God and duration of our life

God and duration of our life

When God had created the world and was about to fix the length of each creature's life, the ass came and asked, "Lord, how long shall I live?" "Thirty years," replied God; "does that content you?" "Ah, Lord," answered the ass, "that is a long time. Think of my painful existence! To carry heavy burdens from morning to night, to drag sacks of corn to the mill, that others may eat bread, to be cheered and refreshed with nothing but blows and kicks. Relieve me of a portion of this long time." Then God had pity on him and relieved him of eighteen years. The ass went away comforted.

The dog appeared. "How long would you like to live?" said God to him. "Thirty years are too many for the ass, but thou wilt be satisfied
with that." "Lord," answered the dog, "is that Thy will? Consider how I shall have to run; my feet will never hold out so long, and when I have once lost my voice for barking, and my teeth for biting, what will be left for me to do but run from one corner to another and growl?" God saw that he was right, and released him from twelve years of life.

Then came the monkey. "Thou wilt certainly live thirty years willingly," said the Lord to him. "Thou hast no need to work as the ass and the dog have to do, and wilt always enjoy yourself." "Ah! Lord," he answered, "it may seem as if that were the case, but it is quite
different. When it rains porridge I have no spoon. I am always to play merry pranks, and make faces which force people to laugh, and if they give me an apple, and I bite into it, why it is sour! How often sadness hides itself behind mirth! I shall never be able to hold out for thirty years." God was gracious and took off ten.

At last man appeared, joyous, healthy and vigorous, and begged God to appoint his time for him. "Thirty years shalt thou live," said the Lord. "Is that enough for me?" "What a short time," cried man, "when I have built my house and my fire burns on my own hearth; when I have planted trees which blossom and bear fruit, and am just intending to enjoy my life, I am to die! O Lord, lengthen my time." "I will add to it the ass's eighteen years," said God. "That is not enough," replied the man. "Thou shalt also have the dog's twelve years." "Still too little!"
"Well, then," said God, "I will give thee the monkey's ten years also, but more thou shalt not have." The man went away, but was not satisfied.

Moral of the story:

So man lives seventy years. The first thirty are his human years, which are soon gone; then is he healthy, merry, works with pleasure, and is glad of his life. Then follow the ass's eighteen years, when
one burden after another is laid on him; he has to carry the corn which feeds others, and blows and kicks are the reward of his faithful services. Then come the dog's twelve years, when he lies in the corner, and growls and has no longer any teeth to bite with, and
when this time is over the monkey's ten years form the end. Then man is weak-headed and foolish, does silly things, and becomes the jest of the children.

===========================================
ayur harati vai pumsam
udyann astam ca yann asau
tasyarte yat-ksano nita
uttama-sloka-vartaya

Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases
the duration of life of everyone, except one who
utilizes the time by discussing topics of the
all-good Personality of Godhead. SB 2.3.17

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

PS: I humbly request all the devotees to please forward and share this moral / instructive stories they hear so that everyone can be benefitted by hearing about Krishna and his dear devotees.

Narada Muni and men who didn't wanted to go to Vaikuntha

The best story: Narada Muni and men who didn't wanted to go to Vaikuntha!!!

Narada Muni once approached Krishna Vaikuntha planets and was very surprice.

Lord was siting and was crying!

Oh my Lord has someone hurt you? Can i help you to remove your suffering? asked devote Narada.

Lord spoke: I am crying for souls in material world. Nobody want to return to me! I cry in separations from this souls who are part from me.

Oh my Lord, how i can help you in this mater? asked Narada Muni.

On planet earth there is a nice devotee called Chandulal, if you want you tell Chandulal that I am waiting even now to bring him back to Me to Vaikuntha. He dont need to do any sadhana, japa, yagja,dana to return to me. Just take him with you and bring him to Vaikunta. Spoke mercifuly Lord Krishna to Narada.

So Narada Muni went down on planet Earth and knocks at the door of Chandulal's house.

Chandulal said "Maharaj we are very happy to see you, please come inside and sit down".

Narada muni said, "Don't waste time now, enough sitting down and everything, Krishna says now He can come with me to Vaikuntha and you dont need to do any sadhana, japa, yagja, dana. Are you willing to come back to Krishna?"

Chandulal said, "Yes Maharaj even now I am ready. Krishna is very great, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is ishvarah paramah krishnah sac-cid-aaanda-vigrahah anaadir aadir govindah sarva-kaarana-kaaranam”. I am very happy".

Narada said, "You please stop talking. Are you ready to go to Krishna?"

Chandulal promptly replied," Maharaj even now I am ready but just see I am just married. My wife is very young. If I want to leave her now, do you know how much bad it will appear to the society? Not for me but for how they will think what kind of person Krishna is? He takes away the young man from his wife. Society will not think very kindly. As a devotee, it is our duty Maharaj to make sure that we keep the flag of our society flying so that vaishnavas are not looked down and Krishna must have good reputation".

Then Narada said, "That is not a problem, ok tell me now how much time you need?"

Chandulal said, "Let me settle her down, once child is born she will forget about me". So Chandulal asked Narada Muni to come after few years.

Narada muni came back after few years and saw children are running around. Everything looks very nice.

Narada muni asked Chandulal, "Are you ready to come?"

Chandulal said, "Maharaj even now I am ready but just see we have one problem. Wife is there, children are there and I also have my mother in the same house. You know Maharaj when you put one woman in one kitchen it is alright, but when you put two women in one kitchen it is kurushetra. I am trying very hard daily to adjust my wife with my mother. So this daughter-in-law, mother-in-law thing is there Maharaj. It is my duty as a family member to make sure everything is settled. So you give me 2-3 years everything will get settled and things will be fine. Now children are young, let the children become little old".

Narada muni said, "Alright but time is running."

In a few years, Naradi muni came back and saw grandchildren also. So Chandulal has no more excuse to give.

And when he saw Narada muni, he wanted to hide. But in running up the stairs, he falls down the stairs and breaks his neck and Yamaraj comes.

Narada muni is very sad and the wife of Chandulal is very sad. They look at Narada muni and think that because of him Chandulal died. So Narada muni decided to leave the place.

Narada muni went to see Krishna. Narada muni give sad report to Krishna.

But Krishna is so kind and told Narada muni not to worry and said that Chandulal has become a dog.

Narada muni asked where he is now. Krishna said he is just outside his own house. He likes his house so much, so I gave him the facility to sit outside his house in his next life. Krishna told Narada muni to go to Chandulal and talk to him. I will give both of you the tejas - power to understand each other's language. You tell Chandulal that even now I am willing to take him back in dog form back to Godhead.

Narada muni said, "Krishna no one is more compassionate than You. I am sure now Chandulal is repentant. I am sure he now understands his mistake, so I am going to run to him".

Narada muni went to Chandulal house. House was very quiet. Outside the house there was a tree and under the tree the dog was sitting.

Narada muni approached Chandulal and asked "Can you hear me?".

Chandulal said that he can hear him.

"What a benediction, in my last life I was so sinful that I forgot Krishna and reward was not inspiration and reward was death. I lost my chance".

Narada said, "Hold it, I got good news of the day for you. Even now Krishna is waiting to take you, even now you can go back. Are you prepared to come back?"

Chandulal never forgets his nature. Even in dog's life he was just like Chandulal.

Chandulal said "Maharaj I am very happy, even now I am ready to go back to Krishna. He is so merciful."

Narada says, "In last life you talked so much and you never did anything. Now you are a dog -- Better now you talk less and do more. Are you going to come back with me or not?"

Chandulal said "Maharaj look at the house".

Narada muni asked "What is wrong with the house?"

Chandulal said, "They left all the windows and doors open. They have gone out to watch movie. All my hard earned money is inside the house and they have just left it like that".

Narada said, "So what can you do, you are a dog now".

Chandulal said, "Just give me a while, I will guard the house, make sure no one comes in and once everything is over and when I feel the house is secure, then you come and take me".
( Puranic story )

Moral of the story:

Narada thought this is just too much. Up to the point of being a dog, given a chance to come back to Krishna, still we don't want to take His feet. Still we want anything and everything except Krishna. So whom do we have to blame when we are not inspired?

Even when we are given the rarest chance to be at the lotus feet of Krishna, we find all the favourable arguments in material energy to say 'not now!'. I will read Bhagavatam but just give me one year. I will slowly do these things but I need some more time. When the eagerness is not there, there is no way to go to Krishna. That is the reason why we are always in trouble. That is the reason why we are not pacified.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

PS: I humbly request all the devotees to please forward and share this moral / instructive stories they hear so that everyone can be benefitted by hearing about Krishna and his dear devotees.

Sweeper took the position of the deity Dwarakadish

Deity story: Sweeper took the position of the deity Dwarakadish!

Once there was a sweeper in the Dwarakadish temple and he was very sincere and devoted. Every time he saw thousands of devotees coming to take darshan of the Lord, he thought that the Lord is standing all the time and giving darshan and He must be feeling very tired.

So one day very innocently he asked the Lord whether he can take the place of the Lord for a day so that the Lord can have some relief and rest.

The Deity of Dwarakadish replied, "I do not mind taking a break. I will transform you like Myself, but you must do one thing. You must just stand here like Me, smile at everyone and just give benedictions. Do not interfere with anything and do not say anything. Remember you are the deity and you just have faith that I have a master plan for everything." The sweeper agreed to this.

The next day the sweeper took the position of the deity and a rich man came and prayed to the Lord. He offered a nice donation and prayed that his business should be prosperous. While going, the rich man inadvertently left his wallet full of money right there. Now the sweeper in the form of deity could not call him and so he decided to control himself and keep quiet.

Just then a poor man came and he put one coin in the Hundi box and said that it was all he could afford and he prayed to the Lord that he should continue to be engaged in the Lord’s service. He also said that his family was in dire need of some basic needs but he left it to the good hands of the Lord to give some solution. When he opened his eyes, he saw the wallet left by the rich man. The poor man thanked the Lord for His kindness and took the wallet very innocently. The sweeper in the form of the Deity could not say anything and he had to just keep smiling.

At that point a sailor walked in. He prayed for his safe journey as he was going on a long trip. Just then the rich man came with the police and said that somebody has stolen his wallet and seeing the sailor there, he asked the police to arrest him thinking that he might have taken it. Now the sweeper in the form of Deity wanted to say that the sailor is not the thief and he could not say and he was greatly frustrated.

The sailor looked at the Lord and asked why he an innocent person is being punished. The rich man looked at the Lord and thanked Him for finding the thief. The sweeper in the deity form could no more tolerate and he thought that even if the real Lord had been here, he would have definitely interfered and hence he started speaking and said that the sailor is not the thief but it was the poor man who took away the wallet. The rich man was very thankful as also the sailor.

In the night, the real Dwarakadish came and He asked the sweeper how the day was.

The sweeper said, "I thought it would be easy, but now I know that Your days are not easy, but I did one good thing." Then he explained the whole episode o the Lord. The Lord became very upset on hearing this whereas the sweeper thought the Lord would appreciate him for the good deed done.

The Lord asked, "Why did you not just stick to the plan? You had no faith in Me. Do you think that I do not understand the hearts of all those who come here? All the donation which the rich man gave was all stolen money and it is only a fraction of what he really has and he wants Me to reciprocate unlimitedly. The single coin offered by the poor man was the last coin he was having and he gave it to Me out of faith. The sailor might not have done anything wrong, but if the sailor were to go in the ship that night he was about to die because of bad weather and instead if he is arrested he would be in the jail and he would have been saved form a greater calamity. The wallet should go to the poor man because he will use it in My service. I was going to reduce the rich man’s karma also by doing this and save the sailor also. But you cancelled everything because you thought you know My plan and you made your own plans."

Moral of the story:

Unfortunately this is my position also because I do not have belief and faith in the plan of the Lord as I do not know His plans. Srimad Bhagavatam very wonderfully explains this point in verse 1.9.16:

na hy asya karhicid raajan / pumaan veda vidhitsitam
yad vijijnaasayaa yuktaa / muhyanti kavayo ’pi hi

"O King, no one can know the plan of the Lord [Sri Krishna]. Even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered."

Srila Prabhupada therefore very strongly advises in his purport, "Even the exhaustive philosophical inquiries of sages cannot ascertain the plan of the Lord. The best policy is simply to abide by the orders of the Lord without argument."

( Story nareted by His Mahavishnu Goswami )

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

PS: I humbly request all the devotees to please forward and share thismoral / instructive stories they hear so that everyone can be benefitted by hearing about Krishna and his dear devotees.

Potency of prasadam

Story: Potency of prasadam!

Once Sripad Ramanujacarya was walking along a pond with few 5 top sannyasi disciples.

Stopping by a pond, he took some prasadam and threw half of it in the water for the fishes. Then he got up to walk on.

The fishes that took the prasadam assumed the four handed forms, rose up in the air and reached Vaikuntha.

When his disciples saw this they are wonder stuck. They were amazed by this scene. So this 5 sannyasis stopped and didn't wanted to move forward.

Ramanuja turned and asked them why they were not following.

They said, "We are thunder- struck. Please explain what we have just seen. Otherwise, how can we follow behind you in this condition?"

Ramanuja told them that its the potency of maha - prasadam ( remnants of food eaten by great devotees of Krishna ).

When they inquired how although they had been honoring the maha - prasadam all these years - nothing had happened to them so far, Ramanauja replied -

"These creatures have no free will, and therefore make no offense. Nor do they doubt the transcendental power of maha - prasadam. So they get full benefit at once. But you with your free will and human intelligence make offenses and are lacking in faith, and thus you hinder your own progress."
( Story narrated in biography of Ramanujaacarya )

Moral of the story:

Krishna prasadam has immense potency. But many times we don't realise its power. So whenever we honour prasadam - we should understand that its Krishna's mercy and honour the same with faith and gratitude.

Holly book Caitanya Caritamrita Antya 16.59 says:

krsnera ucchista haya `maha-prasada' nama
`bhakta-sesa' haile `maha-maha-prasadakhyana'

The remnants of food offered to Lord Krsna are called maha-prasadam. After this same maha-prasadam has been taken by a devotee, the remnants are elevated to maha-maha-prasadam.

TEXT 60
bhakta-pada-dhuli ara bhakta-pada-jala
bhakta-bhukta-avasesa,--tina maha-bala

The dust of the feet of a devotee, the water that has washed the feet of a devotee, and the remnants of food left by a devotee are three very powerful substances.

TEXT 61

ei tina-seva haite krsna-prema haya
punah punah sarva-sastre phukariya kaya

By rendering service to these three, one attains the supreme goal of
ecstatic love for Krsna. In all the revealed scriptures this is loudly
declared again and again.

TEXT 62
tate bara bara kahi,--suna bhakta-gana
visvasa kariya kara e-tina sevana

Therefore, my dear devotees, please hear from me, for I insist again and again: please keep faith in these three and render service to them without hesitation.

TEXT 63

tina haite krsna-nama-premera ullasa
krsnera prasada, tate `saksi' kalidasa

From these three one achieves the highest goal of life-ecstatic love of
Krsna. This is the greatest mercy of Lord Krsna. The evidence is Kalidasa himself.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

PS: I humbly request all the devotees to please forward and share this moral / instructive stories they hear so that everyone can be benefitted by hearing about Krishna and his dear devotees.

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Ramanujacarya and mantra Om namo Narayanaya

Mantra Story: Ramanujacarya and mantra Om namo Narayanaya

Once Ramanujaacarya aproached his guru to recive secret mantra initiation.

The guru, Gosthipurna began to consider the matter deeply, but still he was unwilling to give the mantra to any person.

Time and again Ramanuja approached him, but repeatedly Gosthipurna refused his request. When his appeals had been denied on eighteen separate occasions, Ramanuja began to feel that there must be some great impurity in his heart and that it was for this reason that Gosthipurna would not bestow his mercy upon him. In this state of dejection, Ramanuja began to shed tears of despair.

When some people informed Gosthipurna of Ramanuja's condition, he was moved by pity for the young devotee.

Therefore, when Ramanuja came before him again, he spoke to him in a kind way. "Only Lord Visnu Himself is aware of the glories of this mantra. Now I know that you are worthy to receive it, for you are pure and firmly fixed in devotion to the lotus feet of the Lord. At the present time I can find no one but yourself who is fit to receive the mantra, for whoever chants it is certain to go to Vaikuntha at the time of death. Because this mantra is so pure and sacred, it must not be touched by the lips of anyone who has material desires. Therefore, you must not disclose the mantra to any other person"

Having thus instructed Ramanuja, Gosthipurna initiated him into the chanting of the mantra of eight syllables. Ramanuja was filled with ecstasy to chant this wonderful vibration, and his face began to glow with spiritual effulgence. He considered himself the most blessed of all beings and bowed again and again at the feet of his guru.

REVEALING THE SECRET MANTRA

Having taken leave of Sri Gosthipurna, Ramanuja, in a joyful mood, began to return to Sri Rangam.

But as he was walking, he began to think about the potency of the mantra that had been given to him. While thinking in this way, he became filled with feelings of compassion for the sufferings of all living beings in this material world.

Then, as he was walking near the walls of the Visnu temple in Tirukkotiyur, he began to call out to all the people who were passing by, "Please, all of you, come near to Lord Visnu's temple, and I will give you a priceless jewel!"

Attracted by his pure expression and unusual words, a large crowd of men, women, and children began to follow him. A rumor began to spread all over the town that a prophet had appeared who could fulfill all of one's desires.

Within a short time a huge crowd had assembled outside of the temple. On seeing this mass of humanity, Ramanujas heart swelled with joy. He embraced the two disciples who had accompanied him, Dasarathi and Kuresa, and then climbed up the tower of the temple.

In a loud voice he began to address the gathering: "All of you are more dear to me than my own life. Therefore I have a strong desire to deliver you from the torments and sufferings all of us must undergo in this temporary world. Please recite this mantra which I have obtained for you. Do this, and the Lord's mercy will be upon you."

When they heard Ramanuja's words, all the people in the crowd called out, "Please tell us the mantra. Shower the Lord's blessings upon us!"

Then Ramanuja called out in a deep resounding voice the mantra he had just received from Gosthipurna;

OM NAMO NARAYANAYA

Immediately the crowd responded, everyone calling out the sacred words together, producing a sound like thunder. Twice more Ramanuja called out the mantra, and twice more the thunderous response resounded from the crowd.

Every person became silent and looked at one another with feelings of deep ecstasy in their hearts. At that time it seemed that the earth had become Vaikuntha.

The faces of the men, women and children were flushed with joy and it seemed that all miseries were gone from the earth. Those who had come running to the temple hoping to receive gold or jewels, immediately forgot their worldly desires, feeling as if they had been given a diamond in place of a piece of broken glass.

As the joyful crowd melted away, men and women came and prostrated themselves beforeRamanuja, considering themselves most blessed to have received such a benediction from that great soul.

Ramanuja then climbed down from the tower and began walking towards Gosthipurna's residence to worship the feet of his guru.

GOSTHIPURNA'S ANGER

By this time Gosthipurna had come to hear in detail of everything that had taken place outside the temple and was extremely angry, feeling Ramanuja had betrayed his trust.

When Ramanuja approached him with his two disciples, the aged acarya addressed him in a voice that trembled with rage. ‘Get out of my sight, O lowest of men! I have committed a great sin by entrusting the most precious gem to such an untrustworthily person as yourself. Why have you come here again, forcing me to commit the sin of looking at your face? Surely you are destined to live in hell for countless lifetimes.’’

Without any sign of remorse, Ramanuja replied to his guru in a most humble manner, saying, ‘ It was only because I am prepared to suffer in hell that I dared to go against your order. You told me that whoever chanted the mantra of eight syllables was certain to be liberated. Thus, according to your words, so many people are now destined to find shelter at Lord Narayana’s lotus feet. If an insignificant person like me has go to hell, it is off no great importance if so many others thereby attain the mercy of Lord Narayana.’’

On hearing these words, which fully revealed the depth of the devotee’s compassion , Gosthipurna was completely stunned and filled with great wonder. All his fierce anger disappeared in an instant, like the passing of violent storm, and he embraced Ramanuja with profound affection. Everyone who was able to witness this transformation was filled with joy and astonishment.

Gosthipurna then addressed Ramanuja with folded palms, ‘My child, I have never known anyone so magnanimous as yourself. From this day you are my guru, and I am your disciple.

Moral of the story:

Knowledge is meant for distribution.We should give our best to spread the divenie light of mantras by distributing the transcendental knowledge for the benefit of everyone.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

PS: I humbly request all the devotees to please forward and share this moral / instructive stories they hear so that everyone can be benefitted by hearing about Krishna and his dear devotees.

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King Khatvanga Maharaja and his last 24 minutes

Story: King Khatvanga Maharaja and his last 24 minutes!

Once upon a time there was a war between the demigods and the demons.

The demigods came to earth, to India, where there was a powerful king named Khatvanga Maharaja. They requested him to help them- to become their general, their commander.

He told them, "Yes I am coming."

And he went to the battlefield. It was a very big war, and at last the king defeated the demons. Some of them were killed, and the rest fled away.

All the demigods then requested the king, "Whatever boon you want, we will give you. We will give you anything you want."

The King said, "Actually, I want salvation from this world, and I want to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

The demigods said, "We are not able to give you that. You can ask for another boon."

The King then said, "Then you should tell me when my death will come."

They replied, "Very soon; in 24 minutes!!!"

He therefore requested that, "At once you should take me to India, to earth." And they did so
.
When the king arrived, half of the time was gone and only 12 minutes remained.

He sat in a lotus position like a muni, and concentrated on the lotus-feet of Krishna. Thus, in a moment, he was liberated; and he had a chance to serve the lotus-feet of Krishna.

He went to spiritual world.
( This story is from Šrimad Bhagavatam 2 canto )

Moral of the story:

We are not so fortunete as Maharaja Khatvanga to know when we will die. So better every moment we surender to Krishna. Even a moment can give us all perfection; but what are we doing?

We are not engaged in pure bhakti. We have so many requirements-worldly requirements. In order to maintain our life we are busy in so much not essensial things. We are very busy to solve our material problems.

As much as we try to solve these problems, however, the more problems are coming like waves of the ocean-one by one. We consider, "Oh, if I cross this one, everything will be alright." But instead we see that, "Oh, now there are more problems!"

So don't try to do all this. What should we do? We should chant and remember Krishna. Thus, automatically all the waves of problems will be solved, and life-maintaining will also be accomplished. Everything will be done.

We should only try to solve the problem of how to attain the service of Krishna, and especially how to attain Vraja-bhakti.

If you want a little money, you can attain it by very little effort. However, if you want the highest thing, you'll have to do so much effort. It will not be quickly achieved.

And what is that highest thing?

Prema-bhakti. You will have to give your precious time-everything-for this. You will have to be a street beggar, and there is no harm in that.

Even Krishna show us how to meditate. Every morning when he wake up he mediatate on himself! But we must meditate on him! He is Supeme and he show we need to meditate on Supreme.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

PS: I humbly request all the devotees to please forward and share this moral / instructive stories they hear so that everyone can be benefitted by hearing about Krishna and his dear devotees.

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Gift

Srimad Bhagavad Gita Seventeenth Chapter 17-22 adeśakāle yaddānamapātrebhyaśca dīyate asatkṛtamavajñātaṁ tattāmasamudāhṛtam The gift that is given at an improper place and time, to an unworthy person, without respect or with contempt, is held to be Tāmasic (of the mode of ignorance). Comment: In the scriptures, it is said that in Kaliyuga (Iron age), offering charity is the only 'Dharma' (righteousness)-- 'danekam kalau yuge' (Manusmirti 1/86, Mahabharata Maha.Sh. 231/28', Skanda Pur. Nagar 51/67), Padma Pur.18/441 etc.). Therefore, charity given in any which way, leads to one's spiritual welfare--. pragata chari pada dharam ke kali mahu eka pradhana, jena kena bidhi dineh dana karai kalyana (Manas, 7/103 kha). It means that in Kaliyuga, performance of virtuous actions such as sacrifice, charity, penance and vows (fast) etc., according to the ordinance of the scriptures, is difficult; therefore a person should somehow or other develop a habit to give charity, to renounce. In the Gita wherever the distinction is made between the three modes of nature-- Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic, Sattvic mode should be chosen because it leads to salvation-- 'daivī sampadvimokṣāya' and Rajasic and Tamasic modes have to be abandoned; because they result in bondage -- 'nibandhāyāsurī matā' (Gita: 16/5). From Gita Prabodhini by Swami Ramsukhdasji -----------------------------------------