अदेशकाले यद्दानमपात्रेभ्यश्च दीयते |
असत्कृतमवज्ञातं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् || 22||
adeśha-kāle yad dānam apātrebhyaśh cha dīyate
asat-kṛitam avajñātaṁ tat tāmasam udāhṛitam
adeśha—at the wrong place; kāle—at the wrong time; yat—which; dānam—charity; apātrebhyaḥ—to unworthy persons; cha—and; dīyate—is given; asat-kṛitam—without respect; avajñātam—with contempt; tat—that; tāmasam—of the nature of nescience; udāhṛitam—is held to be
Translation:
And the gift that is made without respect or with disdain, at an improper place and time, and to an unworthy person is declared to be of the nature of tamas.
Commentary:
Charity (Dana) should be offered with respect to the recipients. To throw coins at beggers in the street, abusing and insulting them, is no charity at all. It degrades the giver and the reciver. Such charity defeats its own purpose, because the Lord declares in this Discourse that anything done without ‘Sraddha’ is as good as not having been done at all (asraddhaya hutam dattam…. asat ityuchyate)
Swami Vivekananda Says —
The Gita says that there are three kinds of charity: the tamasika, the rajasika and the sattvika. Tamasika charity is performed on an impulse. It is always making mistakes. The doer thinks of nothing but his own impulse to be kind. Rajasika charity is what a man does for his own glory. And sattvika charity is that which is given to the right person, in the right way, and at the proper time.[Source]
Question: What is Tamasic Charity?
Answer: 1. It is done without any consideration of time and place 2. It is given to unworthy persons 3. It is given without respect, insultingly.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 17 🔻 (28 Verses)
