When does charity work becomes spiritual practice?

In this article we will discuss when such type of activities can be regarded as spiritual practice and help in spiritual growth. 

To understand this article better please refer to SSRF articles on - Karma yoga, Destiny and willful action, Destiny and rule of give and take.

Example profiles of charity workers

These humanitarians may be engaged in charity work on a full time basis or could be as a once a year activity such as a once a year donation. By humanitarians we mean people working towards advancing the well being of humanity as a whole either by providing monetary benefit or by giving of themselves in some form or the other.

• Adopting a child in a developing country
• Donating to a charitable or non-profit organization working towards promoting human welfare
• A surgeon giving his services free-of-charge for a certain period every year to people who cannot afford healthcare
• Working as a volunteer with under-privileged or handicapped children
• Working in the field with famine victims in a continent like Africa

Why is it important for charity workers to do their charity work as spiritual practice?

The manifestations of benefits of spiritual practice and the resultant spiritual growth are: 

• An increases tolerance for adversity and resultant unhappiness
• A balanced state of mind across ups and downs of life
• Lasting personality development
• Insulation from destiny
• Bliss
• Liberation from the cycle of birth and death

What is spiritual growth from the perspective of Path of Action or Karma yoga? 

People involved in charity work as spiritual practice follow the Path of Action or Karma yoga. However in brief, whenever a person does an action (karma), he either gets merits or demerits depending on the nature of the action. If a person is involved with charity work then he would gain merits from this action. He would also create a give-and-take account with the people for whom he is serving. However both merits and demerits keep us trapped in the cycle of birth and death.

However as one matures on the Path of Action or Karma Yoga one continues to perform good deeds; but does so with lesser and lesser doer ship and attachment to the action and expectation of the results. This finally culminates in a zero ego state where though one does the action but does not consider oneself the doer. As one begins to identify less and less with one’s actions one goes beyond merits and demerits and is liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

If one had to choose between just earning merits versus spiritual growth, spiritual growth far outweighs earning of merits as it burns one’s destiny and accumulated account (sanchit). It’s only through spiritual growth that we gain a superlative happiness known as Bliss and also liberation from the cycle of birth and death.. 

What does the average charity worker doing his work as spiritual practice gain at a spiritual level? 

At the first stage there is some reduction in the ego of the charity worker just by the act of giving of himself for others. This is because thinking about the benefit of others itself reduces the focus on oneself, i.e. one’s five senses, mind and intellect.

When does charity work become spiritual practice and fuel spiritual growth?

Charity work becomes spiritual practice when it is done with a close watch on whether the following is happening within oneself at progressively enhanced levels: 

• Reduction of one’s ego
• Reduction of one’s doership
• Reduction of one’s attachment to any activity and yet doing it with perfection without expectation of results
• Reduction of one’s personality defects, such as anger, pride, greed, etc.
• Enhancing one’s qualities
• An over-arching point is that there needs to be regular increment in the above perspectives for it to be considered as spiritual practice.

Summery

 People who fit into the above-mentioned profiles can keep these perspectives while making donations – do I remember my donation often, do I feel like mentioning my donation to my friends, do I feel I should be looked upon, do I get thoughts like –I donated more than my friend did etc or while working for famine victims does he think – do I feel that I am needed, do I get frustrated if there is no change in the lives of famine victims, do I feel hurt when famine victims do not make changes as per my directives etc.

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