Daana: The Sublime Civilisational Value Hindus Have Lost
An essay on the Sanatana conception of Daana or charity and the levels at which it works, and how it has shaped the Hindu civilisation and society.
FROM OUR VERIFIABLE EXPERIENCE, it is clear that the moment a public good is transformed into an “industry,” social and national downfall begins. Three major spheres of life constitute public good:
1. Religion (in the sense of Dharma)
2. Healthcare
3. Education
4. Food
A fourth invisible sphere intertwined with these three is what can broadly be called charity or philanthropy, or Daana in a more profound sense. In our daily life, the words Daana and Dharma are used inseparably, and when we pause to recollect who most often uses them, we might be stunned because it is so commonplace: beggars. It also reveals the genius of the Sanatana conception of values.
While religion is the most fundamental yearning of the human spirit, education (or learning) is a basic necessity of our outward life and healthcare is a need that manifests itself as an urgency or emergency.
This is the reason the Sanatana conception of values enjoins the entire society to treat these spheres as public goods and to make them available to all people either free of charge or at a very nominal price. A cursory survey of Indian history shows that almost every king was glorified with titles like Daana-Shiromani, Apratima-Bhudana-Parasurama, and there are hundreds of Subashitas extolling the glory of Daana. Apart from kings, nobles, and landed gentry, any person, whatever his or her status, would instantly earn the gratitude of society for performing an act of charity.
In fact, the invaluable and encyclopaedic corpus of the cultural and social history of India nonchalantly dismissed as folk tales and legends contain copious accounts of such selfless acts done by the most nondescript people in both large cities and unknown villages. These accounts were preserved in the oral tradition, inscribed on rocks and sometimes written down, and invariably passed on generationally until “independent” India’s Britain-enslaved education system achieved a decadal success of self-alienation.
A Central Feature
This feature is central to a comprehensive understanding of our civilisational, cultural and social history, and ideally needs a dedicated team of scholars and researchers to unearth as many of these stories as can be recovered. It is a work that spans at least one entire generation but the outcome will not only be rewarding but profoundly ennobling akin to the inner light that a seeker sees after years of penance in a Himalayan cave.
From one perspective, Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa’s magnificent Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane is a deeply philosophical novel that depicts a war between the Sanatana conception of Daana and the western notion that even charity can be commercialized. It is abhorrent to the Sanatana value system where the Daani (one who gives charity) continues to retain ownership of that which he has already given. The opulent Western philanthropists of our own time and their Indian counterparts who ape them precisely do this. This has led to predictable outcomes: how do we classify someone like George Soros, the world’s most (in)famous philanthropist? From the Sanatana perspective, Soros will be recognised as an Asura or a Rakshasa or demon.
Thus, in a perverse inversion of this noble value system, today, education and healthcare are among the biggest money-spinners in the same land that birthed these values. The downward journey from this birth and its current perversion is the exact measure of the downfall of our spiritual civilisation.
At the level of social integration, a shared national culture, and individual elevation, Daana is the second element in the Yajna-Daana-Tapas triad. Yajna in its pristine meaning, signifies a lived culture and tradition of sharing on a massive scale where all members of the society contribute to a noble endeavor. In this endeavor, Daana is the contribution of each person towards this Yajna. And Tapas, taken both collectively and individually signifies an element of the melting of the individual towards a profound goal or realization.
From another perspective, the value of Daana can be seen in the famous story of Da occurring in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Prajapati prescribes Datta (giving or charity) to human beings who ask him for a solution to cure their unhappiness.
The Tradition of Daana
The Indian tradition of Daana has been celebrated right from its wellspring, the Vedas, up to the aforementioned folk tales and legends. It was a process of millennial acculturation until it was embedded in our DNA in stories, verses, and technical treatises on the Dharmasastra. It is the selfsame DNA that made the pushcart vegetable seller in my locality give ₹ 1000 towards the construction of the Sri Rama Mandir in Ayodhya. Nobody needed to tell him. Which court judgement can wipe out this DNA?
HISTORY ALSO SHOWS that monarchs and emperors weren’t obliged to undertake welfare tasks like building hospitals, schools, and rest houses unlike modern governments. The primary function of a king was to protect his subjects from external aggression, maintain internal law and order, deliver speedy justice and ensure economic prosperity. Yet, as we’ve seen above, most kings went out of their way to carry out these welfare activities for three major reasons:
1. To earn Punya, or virtue.
2. To ensure that they were regarded by the people as Praja-Vatsala, or one who is affectionate towards his citizens.
3. To set a noble precedent.
The Immortal Verse of a Mother
We have an exemplary guide in the form of an immortal verse by Singale, the younger sister of Vidyaranya Swami. As she fed breastmilk and lulled her baby to sleep, she would sing this verse to the infant Lakshmidhara who became a formidable minister of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Kereyam kattisu baviyam savesu devagaram madi
sajjereyolu silukida anatharannu rakshisu ||
Build lakes, dig wells, construct temples and rest houses
Free the orphans who are caught in trouble, do good to friends,
Be loyal to those who trust you.
A century later, a variant of the same verse was sung by the Mother Jijabai to her infant, Shivaji.
This verse still remains popular in Karnataka although it remains to be seen how far those in power take a break from their election cycles and skullduggeries and insecurities to take it to heart. If they do take it to heart, it will instantly be a factor for their self-purification and lead to an economic development of a far elevated kind.
We can cite just one more example of the enduring impact of this simple verse. Throughout Karnataka, there are hundreds of lakes named Soole-kere (literally, Prostitute’s Lake). The reason behind this nomenclature is rather straightforward: these lakes were funded by the village or town prostitute and named in their honour.
We can close this episode with a story I heard long ago. The details are hazy but the essence has been retained.
Story of the Stonecutter
There was once a stonecutter who entered the forest carrying a massive stone slab over a long distance. Once he was inside the forest, he walked for more than a kilometer and finally deposited the slab by the side. He did the same the next day and the next and the next. On the tenth day, a curious villager who had been observing him, followed him to the spot and asked him, “My man, don’t mistake me. I’m just curious. I’ve been observing you all these days. Every evening you carry this large stone slab and place it here. Why?”
The stonecutter wiped his sweat and said with a smile, “Oh, nothing. I’ve been working in the quarry at the mountain’s foothill for about a year. I noticed that folks from the surrounding villages go into the forest to cut wood and bring it back. Poor guys, the load on their head is really heavy and when they run out of breath, they have to keep it on the ground, take some rest, and then haul it back on their head. Sometimes, the wood falls down and they have to tie it back again, lift it up and put it on their head. Sometimes, they have help, sometimes they are alone. So, I thought I’ll build small platforms along the way using these stones. That way, when the village folk get tired, they don’t need to place the wood on the ground. They can put it on the platform and put it back on their head after resting. It’s a very small thing, really.”
|| Om Tat Sat ||
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Self-renunciation and service to others, are the twin pillars of Sanatana Dharma. When daana is performed under the influence of sattvik guna, its impact reverberates for the longest duration. Most philanthropy through endowments/trusts are tax-dodges, and their impact will be like pouring water on sand. The Catholics have the concept of subsidiarity, where they emphasize that the distance between the donor and the beneficiary has to be minimized, for greatest impact. So, tan-man-dhan is the progression. Most of the old-school Marwari houses (Birlas, Ruias, Podars, etc.) used to serve others by building dharmashalas, colleges, libraries, temples, need-based scholarships, etc. That's what we have lost. The nobility of thought-word-deed, which endows the doer with shreyas, because of nishkama karma. Nowadays, most of the people donate money to endow "chairs" at Western universities, for their children to get in as legacy candidates.
In Tamil there is a famous saying - "Dharmam thalai kaakum, thakka samayathil uyir kaakum" which means Dharma (used interchangeably to mean Dhaana) will save your head and at the right time save your life also.
When I was young growing up in a joint family with my grandmother as a family matriarch I have watched some practices of "giving" and developed a high regard for them even though I did not follow them later when I came out separately after marriage. I remember one incident that my grandmother told me. (not specifically about dhaana but a similar principle). Sometime in the 1940s during WW II, there was a news that Japanese were going to bomb Madras. So all the "rich" house owners in the city started selling their houses and going back to their native villages. It was called evacuation and the houses were being sold at dirt cheap prices. My grandparents were living at the far outskirts of Madras at that time. My grandmother asked my grandfather why don't we also buy a house when they are selling it so cheap, we can move into Madras after the war is over. My grandfather told her – “I will never ever do it. I will never buy something at a dirt-cheap price from a "distress seller". If I get something from a person who gives it with a "burning stomach" (literally the Tamil phrase) my future generations will be ruined”. This narration from my grandmother went deep into my heart. Right from my young days I was not a hard negotiator during purchases from small shops and street vendors. In fact, I never negotiate. In 2005, I was in a project in China in a town about 1 hour away from Shenzhen. All my other Indian friends used to buy so many things with hard bargaining from the shops/vendors. One day I bought a 3 d construction model of the Eiffel Tower made of cardboard cut into the required pieces to assemble 3 dimensionally. I negotiated hard with the guy (using calculator- no Chinese!) and finally with a defeated face, he gave the piece to me for the price that I quoted and he was gesticulating with his hands and muttering something in Chinese. Even though I didn’t know Chinese, I could understand that he was dejected that every customer was squeezing him very badly. I immediately felt very sorry, and I paid him the full amount that he had asked me originally. (It was a very small amount actually) Just looking at the happiness in his face made me feel so great, so proud and happy - I could see my grandmother waving at me from the skies..
I was giving donations to people and Temple in a very small scale till 2020. I was really down to my last rupee in 2020 during the COVID lock down. During the early phase of lock down when I had some reserve money, I gave a decent amount in 2 - 3 tranches as donations to my friend in another city who was feeding people. I then got a fantastic break and joined a high paying project in Jan 21 which lasted till the last quarter of 2022. Starting from Feb 21 (Ayodhya Ram Mandhir) I have started giving donations in a bigger scale and more consistently. We built a temple in our layout and I contributed nearly 60-70% of the cost. Then for 1 year I have contributed every month for temple maintenance. Now in the second year, I am continuing my monthly contributions for our Temple. I keep donating some amount whenever I see an opportunity. My wife feeds almost 10-15 street dogs every day. We feed about 6 – 7 varieties of birds every day. I have not run into a financial problem since COVID. My children got some fantastically lucky breaks and got well placed after graduation even though COVID lock downs were just being eased. So, the lesson I learnt is this – give what you can, you will always be left with something in your pocket and your future generations will get "help" when they need by the law of karma. Dharma / dhaana will not only save you it will also save your next generation. I am now a firm believer in "what goes around comes around".
Thanks a lot Sandeep / Dharma dispatch for a wonderful article.
Regards