Bg 10.4-5

Text

buddhir jñānam asammohaḥ
kṣamā satyaṁ damaḥ śamaḥ
sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ bhavo 'bhāvo
bhayaṁ cābhayam eva ca

ahiṁsā samatā tuṣṭis

tapo dānaṁ yaśo 'yaśaḥ
bhavanti bhāvā bhūtānāṁ
matta eva pṛthag-vidhāḥ

Synonyms

buddhiḥ-intelligence; jñānam-knowledge; asam-mohaḥ-freedom from doubt; kṣamā-forgiveness; satyam-truthfulness; damaḥ-control of the senses; śamaḥ-control of the mind; sukham-happiness; duḥkham-distress; bhavaḥ-birth; abhāvaḥ-death; bhayam-fear; ca-also; abhayam-without fear; eva-also; ca-and; ahiṁsā-nonviolence; samatā-equilibrium; tuṣṭiḥ-satisfaction; tapaḥ-penance; dānam-charity; yaśaḥ-fame; ayaśaḥ-infamy; bhavanti-become; bhāvāḥ-natures; bhūtānām-of living entities; mattaḥ-from Me; eva-certainly; pṛthak-vidhāḥ-differently arranged.

Translation

Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, self-control and calmness, pleasure and pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy are created by Me alone.

Purport

As far as charity is concerned, one should give fifty percent of his earnings to some good cause. And what is a good cause? It is that which is conducted in terms of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is not only a good cause, but it is the best cause. Because Kṛṣṇa is good, His cause is also good. Thus charity should be given to a person who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to Vedic literature, it is enjoined that charity should be given to the brāhmaṇas. This practice is still followed, although not very nicely in terms of the Vedic injunction. But still the injunction is that charity should be given to the brāhmaṇas. Why? Because they are engaged in higher cultivation of spiritual knowledge. A brāhmaṇa is supposed to devote his whole life to understanding Brahman. A brahma-jana is one who knows Brahman; he is called a brāhmaṇa. Thus charity is offered to the brāhmaṇas because since they are always engaged in higher spiritual service, they have no time to earn their livelihood. In the Vedic literature, charity is also to be awarded to the renouncer of life, the sannyāsī. The sannyāsīs beg from door to door, not for money but for missionary purposes. The system is that they go from door to door to awaken the householders from the slumber of ignorance. Because the householders are engaged in family affairs and have forgotten their actual purpose in life-awakening their Kṛṣṇa consciousness-it is the business of the sannyāsīs to go as beggars to the householders and encourage them to be Kṛṣṇa conscious. As it is said in the Vedas, one should awake and achieve what is due him in this human form of life. This knowledge and method is distributed by the sannyāsīs; hence charity is to be given to the renouncer of life, to the brāhmaṇas, and similar good causes, not to any whimsical cause.