Charity per Vedic Culture

The picture shows Bali Maharaja offering the third step in charity by lowering his own head. This is the epitome of charity. If the Supreme Bhagavan Himself asks for charity you should not hesitate. Bali Maharaja went even against his guru's instructions by giving up everything he had in charity.

Purpose of charity:

Charity helps in countering sin. One who does not give?charity?according to the customs or injunctions of the scriptures and one who does not accept?charity?in that way are considered to be in the mode of ignorance.?

A sinful life can be counteracted by various processes of religion such as yaj?a, vrata and dāna—that is, the performance of sacrifices, the taking of a vow for some religious ritual, and the giving of?charity. In this way one may become free from the reactions of sinful life and at the same time awaken his original K???a(God) consciousness.

In the purport to SB 3.25.10, Srila Prabhupada the messiah of 21st century says

"In this material world, activities for material enjoyment which are considered to be pious are also sinful. For example, one sometimes gives something in?charity?to a needy person with a view to getting back the money four times increased. Giving with the purpose of gaining something is called?charity?in the mode of passion. Everything done here is done in the modes of material nature, and therefore all activities but service to the Lord are sinful. Because of sinful activities we become attracted by the illusion of material attachment, and we think, "I am this body." I think of the body as myself and of bodily possessions as 'mine.'?"

The foolish conditioned soul may think that he is offering?charity?by opening hospitals for material benefit or by opening an educational institution for material education, but he does not know that all such work is also faulty because it will not give him relief from the process of transmigration from one body to another.

Māna or respect, is offered to a superior, and?charity?is offered to an inferior. The living entities, according to different results of fruitive activities, may become rich or poor, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is unchangeable; He is always full in six opulences. By giving some?charity?for pious activity he can go to a higher planetary atmosphere in the heavenly planets in his next life, but he does not want to stop the repetition of birth and death and finish with the concomitant miserable factors of material existence. Such a person is called a g?hamedhī.

Charity and activities vary by Varna (social order) and Ashrama (life stage):

In Bhagavad-gītā (18.5) it is stated that even in the renounced order one should not give up sacrifice,?charity?and penance. The brahmacārīs must perform sacrifices, the g?hasthas must give in?charity, and those in the renounced order of life (the vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs) must practice penance and austerities. These are the procedures by which everyone can be elevated to the spiritual platform.?

• Brahmacārīs (celibate young monks), in the beginning of their lives, should perform different kinds of yaj?as.
• Brahmanas (the people who follow Vedic scriptures correctly, understand the nature of Brahman, and guide society - such people are rare today). Brāhma?as are supposed to acquire six kinds of auspicious qualifications:

1. they become very learned scholars (pa?hana) and very qualified teachers (pā?hana);
2. they become expert in worshiping the Lord or the demigods (yajana), and they teach others how to execute this worship (yājana);
3. they qualify themselves as bona fide persons to receive alms from others (pratigraha), and they distribute the wealth in?charity?(dāna).

• Yet even a brāhma?a possessing these qualifications cannot become a guru unless he is the representative of K???a (gurur na syāt).
• "In actuality, everything in the world belongs to the brāhma?as, and out of their humility the brāhma?as accept?charity?from the k?atriyas, or kings, and the vai?yas, or merchants. Everything belongs to the brāhma?as, but the k?atriya government and the mercantile people keep everything in custody, like bankers, and whenever the brāhma?as need money, the k?atriyas and vai?yas should supply it. It is like a savings account with money which the depositor can draw out at his will." "Unfortunately at the present moment there is a scarcity of brāhma?as, and since the so-called k?atriyas and vai?yas do not carry out the orders of the brāhma?as, the world is in a chaotic condition."
• K?atriyas (Warriors) and vai?yas (Cow caretakers and businessman) are especially advised to give in?charity?at least fifty percent of their accumulated wealth. Those who are in the material world, the k?atriyas and vai?yas, must give?charity. Dhruva Mahārāja, as an ideal king, practically emptied his treasury by giving?charity. A king is not meant simply to realize taxes from the citizens and accumulate wealth to spend in sense gratification. World monarchy has failed ever since kings began to satisfy their personal senses with the taxes accumulated from the citizens. The k?atriya's duties are to give protection to the citizens, to give all his possessions in?charity, to be strictly Vedic in the management of state affairs and to be unafraid to fight whenever there is an attack by enemies. In this way, a k?atriya can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his occupational duties.
• Sanyasis (Renounced order of monks): Tapasya is meant for the renounced order of life; those who are retired from worldly activities should perform tapasya, penances and austerities. In Bhagavad-gītā it is recommended that even though one enters the renounced order of life, he still cannot give up the performance of yaj?a, dāna and tapasya. They are never to be given up. "Acts of sacrifice,?charity?and penance are not to be given up but should be performed. Indeed, sacrifice,?charity?and penance purify even the great soul." Even if one is in the renounced order, he should never give up the regulative principles. He should worship the Deity and give his time and life to the service of K???a. He should also continue following the rules and regulations of austerity and penance. These things cannot be given up.

?"Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you give in?charity?and whatever penances you undergo should be done in K???a consciousness, or for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."?

Conclusion:

By performing fruitive activities and sacrifices, by distributing?charity, by performing austerities, by studying various literatures, by conducting philosophical research, by controlling the mind, by subduing the senses, by accepting the renounced order of life and by performing the prescribed duties of one's social order; by performing the different divisions of yoga practice, by performing devotional service and by exhibiting the process of devotional service containing the symptoms of both attachment and detachment; by understanding the science of self-realization and by developing a strong sense of detachment, one who is expert in understanding the different processes of self-realization realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He is represented in the material world as well as in transcendence. Perform charity and chant God's names

In the confidential treatise, Sri Brahma Yamala, Lord Siva says to his wife Parvati-devi:?

“O Mahadevi! Look! In Kali-yuga there is no easier way to eradicate sins than by the holy names of Lord Krsna. It is therefore essential to propagate the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra among the general populous. The people in Kali-yuga can be easily liberated from the greatest hell by performing sankirtana of this Hare Krsna maha-mantra. To chant the maha-mantra, first chant hare krsna twice, then chant krsna twice, then hare twice. After that, chant hare rama twice, then rama twice and again hare twice. Thus the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Rama Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. One should chant, articulate and perform sankirtana etc., of this Hare Krsna maha-mantra, which destroys all sins.”?