Should one give money to the poor?

[Shantanu]

There is a saying attributed to Saint Tulsi Das in Hinduism - "Dayā dharma kā mūl hai, pāp mūl abhimān; Tulsi dayā na chodiye, jab lag tan mein prān." (The base of dharma is peity, and the base of sin is pride; Tulsi says do not leave peity till you have life in your body). Equally important is to abandon any kind of pride (in this ephimeral world).
I suppose that is final and overrides any other Acharya. Tulsi is one of the greatest Acharyas of Hinduism. Daya is a religious activity.

Thank you for this advice Aup: I will bear that in mind because God would not tell me if Tulsi Das was right. I am in need for proper counselling as I am diagnosed with persistent delusional disorder for which the UK State gives me anti-psychotic (risperidone) and anti-depressant (sertraline) medication - I do not have to pay for these as I am over 60 and medications for old age pensioners above 60 are free here in the UK (thankfully). I will be getting psychological counselling from March 2019 but you are still (renewed) my guru in the absence of any advice from God in the meantime. I may yet become an atheist if I never see God giving me any guidance messages through the digital clock checking mechanism that I believed He was advising me through but which landed me in a lot of trouble with the UK authorities in a very serious way. My dosage of risperidone may be increased back to 6 mg per day from 4 mg per day from the latest I heard, but they are still allowing me to live in the Community following the latest assessment conducted on me yesterday at my home when three State mental Health Professionals visited me and my wife to see if I need to be hospitalised immediately. Thank you for your patience Aupmanyav guruji.

 

[Shantanu]

We were on a tour, in a very poor country (Dominican Republic) and there were beggars around the tourist places. I snuck away, over to a little shed of a house, and gave some cash to the matron of the place. It's tricky. In India professional begging is so rampant, I never gave.

Thank you for sharing your personal actions Vinayaka, although it causes me confusion when I compare them with @Aupmanyav's views. I still suffer from the persistent delusion of not knowing whose advice to take on this matter.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

It depends a lot on where you are. In some countries (e.g. Switzerland) the state does a good job of taking care of people, but there are obviously others where little or nothing is done and charity is vital.

I would prefer to give to an organised charity. A charity for relieving homelessness can tackle people's real problems, while a coin given to a beggar still leaves them a beggar.

 

[Shantanu]

It depends a lot on where you are. In some countries (e.g. Switzerland) the state does a good job of taking care of people, but there are obviously others where little or nothing is done and charity is vital.

I would prefer to give to an organised charity. A charity for relieving homelessness can tackle people's real problems, while a coin given to a beggar still leaves them a beggar.

Which country do you live in David?

 

[Aupmanyav]

Thank you for this advice Aup.

Lord Rama loved Gosainji very much. Tulsi's verses came from the inspiration of the Lord. He cannot be wrong. Ask your wife or you daughter, they too would give you the best advice. Regards.

 

[Shantanu]

Lord Rama loved Gosainji very much. Tulsi's verses came from the inspiration of the Lord. He cannot be wrong. Ask your wife or you daughter, they too would give you the best advice. Regards.

I understand - I have to find my own way: be my own guru. That is your teaching is it not?

 

[Aupmanyav]

Yeah. All information about Hinduism is available on internet. Wikipedia, Sacred-Texts, Internet Archives, BBC/Hinduism, etc. One does not really need a guru.

 

[Shantanu]

Yeah. All information about Hinduism is available on internet. Wikipedia, Sacred-Texts, Internet Archives, BBC/Hinduism, etc. One does not really need a guru.

I got some useful advice from @Amanaki, to start insight meditation for 15 minutes each day. It is my New Year Resolution. But He is a Buddhist: should I change my religion to becoming a Buddhist. So far I have only been given breathing techniques for the start of meditation but I also like living for the moment although I must plan for my future too. So I am not sure whether I can get totally unattached to things and only live in the present moment as Buddhists do. Please can you tell me the Hindu thought on this?

 

[Aupmanyav]

Meditation is not just Buddhist, it is Dharmic. Abrahmic religions also have meditation in their own way.

 

[Shantanu]

The only meditation I engage in is truth-search and truth accommodation.

 

[Jainarayan]

should one give money to the poor?

I think absolutely yes. Nar seva narayan seva, "service to man is service to God". My company gives a supermarket gift card to us at Thanksgiving. I'm well-fed enough that I don't need it. Over the years I've variously:

• Handed it to an elderly person who looked like they could barely afford the package of chicken in their basket.
• Given it to the cashier to pay for someone's groceries because the person had to put something back for lack of enough money.
• Bought dog and cat food then brought it to the local shelter.

I'm not bragging on myself, just saying that I think we have an obligation to do even small things for others less fortunate. After all, if we believe we are joined as a cosmic soul or unit, we are helping ourselves by helping others. Corollary: what goes around comes around.

 

[Twilight Hue]

One of the biggest issues I have with the poor and begging is if it's a scam or not.

There are more scammers out there than you might think so I no longer give cash to anybody anywhere at any time. I would recommend just going to any reputable charity or institution that helps these people out who actually and really need it.

 

[Aupmanyav]

The problem is that just as there are scammers among beggars, there are also scammers among charity institutions. Many beggars in India are professionals, who have a tradition of begging (Jogis, it is a caste) and Rupee millionaires. Some poor people are happy living their life in their own way. If you give them money, they would use that for liquor and not for the benefit of their families. If you give them clothes, they would sell it in the flea market. It is rather complicated.

 

[Kapalika]

Ya it is pretty complicated. I was homeless a couple of months ago, generally if you want to help I'd say be kind of discerning but don't treat them as inhuman as many do. For me, I never begged but some people did see when I needed something and helped me... such as a couple of times someone helped me fix my bike. Sometimes after a casual conversation someone would offer me lunch. At the starbucks I would hang out at I was a regular, I was there every day at the same two blocks of time and I usually ordered at least a bagel (but not always). But I was able to take showers often, so my situation I was better able to take care of myself. If I was less kempt the situation might of been totally different but people could tell I was homeless by all my stuff covered in a big basket on the back of my bike.

This was my bike at the time: https://i.imgur.com/qaP0QgY.jpg It was a give away for sure, but I kept everything and myself orderly enough that I guess people were more willing to accept that I was an honest person.