[Advaita-l] A teaching on Charity

[V Subrahmanian]

GREAT EXPERIENCES WITH JAGADGURU SRI SRI CHANDRASEKARA BHARATI
MAHASANNIDHANAM:

Five days after Sri Mahaswamigal attained Mukti, his Aradhana celebrations
were going on in the mutt. Food was being served to all the people who had
come to pay their last respects to Mahaswamigal. C. Chandramouli Rao, Rama
Somayaji and another close disciple of Mahaswamigal were sitting near the
Samadhi of Mahaswamigal and were meditating on his holy feet.
In the meantime, a stranger arrived there, went round the Samadhi,
prostrated full length before the Samadhi and sat gazing at it as though he
was seeing Mahaswamigal directly. With sorrow he said, "I was not fortunate
enough to have your Darshan in your glorious physical form". Rama Somayaji
went near him and enquired his whereabouts.
He informed that he was a Jain cloth merchant from a village near Tiptur.
Somayaji could also make out that he was considerably rich. Jain further
spoke, "A person from my own community works for me. He is a poor person. I
give him a small salary and a meager bonus during the festivals. Sometime
ago, he fixed the marriage of his daughter and asked me for some loan. I
refused to help him. He begged me to give some saris for the marriage but I
refused to give him even a piece of cloth.
One night, I finished the day's work, locked the shop and went home. That
night, as I lay asleep on my bed, I had a dream in which I saw a glorious
Brahmana Sanyasi. He said, "Every religion teaches charity as a great
virtue. A part of one's earnings should necessarily be used for charity and
other religious purposes. Is it possible to enjoy all the wealth that you
accumulated during your lifetime? Your servant asked you for help but you
refused to assist him in any way. See what is happening now! He is stealing
clothes from your shop. You are to be blamed for his behavior. Go to your
shop right now. But do not punish the servant. Help him perform his
daughter's marriage. You will also get a share in the Punya obtained due to
Kanyadana. From now onwards, try to engage yourself in acts of charity".
I suddenly woke up and was confused whether to believe this dream as
reality. I rushed to the shop to find my servant carrying goods away from
the shop. I caught him but pardoned him. I took the full responsibility of
his daughter's marriage. I kept wondering for a long time who this Sanyasi
was who had appeared in my dream and corrected me. Recently I saw his
photograph in the news paper and rushed to Sringeri to at least have
Darshan of his Samadhi". The great Guru had taught a valuable lesson,
"DaanaM variShTho dharmaaNaaM'.

Om Sivaya Gurave Namaha
Sarravanan Subramaniam.