Why does the Gita 12.11 include material charity in the bhakti hierarchy?

Transcript

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How does giving charity to hospitals or things like that come under devotional service aspect 12.11 actually there is an important point that it’s not that social service and devotional service are two non-intersecting circles they have a overlap also like Bhaktivinoda Thakur says that the same softness of the heart when directed towards Krishna it is Bhakti towards living beings it is Daya and there is a clear quote in the in the Tattva Vivek Bhaktivinoda Thakur says that a Vaishnava should give should make arrangements for medicines for food, for clothing for the poor people so it is not against the principles of Bhakti to take care of the bodily needs of people what is against the principles of Bhakti is giving the bodily needs of the people higher importance or giving the bodily needs of the people only importance so again coming back to this Manoseva Madhavseva what the Manoseva Madhavseva people say is that actually because Manoseva is Madhavseva so there is no need to do any Madhavseva separately no need to spend time doing Abhishek for the deity in the temple just feed the poor so that is a wrong understanding one understanding is that sometimes within devotional circles we may get this understanding that social service and devotional service are two entirely non-intersecting circles and we have to give up the circle of social service to come to devotional service but and the other understanding is that actually if we just this is the Mayavadi understanding that if we just do social service then devotional service is automatically done that means these two are entirely just one circle so both understandings are not correct.
The Mayavadi understanding is of course dangerously wrong but even the devotional understanding if we just take it literally then as I said we find problems with it because the Bhagavatam does talk about material welfare work not just Shibi and Rantidev but we also see Pruthu Maharaj he works to take care of his citizens when they are starving and he provides for their necessities by doing Yajna and other things like that so that means there is an intersection between these two circles and the social service circle and the devotional service circle and especially devotees who are living in the world they are, I mean we are talking about Grahastal especially, they are expected to act in that circle. Prabhupada would say that it’s the duty of a Grahastal to give food to a beggar to anybody who comes as a guest or to a beggar or at least call out to people now Prabhupada is not saying over there that when you call out to a person you have to tell that person to chant Hare Krishna first and then you should give him food. He doesn’t emphasize that point.
He just says it’s the duty of a Grahastal so in that sense there is also a pastime of Bhakti Sankhya Thakur, well known pastime that when the devotees were not giving charity to beggars in the, I mean Vrindavan during pilgrimage so Bhakti Sankhya Thakur said that you know you think that we think that I will give my money for devotional service to Krishna and so I will not give it to beggars and in the end I don’t give it for devotional service and I don’t give it to beggars also so he said that we should not avoid charity in the name of Bhakti but we should basically the idea is that there is it is not that social service or charity is opposed to the principles of Bhakti it is opposed only when it is made into a replacement for Bhakti but the two can intersect and if the two intersect then they can that means the devotee acts in a humanitarian way so that the devotee gradually elevates people to Krishna so it is not necessarily that they are contrary and of course if a devotee can practice at a higher level that means the devotee can just hear and chant and the devotee doesn’t have to come to this lower level if a devotee can be at 12.8 or 12.9 level then a devotee doesn’t have to come to 12.11 level but then we also see Prabhupada himself said that feed the poor people give them prasad there should not be anyone hungry around the temples so there of course what Prabhupada is doing is integrating social service and devotional service feed the poor and also bring them bring them to Krishna also so in that sense yeah so then when people are just doing social service but if that is in connection with devotional service that is not bad that means what it can be at various levels so for example ISKCON has a ISKCON has a food relief program so now what is wrong is if somebody would like to directly contribute to devotional service but instead that person’s resources in terms of time, energy, money that are taken away for social service then that will be a lower level of connection but there are many people who will not give charity to the temples at all they say we don’t want to help in religious activities but they will give charity to this sort of work and by that they will develop an appreciation for Krishna consciousness so in that sense we say that Ajnatsukruti happens when people develop an appreciation for Krishna or Krishna’s devotees or anything connected with Krishna so like that that is also when basically if you see in the 12.11 what Krishna is emphasizing is at least cultivate selflessness so become become Atmavan like Dhanavan is one who has wealth so Atmavan is one who has his soul that means one who is one who is aware of our spiritual reality so selflessness at the material level helps us to not become consumed by material desires and material infatuations but helps us to come to the spiritual level so if you consider like a slow progression from a y axis negative to positive so pure devotional service activities are directly on the top of the positive axis but then if one is not able to be at the top then at least move upwards at least move upwards so social service definitely will be as compared to sense gratification at a higher mode sense gratification in the mode of passion social service in the mode of goodness and the mode of goodness is conducive to acquiring knowledge as Krishna tells in the 14th chapter so in that sense it is not it is not bhakti but on a ladder where one wants to progress towards bhakti selflessness is better than selfishness and that is what is that is why what Krishna is saying is in that ladder if you can’t be here be here, be here, be here then at least you can be at the level of a level of selflessness by giving up material fruity mentality