20241001 Śrī Caitanya Śikṣāmṛta 2.2. Pious Activity

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Just that, today we are having the GEPOC meeting from 7 to 8 pm, so I am having the class early.

Second Shower — Consideration of secondary rules

Second Stream — Pious Activity

Those who are older in relation and superior in age and knowledge, they are also elders who should be honored and served as necessary. It is not that one should obey the unjust advice of elders, but one should not show his hatred for them by using harsh words and insults. By gentle speech, humility, and by modest judgment at suitable time, permission of their misconduct should be stopped.

Jayapatākā Swami: We have to treat the elders with some amount of respect. Whatever they speak, something which is nonsensical, then politely one should make some appropriate statement so they will not continue making stupid points. But you should not show hatred or speak harsh words. Follow Lord Caitanya, the third verse of the Śikṣāṣṭaka.

(3) Classification of Charity

Giving money and goods to deserving persons is called charity. What is given to the undeserving person is useless and wasted. It is considered amongst sin.

Note:

dānaṁ sva-dharmo niyamo yamaś ca
śrutaṁ ca karmāṇi ca sad-vratāni
sarve mano-nigraha-lakṣaṇāntāḥ
paro hi yogo manasaḥ samādhiḥ

Charity, prescribed duties, observance of major and minor regulative principles, hearing from scripture, pious works and purifying vows all have as their final aim the subduing of the mind. Indeed, concentration of the mind on the Supreme is the highest yoga.

Jayapatākā Swami: There are twelve types of charity – giving charity to someone who is a drunkard or someone like that is inappropriate. Although we are giving, it doesn’t count anything, we should give to people who warrant it. So these are the twelve kinds of charity.

1. Giving water by digging wells and large ponds

2. Giving shade and aeration by planting in suitable locations

3. Lighting lamps in appropriate places

4. Giving medicine

5. Giving education

6. Giving food

7. Building road

8. Constructing bathing places

9. Donating house

10. Giving merchandises

11. Giving the first portion of delicious food

12. Giving daughter in marriage.

Jayapatākā Swami: So some of these things are what kings or governments do – building roads, constructing bathing house, donating houses, planting trees. So giving medicines and other things, merchandises, what parents do to give to their kids, in the West they give gifts on Christmas day, in India, now the pūjās are coming up, so they give various gifts.

TEXT: A thirsty person should be given water. If a thirsty person comes to the home, give cooling water. It is a pious act to dig wells, ponds, large ponds etc. for drinking water of common people. All those desirable things should be done by seeing the appropriate place.

Jayapatākā Swami: So these are pious activities. One of the offences is to think that chanting the holy name is a pious activity, the holy name is much greater than that. If someone is a gṛhastha and they make money, they should do things that are done for the visitors of the house, etc.  It doesn’t cost anything to give a glass of cool water. That is something that a thirsty man really appreciates.

Note:

iṣṭā-pūrtena mām evaṁ
yo yajeta samāhitaḥ
labhate mayi sad-bhaktiṁ
mat-smṛtiḥ sādhu-sevayā

One who has executed sacrificial performances and pious works for My satisfaction, and who thus worships Me with fixed attention, obtains unflinching devotional service unto Me. By the excellent quality of his service such a worshiper obtains realized knowledge of Me.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa is recommending that if you offer charity thinking of Him, we do acts of charity with the purpose of pleasing Kṛṣṇa and then we get fixed in devotional service.

1. Giving water by digging wells and large ponds

Where there is a special need for water, wells should be dug. Many people need water in places of pilgrimage, if there are no suitable rivers, digging wells is mandatory.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, previously people used to walk when they used to go to holy places. Then there would be wells dug. People go to Ayodhyā, Vṛndāvana and different places. But some of the places, the wells are good, and some places they are not pure and give typhoid. Some of our devotees went to some holy place and got typhoid. So it is very important to dig the wells properly.

2. Giving shade and aeration by planting in suitable locations.

Big trees such as aśvattha should be planted large trees on both sides of the path, on the banks of the river and at the resting places. Plants and trees such as tulasī should be planted in homes and holy places. It has physical and spiritual benefits.

Jayapatākā Swami: They say that tulasī counteracts atomic energy. So you can plant tulasī in your bomb shelters!

3. Lighting lamps in appropriate places.

Lamps should be lit for the benefit of the travelers at the ghāṭas, on the path and in the places prone to danger. It will be especially beneficial if the lamp is covered by glass and so on and installed at suitable place where it is not extinguished being exposed to wind. The rule is for lighting lamp at night, when there is no moon or there are clouds. One who is able to give as much light, will accumulate that much piety. Offering sky-lamps is not a rule only in the month of Kārtika. One should start giving from the beginning of Kārtika. If the sky-lamp is higher, there is no other benefit than beauty.

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, maybe when this was written there wasn’t electricity. In Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s house there is a fan which is powered by kerosene. Maybe when this was written electricity was not really available. So we are getting money from the government for building a bathing ghat and they are putting lamps.

4. Giving medicine

There are two types of giving medicine, i.e. giving medicine to the patients by going to their homes or bringing them to one’s home and by constructing a specific dispensary and giving medicine there. One should do that which can be done without artificiality.

Jayapatākā Swami: Some people need medicine and by giving medicine that is an appropriate charity. Some people give homeopathic medicine. Giving suitable medicine is one of the forms of bona fide charity.

5. Giving education

A student may be educated at one’s own home and expense in a boarding school, or may be kept in a common school by one’s own expense. Educating boys and girls is one of the primary duties.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, giving education is a primary duty. So if someone sponsors some students it is good charity. We want to do all these charities to please Kṛṣṇa.

6. Giving food

There are two types of giving food, viz., giving food in one's own home and giving food to the general public a place meant for charitable distribution of food.

Jayapatākā Swami: It used to be that gṛhasthas would go out and announce three times, is anyone hungry? Does anyone need food? So, one gṛhastha did that and there was a fisherman who walked by with his basket. So, the gṛhastha said that you can come in and I will give you food, but leave your basket outside. The basket smelled like fish! So, he came, took his meal and then the gṛhastha gave him a grass mat and he slept in the courtyard. But then the gṛhastha woke up in the middle of the night and he noticed the man was tossing and turning and he was not sleeping. So the gṛhastha asked him what is wrong? He said I am used to the smell of my basket and without that I cannot sleep! Śrīla Prabhupāda said this story and said, you westerners are like this, if you don’t smell a machine refrigerator or something, you cannot sleep, you are addicted to machines! So Śrīla Prabhupāda was laughing. Śrīla Prabhupāda would use some examples like this. That gṛhastha allowed the fisherman to bring in his basket so he could sleep soundly. So when we give food we should give as prasāda. When people come out of the temple, we give them a little dona cup of kichuḍi or something. So that is one type of charity. Also, we can offer plates of food in different dining halls. It is not full charity because they take some donation. But there are some plates which are given out free. Some people, they announce that we have distributed ten thousand plates and one thousand or something is given free. Like in Tirupati they are giving out free food, anyone who goes for darśana, they give them a small laḍḍu or some prasāda and he can take darśana of where they cook. They call that this is Yaśodā Mayī’s kitchen. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted that we give out little food. One time, Śrīla Prabhupāda said that in a ten-mile radius of the temple, no one should go hungry. Because in the presence of your father, you would not go hungry! So, Kṛṣṇa is like the seed giving Father, so we would like to see that everyone in the vicinity of the temple does not go hungry. So we have annadāna center, two days a week we give śulabha, free food. Similarly, in the West they also deliver food to the hungry. People would call up and order food and they would drive up and they would call it food on wheels.

Koṭi, koṭi, koṭi Kṛṣṇe matir astu!