SATVIKA DĀNA?
When you ask questions, if I don't know the answer, I say I don't know the answer. People ask, 'What is this? Swamiji, you are enlightened and you say you don't know.'
Confusing the audience is not a complicated job. It is easy because they are already confused! There is nothing more to be done. Just use some words, that's all. And it's not a big thing. Only an Enlightened person is courageous enough to say, 'I don't know ' when he doesn't know. To answer a question without knowledge doesn't require Enlightenment. It needs foolish hypocrisy. The straightforward, integrated and authentic approach to the truth is what Kṛṣṇa calls sātvika dāna. Here, in whatever way I experience the truth, I simply express it and share it—authentically, without reservation. That is sātvika dāna according to Kṛṣṇa. WHAT IS
Art of the day
THE ULTERIOR MOTIVE BEHIND DĀNA
And He goes on to explain rajas dāna and tamas dāna. Many times, the dāna is not given voluntarily. Or they may give something away as a part of a ritual. For example, in a Hindu wedding the giving away of abride is called kanyā dāna.
People who give their property for charitable purposes in their will. What choice do they have? They cannot carry it with them. In many cases they may have fought with their children and decided not to leave them anything. So instead of giving away the wealth to their children, these people give it away as charity. Such acts are not acts of charity. They are done with ulterior motives.
There are others whose charity it is better not to accept. Kṛṣṇa refers to this as giving in ignorance, tamas. People will come with money not declared for tax as earned income and gift that to the ashram. They will use it as a tax saving strategy. What for?
ACCEPTING DĀNA FROM THE RIGHT CONTEXT
In THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM's Own Words:
Often, disciples ask why I am not accepting donations from very wealthy people who come to the ashram seeking help. Unless the person stays with me for a year or more and shows his integrity, authenticity and responsibility towards enriching the mission, it is difficult to accept anything from that person. Why become bonded to people whose motives are not merely selfish but self- defeating?
Parāśakti (Existence) guides the mission and She takes care. What She cannot give, no one else can give. What She decides not to give, who else can give?
Goals:
Helping the students understand the right context for charity. Helping the students see how they can enrich others' lives.
Assessments
- From which space should enriching be done?
- What is the difference between rajas, dāna, and tamas dāna?
- What is annadāna?
- What is vidyādāna?
- What is jñānadāna?
- How can knowledge transform our lives? What is sātvika dāna?
- Whose charity is it best not to accept?
Art of the day: GRATITUDE TREE!
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- v Paper
- v Scissors
- v Sponges (an adult can cut them in different leaf shapes
- v Paper plates
- v Acrylic paint
- v Newspaper or old towel to protect the floor
- v Markers
PROCEDURE:
- An adult pours the different colour paints in different paper plates
- Children create their gratitude tree (they can use markers to create the trunk and dip the sponges in the paint to create the leaves.
- Let the paint dry and then write 1 skill you are grateful to have in life in each leaf.
- At the end, ask children how they can use each skill they are grateful for to enrich others.