Swami Satyananda Saraswati
Money has three destinations: daan, offering; bhoga, enjoyment; and nasha, destruction. All property has these three destinations only. You may enjoy it or you may offer it, otherwise it will be lost or destroyed. Anything and everything, movable or immovable, gold or silver, food or sweetmeats, clothes or animals, cars or anything else. You should think about how much you need for your own enjoyment. To collect and keep things is not enjoyment; to store things is also not enjoyment. Enjoyment is utilizing things for oneself. You have many things that you do not need and such things you must offer to the needy. If you offer a job or service to the needy, or if you make a firm arrangement for the livelihood of a needy person, you will be doing yeoman service to that family.
The society that only knows the culture of receiving and not giving promotes social exploitation. To strike a balance in society we should teach children to follow the culture of give and take. If we don’t receive from others, how can we give? Unless social balance is achieved, the gap between affluence and poverty cannot be bridged. Therefore, provision is made in the yajna for the giving of prasad.
The general populace are the foundation of the nation. The village children and their parents are the load bearers of our society. The masses provide the base, the solid ground, the direction and destination for a nation to move forward. This section of society must be looked after properly, otherwise there will be rape, looting, extremism. If the larger section of the country is not looked after, society cannot be given security. Sixty to seventy percent of the world’s population is neglected.
This is a message to each and everyone. If you bake four loaves of bread, one loaf is for society. You have to share your joy, your booty, your money. You have to share your happiness with everyone. Everyone should ponder over the plight of that section of society that has been kept deprived for so long. If you don’t give to others how will you get anything back.
For a human being, the most difficult vow is to forsake, to renounce, to let go. Everyone knows how to collect, how to add up. To renounce means to make a sacrifice. Sacrifice is made for the sake of others, just as a mother makes sacrifices and abstains from many comforts for the sake of her child’s well-being. A time should come when people cultivate the habit of giving. You should give to everyone, even the affluent, not only to the poor and the destitute. God does not discriminate between rich and poor. He gives to all. He gives to the poorest of the poor and the wealthiest of the wealthy too. This is the way of God and we should learn it.
