Q. 195: Beloved Guruji, I have been practicing to give a percentage of my income to uplift the society for the last twenty years. Would you please elaborate on the idea and power of charity as a spiritual practice?

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, giving something back to the society is very important. You know, there is a proverb that says, “Rice is purified by a drop of ghee on it, the money is purified with charity”. Rice or any food, starch or carbohydrates quickly gets digested, but it takes a little longer to digest that if it has a little bit fat. Then there is less chance of you getting diabetic or heart problems.
So, a cardiologist said, “it is necessary to have a little fat in carbohydrates so that it becomes complex to digest it”. 

In the same way the money gets purified by charity. When you give a portion of what you have earned for a good cause then the rest of the money that you have is pure money. Similarly, the mind becomes pure by meditation, body get pure by bathing, by a shower; mind becomes pure by prana, pranayama and meditation; 

Intellect becomes purer by knowledge, by wisdom. See, what we are listening make us pure. There is something that happens in you when you are listening to knowledge or read Yoga Vasistha. Right? You listen to Ashtavakra Gita and that wow sprouts from within. 

Knowledge makes the intellect pure. And life becomes pure when there is dedication.

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