Baba says, ‘The instant fruit of performing charity is blessings from every soul.’

There is a difference, Baba explains, between donation and charity. Charity has greater importance than a donation. An act of charity is an altruistic act of service, it is not superficial, it is done from the heart. A donation, on the other hand, can either be superficial or from the heart. An act of charity is an act in which I become co-operative with souls at a time of need, that is, I become useful to them. A soul who performs charitable actions, therefore, receives blessings from the heart of many souls. They don’t just say ‘thanks’ from their lips, but the attainments of blessings from their hearts are accumulated in an incognito way.

A charitable soul overflows with the instant fruit they receive from God’s blessings and blessings from souls. The purity in the vision and attitude of a charitable soul give others the experience of blessings. There is no expectation, no judgment…, just soul conscious love and acceptance. Because of the fruit of blessings, such a soul is also always carefree; they are carefree emperors. Their face is shown with the visible sparkle of satisfaction and contentment. They are beyond any arrogance or insult, they are emperors who are overflowing.

A charitable soul uses the power of their charity in their every thought at every moment of upheaval and in every action in a worthwhile way; in other words, they accumulate. The sign that accumulation is happening is that waste finishes. It’s like when I open a tap of fresh water into a glass of dirty water; the dirty water is washed out and only clean water remains in the glass. ‘Such a charitable soul‘, Baba says, ‘claims a throne of the kingdom of the world.‘ But while this sounds pretty straightforward, children still become numberwise, Baba points out, in their effort to become such charitable souls. And the reason for this, He says, is usually one specific hindrance.

The slogan is: ‘Give happiness and take happiness; don’t give sorrow and don’t take sorrow.‘ Baba says, ‘you are okay when it comes to half the slogan; you take care to not give anyone sorrow but when it comes to taking, you say, ‘she did this to me, this is why this happened..’, ‘he said this, did this…’ You become your own lawyer, He points out, and spend your thoughts and words in presenting your case with these things to Baba or to the seniors. Not only is this not charity but in fact, in doing so, I have compelled other souls to spend their time and energy in resolving my issue. Baba says, if anyone gives sorrow, you don’t have to feel pressured to accept it. It isn’t Baba’s shrimat to take sorrow, His shrimat is to let it drop to the floor. Only when I pay attention to the full slogan and not give nor take sorrow will I become a charitable soul, says Baba; only then will I be able to become a tapaswi soul.

To be a tapaswi means transformation. Therefore, accept the sorrow anyone gives you, Baba says, as happiness. Bring about transformation; consider defamation to be praise, only then will I be a charitable soul. Mother Jagadamba always made this lesson firm for all the children: always see the souls who insult you or give sorrow with the vision of being an embodiment of mercy. Don’t see them with the vision of defamation. When I receive the sorrow others give me, it’s as if I accept rubbish and the only thing that grows in rubbish are the germs of sin. Then I say: ‘I didn’t mean to say it but they provoked me…’, ‘I didn’t want that to happen but I couldn’t help it…’. Baba says, you felt compelled to say and do things you didn’t mean to because you created the breeding ground within you for those thoughts. The thoughts are the germs and then they crawl out as words and actions. Instead, let me fill myself with pure thoughts, i.e. let me always have that tap of fresh water running such that even when people try to pour in some dirty water in the form of insults or something else, it doesn’t stand a chance. Only when I can keep my glass full of clean water can I have the power to embrace those who insult me with my heart, not superficially, but I can truly give them good wishes and pure feelings of the heart. Only when I am full with the power of pure thoughts can I realize that the other soul is in the grips of Ravan and hurting; anger, insult etc. are nothing but signs of being empty, they are a cry for help. When I can defeat Ravan by accepting my brother soul, I become a charitable soul who receives blessings.

So now, during this year of tapasya, Baba says, make this firm commitment to yourself: ‘Throughout the day, through my thoughts, words and deeds, I will be a charitable soul and perform charity.’ The instant fruit of charity is that blessings are received from every soul and charity is accumulated in every thought. Blessings are accumulated through your words, and thanks from everyone’s heart should emerge for your co-operation through your relationships and connections. This is called tapasya. Such tapasya will become the basis for world transformation. You will receive a prize for such a result.