Religion and Giving

"Shraddhaya deyam
Ashraddhaya adeyam,
Shriya deyam,
Bhiya deyam
Hriya deyam,
Samvida deyam,”

Give with faith,
Do not give without faith
Give with a sense of plenty,
Give with sympathy,
Give with humility,
Give with knowledge.

This verse from the ‘Taittariya Upanishad’ speaks about the best way to practice charity. When we are asked to ‘give with faith’, we are basicaally exhorted to think and take individual decisions on our giving and to question the cause we are giving to. The receiver or the cause should be worthy of our gift. This is something that we have been advocating and hence the List of Events link on the home page of the Joy of Giving Week, where those seeking to raise resources, are free to register their own events and donors can excercise their independent judgment and choose.

‘Daan’ (giving/ charity) is mentioned in the ancient texts of Hinduism and it is a part of religion. There is the Zakat which is the third Pillar in Islam, the daan in Hinduism, charity is one of the five Anuvratas of the Jains, the Adhyatmak karma establishes communion between man and god in Sikhism through charitable acts which also has ‘wand kay sakho’(sharing the fruits of one’s labour) as one of its tenets, Judaism speaks of sharing and exhorts one to give 10% of one’s earnings to the needy (the word tithe orginiates from this) and so on.

As India gears up to celebrate Id ul Fitr and Navratri simultaneously, let us all collectively spare a thought for the less fortunate; less fortunate not just in terms of material goods, but also in terms of opporunities denied, love withheld and human rights unexcercised. Let us resolve therefore to give in plenty, not
just money, but our time, our love, our goodwill and our joy. With just a week to go for the Joy of Giving Week, let us start now to give with joy. The Joy of Giving.