Shloka : 156

महोत्सवा भगवत: कर्तव्या मन्दिरेषु तै: ।

देयानि पात्रविप्रेभ्यो दानानि विविधानि च ॥ 156 ॥

અને તે ધનાઢ્ય એવા જે ગૃહસ્થ સત્સંગી તેમણે, ભગવાનના મંદિરને વિષે મોટા ઉત્સવ કરાવવા, તથા સુપાત્ર એવા જે બ્રાહ્મણ તેમને નાના પ્રકારનાં દાન દેવાં. ॥ 156 ॥

And the wealthy Grihasth devotees should perform the big ceremo­nies in the temple of God and perform various kinds of charities to the eligible Brahmins. || 156 ||

Commentary

Moreover, the wealthy Grihasth devotees should perform ceremonies like worship to Shri Swaminarayan Mahaprabhu, worship to the Mukta devotees of God, singing 'Kirtans' with the music, 'Maha Ab­hishek' i.e. special bathing ceremony of God, ‘Maha Naivedya’, i.e. special food offerings to God etc. on the day of Ekadashi, Hari Jayanti etc. And they should perform various kind of chari­ties to the eligible Brahmins. The most eligible people to accept charity are those who have been initiated into ‘Udhdhav’ Sampra­day, who staunchly follow the code of conduct prescribed by Shikshapatri which is God Himself in the form of His speech, who follow the regulations set by Shriji Maharaj, who are completely surrendered to Shri Hari as explained in Vachanamrit and who firmly believe that Lord Swaminarayan is the Supreme God, cause of all the incarnations like Akshar and Mool Purush etc. charity performed to these nine type of people who are an eligible person, a friend, a courteous person, a needy or poor person, an orphan, a person who is obliging, mother, father and Guru; is considered to be everlasting. Whereas, the charity performed to these nine types of people who are 'Bhat', 'Charan' (these are the people who falsely praise anybody for money), a thief, a fake medical practitioner, a wicked person, (rogue) a cheat, a cunning fellow, a wrestler and inmates of a jail, is considered to be futile.

While performing the charity of food and clothes, the eligibility of a person should not be considered. Whoever is hungry, is eligible for the food and whoever is without clothes, is eligible for the clothes. But the things other than these, should not be given in charity to a person who is not eligible; such charity goes in vain.

The charity should be performed after considering the require­ments of one’s own family. Moreover, when one has taken a vow to donate something to a particular person, that particular thing should not be donated to someone else.

One who is detached towars respect-insult etc., an ascetic, is considered to be the most worthy to accept alms, charity etc.