Do we get a share in the sin committed by a beggar after gaining energy from the food donated by us?

[Following are the questions asked by devotees to Swami in the satsaṅga held on October 17, 2020]

Do we get a share in the sin committed by a beggar after gaining energy from the food donated by us? (7 of 10)

[A question by Śrī Ganesh.]

Swami replied: This is the reason why you should not be in a hurry to donate. Generally, we are hasty in donating. We give importance to the place and time. We say that this is the holy Kāśī city and today is the holy occasion of Śivarātri. Tomorrow, we are leaving Kāśī and hence, we must make the donation quickly! In our haste, we end up donating to undeserving people and such donation gives us sin. Hence, the Veda says that the first step before donation should be saṃvit, which means the knowledge of who is deserving and who is undeserving to receive our donation (Saṃvidā deyam—Veda).

When Kṛṣṇa donated almost all His wealth to Sudāmā, neither was the place Kāśī nor was the day Śivarātri. But Sudāmā was the most deserving receiver of the donation because he never aspired for even one paisa from God Kṛṣṇa at any time. Moreover, even though he and his family were suffering from hunger for many days, he brought some flattened rice from neighbours on loan to donate to God Kṛṣṇa. You must have a lot of patience and observation in deciding who the deserving receiver is. Until you find the deserving receiver, you should accumulate your donations in a box. When you find the proper receiver, you can donate the entire box to him. The Veda says two points regarding the deservingness of a receiver: (1) He must have the true spiritual knowledge of the Veda and (2) He should not aspire for even a single paisa from you (Śrotriyasyā'kāmahatasya…—Veda).

Keywords:

| Shri Datta Swami | Do we get a share in the sin committed by a beggar after gaining energy from the food donated by us?| Shivaraatri Kaashi samvit Samvida deyam Krishna Sudama Shrotriyasyakamahatasya

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