Gifting and making offerings of charity or Daan is a long-standing tradition of Sanatan Dharma. It is pertinent to understand that gift giving or the making of charitable contributions or the giving of alms is an offering to Bhagwan.
According to the Srimad Bhagavat Gita “Daan” is the original word in Sanskrit for donation meaning selfless giving. In the list of the ten Niyamas (virtuous acts), Daan comes third. Bhagavan Sri Krishna states that the wise have described three main paths to achieving fulfilment- ’Yagyo daanam tapaschaiva, paavnaani maneeshinaam’. Yagya relates to sacrifice, whereby an individual relinquishes something. Daan may be described as a charitable act or donation of something for a good cause. Through organ donation, even those devoid of worldly wealth can accomplish these merits by giving the ultimate gift of life.
The noblest method of giving is “Saatvik,” whereby the donor gives unreservedly and not anticipating anything in return. That gift, which is given out of duty, at the proper time and place, to a deserving person, and without expectation of return, is considered to be charity in the mode of goodness.
Being that as it may, we must be scrupulously careful in the nature of, amount of and person to whom Daan is given. Daan is not something which should be a ‘free for all’; neither should it be an opportunity to ‘show off’; nor must it be a forum for any manner of embarrassment to be brought to either the giver or the receiver in the performance of Daan. Daan must be in-keeping with our Dharma, our standards, our means and family tradition with an aim to raise these standards and add value all around. Purity of purpose is of utmost importance in this highly beneficial action.
Making gifts or Daan is indeed a character-building exercise, because if genuinely done, it is supposed to encourage humility, a sense of community, a sense of duty and a spirit of compassion and sharing. There are various times of the year at which this practice is intensified due to some religious undertaking (Yagna, Puja, Divali), or due to some societal norm (Christmas and so on), but we must all constantly strive to make this practice a daily reality, hence enhancing the value of the receiver (and by extension society), and the giver fostering humility and brotherly love.
