Donating Spiritual knowledge and donating money should be done carefully after deep analysis

[dattaswami]

Donating Spiritual knowledge and donating money should be done carefully after deep analysis

One should be very careful in taking the spiritual knowledge (Jnanam) from the preacher and should be equally careful in giving money to a poor fellow.  You should analyze the preacher and also the poor fellow.  If the preacher is not correct, the wrong spiritual knowledge will destroy the soul forever.  If the poor fellow is with bad qualities, your donation will bring you sin.  Therefore, Jnanam (Spiritual Knowledge) and Danam (Donating money) are to be done carefully after deep analysis only. Otherwise, instead of good results, bad results are inevitable.

[bwitched]

I despised the sermons on tithing when I attended a christian church with my Grandmother.  I could never understand why they drilled that subject.  That church is now tripled in size, and the pastor was too busy to give my grandmother final blessings.  That irritated me.  She volunteered so much of her time to that church.  The real kicker that infuriated me the most was I recieved a copy of one of his published books a week after her funeral.

I personally have found that giving can be in multiple forms - whether it is emotionally, physically, or monetary.

[dattaswami]

I despised the sermons on tithing when I attended a christian church with my Grandmother.  I could never understand why they drilled that subject.  That church is now tripled in size, and the pastor was too busy to give my grandmother final blessings.  That irritated me.  She volunteered so much of her time to that church.  The real kicker that infuriated me the most was I recieved a copy of one of his published books a week after her funeral.

I personally have found that giving can be in multiple forms - whether it is emotionally, physically, or monetary.

The relationship of the devotee with the Lord is called devotion. Devotion is love for he Lord. Love is proved by service or seva. Claims of love without service are fraudulent. Praying, meditation, intellectual discussions, words, feelings or singing hymns does not substantiate devotion. If a husband loves his wife then he must serve her when she is ill. If he just sits by her side with his eyes closed or meditates upon her or chants her name aloud, while refusing to practically serve her by giving her medicines, food and drink, then he is only making a show of love; he does not really love her. The one who really loves her will serve her.

The Lord is pleased only with total devotion. The Gita says “eka bhakti? visi?yate”. He wants the devotee to love Him alone; not anyone or anything else. Nobody or nothing should be equal to Him. He will make the devotee reach this stage of devotion. This is the essence of all the datta parik?a or the tests of the Lord. The devotee will be tested severely till he breaks all bonds with everyone and everything in the world, till only the bond with the Lord remains. The Lord does not compromise in this aspect. He will not tolerate even a drop of the devotee's attachment to anything or anyone in the world.