Daan: Meaning
Daan is essentially an act of charity given spontaneously to a Brahmin. It is optional. We feel like helping someone. So we practise Daan. We are not obliged or compelled to do so in any way. And we expect nothing in return for this gesture of ours. So Daan helps us outgrow our expectations of others. It also infuses a sense of detachment in us. We reiterate to ourselves that nothing really belongs to us. And we must pass on what we have to others.
For example, when a rishi imparts wisdom to us he does not expect anything in return for his wisdom. He feels content even if he brings about a shift in our perspectives and touches our lives in some way. This is Daan.
Kinds of Daan
When we give quietly with generosity, affection and humility, give to the right person what he/she needs direly at the right time and place without belittling him/her in any way we call it Satvik Daan.
If we engage in egoistic arguments, feel proud about our generosity, give grudgingly or expect something in return we call it Rajasic Daan.
When we are stubborn, demand or fight for our share from unwilling people or give something to undeserving people at the improper time and place without treating them with respect we call it Tamasic Daan.
Why we should practise Daan
At the root of this concept lies our innermost fear. Fear of the unknown. Of the future. Uncertainty unnerves us. We realize that we have accrued and will continue to accrue a fair bit of bad karma all through our lives. And we know when we practise Daan, we will earn some Punya which may help us wipe out a little bit of our Paap.
This thought instils some humility within us. We realize that though we imagine ourselves to be good human beings we too are flawed in some way and have made and will continue to make mistakes till our dying day. Daan helps us accept this reality about ourselves. So we are more conscious of our thoughts, words and actions. It nurtures hope and comforts us. A lot.
The right time for Daan
One day a beggar comes to Yudhishtra seeking alms. Yudhishtra asks him to come the next day. Bheema mocks Yudhishtra saying, “Have you conquered death, dear brother? How can you be so sure that you will be alive tomorrow?”
This story highlights the uncertainty of the future. We also need to factor in the fickleness of our minds. Who knows, we may change our minds the very next minute too. So the best time to practise Daan is now.
Daan has a limit
Krishna spontaneously attempts to eat all the Poha that Sudama has brought for him. But Rukmini stops Him from doing so. She allows him to eat only a portion of it. She knew what Krishna was about to do. He was going to practise Daan by giving all his wealth to Sudama because He loved him so dearly. But Rukmini knows they too would need Krishna’s wealth to sustain themselves.
So she symbolically conveys this message to Krishna. She stops Him from eating all the Poha and says, “O Krishna, we, your wives and children too would love to relish the Poha.” So we should always practise Daan within our limits.
The perils of unlimited Daan
We may have a generous nature and believe in the goodness of Daan. But often we tend to get carried away by our generosity. We forget that our resources are finite. And that we will have to bear the consequences of being generous beyond a certain limit.
Vaman shoves Bali into Patala with his third step because He wants Bali to realize that Daan too should be practised only to a particular limit. When Karna gives his protective armour as Daan to a Brahmin, he pays for his extreme generosity with his life.
Yes, Daan may well clear our bad karma. It does nurture hope and creates peace in our hearts. But we need to keep in mind that we can never predict the future. The winds of fortune will not always blow our way. And these stories sober us up to the harsh realities of our materialistic lives.
Daan Ekadashi in PushtiMarg
In PustiMarg Daan Ekadashi (Shukla Paksha of Bhadrapad) is followed by Vaman Dwadashi to convey this very important message. And we acknowledge and reiterate to ourselves – the various facets of Daan when we follow these beautiful symbolic practices for the next 20 days (till Amavasya).
Krishna’s Daan Leela
After finishing their household chores, the gopis gather together and go to the market to sell their milk, curd and butter. Krishna begs/cajoles/bickers or steals their butter. Some loving gopis willingly give whatever they have to Krishna without thinking about their livelihood. The pragmatic ones shoo him away because they knew Krishna was a Makhan Chor. Others who had gone through Krishna’s leelas earlier remember He disappears without leaving a trace every time they caught Him red-handed. So they refuse to share their milk/curd or butter with Him. Yet Krishna, as usual, gets his way with all the gopis in His own mystic ways.
The Pichwai that we tie behind our Nidhi Swaroops captures the essence of Krishna’s Daan Leela beautifully. And clearly indicates that Krishna too indulged in Satvik, Rajasic and Tamasic Daan with the gopis.
Daan Bhog Symbolism
From Daan Ekadashi till Amavasya, after the Shringar Darshan, we offer Daan bhog to our Nidhi Swaroop. We call this Ekadashi as Parivartini Ekadashi because we believe that if offer Daan bhog to our Nidhi Swaroop and eat the prasad, God will bring about a shift in our thoughts, emotions and perspectives.
So we offer symbolic things like boiled milk, pedas, butter, buttermilk, roasted jeera, salt blended in sour curd, sugar blended with sweet curd, crushed mishri, pickles, saffron etc.
We assign five days to the four divine aspects of Krishna. So we offer milk-based items with Radhaji’s bhav, curd based items with Chandravaliji’s bhaav, butter with the bhaav of the Kumarikas and buttermilk with Yamunaji’s bhaav.
The bhog that we offer to Krishna for 20 days symbolises the various facets of Daan. Like the boiled milk, pedas and sweetened curd, we need to consciously practise Daan regularly to reap sweet karmic benefits. Like the roasted jeera, saffron and pickles, we need to remember we are only adding a little flavour to spice up someone else’s life with our Daan. So we shouldn’t feel proud about it.
Like the crushed mishri we must practise Daan quietly and immediately to enhance the quality of others’ lives. For nothing belongs to us anyway. And like the butter, we need to constantly churn our thoughts and emotions, reflect on our deeds and shed our ego to experience the butter of bliss at the end of our lives.
And let’s also keep this in mind. Most of these Bhog items spoil quickly. This reminds us that we are not going to live here forever. So we must consciously give something to others as often as we can before our karma catches up with us and turns our lives rancid. And last but not least we must always keep in mind that if we are generous – to a fault – we will most definitely end up souring our lives.
Photos given by Smt. Veena and Shri. Yogeshji.
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