Tithing, Zakat, Dasvandh, Daan – Different cultures; Singular Objective

Service to man is service to God- an emphatic directive across religious orders and spiritual disciplines.

Charity is a pillar, a foundation across religions for a reason. It is found to be prescribed in Sikhism (as Dasvandh- Vand chakna); in Islam (as Zakat or Sadaqah Jariyah), in Christianity (as Tithing) and in Hinduism as one of the pillars of Dharma (Daan). Dana is significant in Jainism and Buddhism and forms an essential component in the teachings and practice of these religions.

Being in the current world that we are in, i.e. Kalyug, (the Hindu system of timekeeping) daan or charity is said to be the single-most effective way of redemption. Redemption from karmic entanglements, albeit not so much as wiping off what’s already done!

Great. So why is it important to you and me?

Well, it is time to chip in.

Contributing to those that don’t have as much as us, is no longer a collective responsibility, it is an individual responsibility.

It is no longer a social responsibility; today it is also a spiritual responsibility.

In this blog I attempt to highlight a few things I learnt about Tithing over the years. Let’s begin with what giving really entails.

According to all Holy scriptures charity is essential for spiritual ascension and is meaningful when it is given from the heart. It is the inclination to give without expecting any form of returns or give-back. It is a means of spiritual cleansing and spiritual growth when we selflessly help the needy and forget about it.

Every action, every thought and every word has a karmic consequence whether we are attached to the outcome or otherwise. Our motives behind every thought, every action or every word determine the karmic fruit.

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From the time we are born, we are taking from the nature knowingly and unknowingly. Today, we are responsible for exploiting nature in several ways for our own selfish reasons.

Daan or tithing thus becomes an essential action, not only as an act of responsibility but also for spreading the vibration of goodness and contributing to bringing about a better world.

We must give back what we are taking from the Universe in some form, as we would repay a bank loan.

According to the Bhagavad Gita, Daan or charity can be classified into Sattvik, Rajasic and Tamasic.

Sattvik Daan – is made to a worthy person at a proper time and place as a duty, without seeking any self-benefit; nothing at all is desired in return, not even the result of good karma. This is a kind of charity that is done and forgotten.

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Rajasic Daan - is made to get some kind of benefit, or hope that there may be a benefit, whether spiritual in nature, or materialistic. This is a kind of charity that is done for one’s personal passion and attachment to the act.

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Tamasic Daan – when a daan is made to a wrong person at the wrong time, or when a daan is made in an incorrect, derogatory way it becomes a Tamasic daan. This is a kind of charity that is done out of ignorance, or personal gratifications etc.

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What Can We Tithe?

Tithing with Money

Tithing, a concept from the Bible, that I learnt through Master Choa Kok Sui’s Pranic Healing modality, is about donating 10 percent of your income to charity. The 10 percent can be divided in a way that you are able to make a mindful contribution to your Guru’s causes, preachings and sewa, so that it spreads to more and more people. You can consider tithing to your parents. You can donate to socially important causes.

Thus, the 10 percent can be divided further into buckets that makes sense to you. For example:

Guru seva – 40 percent

Other causes – 60 percent

The above however, is not the compulsory way of doing things. ?One needs to contribute where it is required.

It is generally presumed that those that are initiated under a certain order, does tithe to that order as a mark of respect (or dakshina) in return for the spiritual learning one has received and also to spread the teachings and work. ?

It is not compulsory to be initiated to be of service to mankind. What matters most is the thought. It does not even need to be 10 percent. It can be more or less depending on your state of affairs.

Tithing with Time

Tithing is not just about money. There are spiritual orders where the monks don’t earn a rupee, however they are the first ones to be of service in times of calamities. We could take a leaf from their book and apply it in our lives.

If we are not earning, we can tithe with time.

Tithing with Resources

We can tithe with resources for example, by giving to social organisations what they require. Many NGOs give a list of items that they require. Instead of giving them what we want to give, it is more meaningful to give them what they need, even if it is a box of combs and some toothpaste.

Tithing with resources can also entail directly providing resources to the needy, be it food, be it schooling related books etc. whatever is required.

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To Whom Can We Tithe?

They say charity begins at home. So, family members that require help, staff that work with us – chauffeurs, cooks, maids, gardener, security guards etc, whoever is closest that require help can be considered.

Then comes the local community where our help may be required. Be it for animal welfare, food for hungry, building a community service to aid to the have-nots, or providing free education in a local NGO, or contributing to a public hospital etc.?

When Can We Tithe?

It depends on you, some tithe once a month, whereas some tithe once a year, that is calculating the 10 percent of the net earnings over the year.

I believe tithing monthly and saving an amount of tithe for a rainy day is important. Just as we save money for our family, we can also save money for our extended family – those that need our help.

Hence tithing in the beginning of a year, may not be appropriate if you want to be of help in sudden situations that come about.

Sudden situations include natural disasters, man-made disasters, pandemics etc. that ruin the lives of under-privileged the most, and we must be able to contribute promptly at these times – for which we can save a fixed amount from our tithing amount.

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Things to keep in mind while tithing

1.????? Being utmost respectful in the act

We are not doing a favour. If anything, we are doing a favour to ourselves.

2.????? Keeping tithing a secret

“When you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3). from the Bible.

Here I’d like to add that we must avoid social media trends of displaying everything we are doing for the sake of likes and applause. Certain things such as tithing, is not to be displayed, or spoken about. One may argue that NGOs display what they do. NGO is a working body, and display what they do so that it reaches to people such as you and me so that we can help them if the cause is meaningful to us.

3.????? Giving those that are worthy of receiving

This means help those that really need the help. This requires a bit of responsibility. For example, it is a good idea to identify appropriate NGOs (since there are so many today and we need to check if they are genuine) if we are considering donating to an NGO. Also, some of the NGOs have wealthy donors. You can consider some that are genuine but struggling, yet they are keen to make an impact.

If you are reaching out to the source, take some initiative to check if a requirement is genuine. For example, if you wish to pay a child’s engineering fees, do delve in to check the fee details, shortage of amount, speak to the family and understand the need. Then sure make a contribution, ensuring it is reaching the institution.

4.????? Being mindful of the quality

Whatever we give, the quality should be the same that we ourselves use. This is very important. Rather not give, than give something of sub-standard quality.

We do not need to donate samosas from a sub-standard road-side stall from where we will never eat or have our children eat.

One may again argue that we cannot match everything to our standards while donating. Well, our lifestyle goes a long way in determining whether we are living responsibly; something we must evaluate from time to time. If we are living in opulence, we may need to consider how much of it is truly required, given the condition of our environment and society today.

Minimalistic living is the way to go. You can read more about that here.

5.????? Donating food

I am of the opinion that chocolate, wafer packets and tetra pack sweet juices must be avoided. Nutrition today is at an all-time low and the poor community really needs nutrition.

Banana for example, is not an expensive fruit, however it is very healthy. One can give tetra pack milk instead of sweet artificial juices. Nutritious wholesome home-made fresh food that we eat, can be given.

6.????? Tithing during Festivals

During festivals, across cultures we gift stuff to the poorer sections of the society. Here are a few thoughts.

- Giving away old stuff from our house to bring in new just because it is Diwali, is not necessarily Tithing.

We are giving away old things because we have the necessity to bring in newness to our home. The motive here is to get rid of old junk.

- Donate new items: If we are considering gifting during festivals, it is better to give new items; even if it is a single pair of shoes, clothes etc. ?

Making festival joyous for others is a meaningful and more fulfilling way of living.

7.????? Tithing as per Season

In India, we see primarily summer, rains and winter. Tithing according to seasons is considered meaningful. Tithing promptly before the season sets in is the way to go.

Sometimes we may have seen blankets being donated post winter because they are torn or worn out, or umbrellas being donated just at the onset of winter. These have no meaning, because this is not considered helping.

8.????? Tithing Plastic and junk

Avoid giving environment-unfriendly items to the section of the community that aren’t aware of the perils of such materials. If we think that they are polluting the environment, either we educate them or we avoid giving them such junk.

There is definitely a shift in consciousness today; more and more people are jumping in to contribute tirelessly to bring about a determined change in an attempt to turn things around for the needy. Very subtly, our karmic transactions are rising for the better.

If we have been considering doing something meaningful, now is the best time to start.

Don’t wait for your life to become perfect to begin tithing- i.e. having the perfect bank balance, or waiting to finish off family responsibilities first, or finishing off a loan etc.

Begin tithing today and see how all of the above hurdles disappear from your life. It is not a hoax in the air. It has worked for me and several other people in this world.

When we help people from our heart without any expectation, in times of our biggest trouble we receive help from sources that one can never imagine.

In an upcoming blog, I attempt to write about Tithing and its connection to Astrology and Remedies.

Do share your thoughts!

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