What is the ten percent rule in spiritual? Why should I donate or give to charity ten percent of what I get? It’s mine after all! I don’t owe anything to anyone especially God or government, you say! It’s my hard work! So why do I need to give them anything at all when they haven’t even contributed towards it in any way!
Charity is one of the biggest gifts you can give YOUR OWN SELF and not God! You are only redeeming yourself. Read on and understand.
How do we raise funds for any good work? Raising money for all kinds of charitable activities is a great challenge. Especially, if it was meant for some vague spiritual purpose which doesn’t appeal to you.
I was recently expounding on a chapter in Sai Satcharita on Channabassapa and Veerabhadra, the rich mans wife wants to donate some jewelry for building a temple, but her husband takes it away giving her a barren patch of land in lieu which doesn’t even belong to him. She donates that land but there are no funds to make a temple. The poorest people over there offer their bit to Lord Shiva but the ones who have, don’t!
I have often wondered, when you have a desperate need for a job, you go and beg in front of God for a job and when you get it you offer one kilo of sweets or some candles. Do you believe that is in any way sufficient to cover it? If that is the case then God should only give you ten kilo sweets or candles and not the job!
The ratio is always one is to ten. Got it? Don’t you ever forget it.
Now you want to know why is the ratio that way?
When we sow seeds in the ground, don’t you want a bumper crop? After harvest also are you not expected to keep ten percent as seeds for the next year? Normally, it would be the ratio or more. Islam and Christianity also talks about ten percent ratio. Charity is offering back to the universe about ten percent of what you take from her. Don’t forget that you got to give back what you get from Mother Nature. That way your own future is secured and you will be happy. But if you act greedy and don’t want to offer anything back, nature will ensure that you will get ten percent of what you have given. So you gave $1, you will surely get $10. Now supposed you have robbed from the universe something, what will you get? You have dropped one fake coin in the donation box, you will get ten fake coins in your future! So remember the rule, you will get ten times of what you have given.
Once a man was going to a distant village to sell his wares. He comes across a small wayside temple. The Stone God there commands him to dig in front of the temple. He finds a pot of gold nuggets. He fills his wrapping cloth with it. The God urges him to drop a bunch of nuggets back. He reluctantly keeps only 3-4 of them back in the pot. He goes on his way. He gets late selling his wares so he stays at a local inn for the night. The lady of the house tells him to freshen up and come for dinner. He wants to take his bundle with him, but when the lady asks what is so special in that bundle that he wants to take it with him? He grudgingly tells her it’s some peanuts in that and so as not to draw more suspicion he hangs it on the wall.
When he goes out to freshen, the lady thinks she could use some of those nuts to cook. So when she opens that cloth is surprised to find gold nuggets. She replaces all those with real peanuts and hangs it back there.
Next morning the merchant quietly slips out to go back to his village. Half way through, he decides to check on his booty. Finding it missing and only filled with peanuts, he doesn’t know what to do. How can he go and ask the innkeeper about the gold, he thinks? He had told her it contains peanuts. He is dejectedly returning back home. Again he comes to the wayside temple. The God there again calls out to him, telling him to collect the nuggets left behind by him in the pot. He gets his 3-4 nuggets left behind by him reluctantly.
The moral of the story is to be more generous and not greedy. Offer back to this universe what it has given to you so lovingly. That way you will secure your own future.
Charity is to be done only with the intention of giving back to nature in turn to yourself. You should only consider the deserving and not those who don’t deserve. So remember to give and offer back to the universe what you have taken from her. Offer charity lovingly and she will reward you lovingly.
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