time of suffering;
contributing towards the construction and maintenance of temples, the protection of silent animals, or the propagation of religion; building schools or hospitals to support the poor all these are included in donation. In short, anything done for the happiness of others beyond one’s own home or family is how we define charity.

The fruit of donation is happiness and peace

When we give happiness to others, as a ‘reaction’ to that, happiness comes to us, that too instantly, right at your doorstep! When we give a donation, giving away our belongings, our money to others raises our inner happiness naturally, because we have done a good deed. It is a law of Nature that whatever we give is what we receive. On the other hand, if we snatch something from others, what is ours will also be taken away. When we do good deeds, we experience happiness; when we do wrong, we experience suffering. Thus, through happiness and suffering, we can recognize what is good and what is bad.

Most of the time, donation is done through wealth. When wealth is used for others or for religious purposes, it is putting it to a good use. An analogy to understand the meaning of donation is to sow the seeds of punya (merit karma) in a field, and later reaping its fruits. By using one’s money for the sake of others, one not only experiences happiness in the present but also ensures a safe side for the next life.

Donation is a unique path to attain peace of mind. Param Pujya Dadashri explains the greatness and importance of donation for this very reason.

Questioner: In order to attain peace of mind, should we serve those who are poor, those who are weak, or should we worship God or should we give a donation to someone? What should we do?

Dadashri: If you want peace of mind, then you should feed others what belongs to you. Bring a large container of ice cream tomorrow and feed all these people. Then let me know how much happiness you feel at that time. These people don’t want to eat ice cream. But just try doing this for your own peace. These people aren’t eager to eat ice cream in winter.
Similarly, if there are any animals around you, if you throw roasted chickpeas to monkeys, they will delightedly jump up and down, and at that time, your happiness will have no bounds. They will go on eating and your happiness will have no bounds. These pigeons jump about even before you give them grains. And when you give it to them, you are giving away something of your own, so happiness begins to arise within.

Suppose a person takes a fall on the road and breaks his leg and there is blood gushing forth; if you tear off a piece of your garment and bandage his leg, then you will feel happiness at that time. It doesn’t matter whether your garment was costly; if you tear it and bandage his leg, then you will feel tremendous happiness at that time.

When does true samadhi (a blissful state that comes about when one becomes free from mental, physical and externally induced suffering) arise? It arises when that which we love the most in this world is willingly let gone. In this world, people have the greatest attachment to wealth. When we learn to let that flow, a blissful state is attained.

Through donation, wealth turns in a good direction

Turn your wealth toward dharma (religion), because in times of difficulty, it is religion alone that will support you. This marks the importance of charity.

The nature of money is fickle. One day it comes, and another day it all goes away. Therefore, money should be used for the welfare of others. Because in life, during the rise of any kind of karma or in difficult times, the good deeds of helping others done earlier will now come back to help us.

If wealth is not used in the right way, the money spent on luxury or wrong purposes will eventually go down the drain! Those whose wealth is spent on good deeds are blessed with tremendous merit karma. Therefore, a person should control spending on wrong paths and let go of control when it comes to spending on the right ones.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan explains this point in simple words, saying that, “Only the money you spend on others is yours, that much is the balance for the next life. So if someone wants to accumulate a balance for the next life, then he should spend money on others. Then be it for anybody not related to you, be it any living being, even if it’s a crow and it samples just a small amount [of food], that will be [credited] in your balance! However, what you and your children ate, that will not be [credited] in your balance, all of that will have gone down the gutter.”

If we earn in lakhs, we should dedicate a portion of that extra wealth towards religious or noble causes, then we remain free from the burden of responsibility. Otherwise, safeguarding wealth is very risky. Especially in this era, where wealth doesn’t usually last even for one generation. Earlier, wealth used to last for three to five generations. Because in this era, most wealth comes through merit karma yet when it is spent, it often creates demerit karma. Therefore, if wealth is not used for good or righteous purposes, it will eventually turn to dust and disappear.

The rule is that when we leave this world, the money deposited in the bank will remain here. But the wealth we spend during our lifetime on religious or virtuous deeds gets deposited in the account of our next life. It ensures that we never face any shortage of wealth there.

Wealth increases by giving

Another way to understand the meaning of donation is to receive by giving. This world is like an echo, whatever we do comes back to us, with interest, multiplied many times over.

Param Puya Dadashri says that, “Wealth comes to those who have the desire to give. It comes to those who believe in giving; those who knowingly allow others to cheat them and those who spend money with a big heart. It may appear that it has gone away, but it will return there only.”

Just as when two doors of a house are kept open, air flows in through one and out through the other. In the same way, when wealth is used from one side, more comes in from the other. But if the doors are closed, the air stops flowing; likewise, if we hold back wealth, it remains limited.

We have to decide in which direction to use our wealth, whether for good deeds and helping others through charity, or for our own pleasures and family comforts.

For a true giver, wealth never runs out for them, even if they give away generously, scooping it out with a spade. A true giver is not the one who donates only once or twice a year, but one who spends his entire life helping others. There are some generous donors who, for seven generations, have continued donating wealth to others. For instance, if someone needs money to marry off his daughter, they give; if a Brahmin comes seeking help, they give; if someone needs funds to build a house, to construct an ashram for saints, or to feed the poor, they give tremendous amounts wholeheartedly. That is why they are called philanthropists.

The nature of money is such that the more you give, the more it grows. Especially when it is donated for a good cause, it increases beyond measure. But if wealth is obtained through theft or dishonesty, it never lasts.

Even if one has piles of wealth, only then should one become a donor. But if there are financial difficulties at home, one should not strive to become a donor. If you truly wish to give, do so with the consent of all family members; only after ensuring that you giving does not cause hardship to anyone at home should you spend money in the right way.