Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
Giving to the worthy and highly worthy, excluding the unworthy and the highly unworthy, is successful and fruitful. According to Yoga Shastra, Third Light, Verse 87, those adorned with good qualities, who do not even desire a straw-like object for cleaning their teeth; who are equanimous in honor and dishonor, profit and loss, pleasure and pain, censure and praise, joy and sorrow; who are free from the three types of actions, namely, doing, causing to be done, and approval, from the very beginning; who are solely desirous of liberation; and who are restrained, virtuous, and holy, are the most excellent and highly worthy. Those who possess the twelve vows, including Right Faith, or those who possess fewer vows, who are free from attachment to the world, and who are desirous of attaining the virtuous path, are considered to be moderately worthy householders. And those who possess only Right Faith, who are unable to observe other vows or to practice celibacy, and who are striving to perform pilgrimages, are considered to be the least worthy. Those who are devoid of possessions due to the detachment arising from listening to the scriptures; who are lovers of celibacy; who are far removed from sins such as theft, falsehood, violence, etc.; who are keepers of their vows; who are silent; who are eaters of roots, fruits, and grains; who are beggars; who live by collecting grains that have fallen on the ground or in the fields; who are eaters of leaves; who wear saffron-colored clothes or are naked; who have a tuft of hair or matted hair; who have shaved heads; who carry a single staff or three staffs; who live in monasteries or forests; who practice the five fires in summer; who consume cold things in winter; who smear ashes on their bodies; who wear ornaments made of skulls or bones, etc.; who are protectors of religion according to their understanding, but who are contaminated by false doctrines, who are haters of Jainism, who are devoid of wisdom, and who are followers of false religions, are considered to be unworthy. Those who are eager to kill living beings; who are liars; who steal the property of others; who are immersed in strong sexual desires like a donkey; who are constantly engaged in acquiring possessions day and night; who never possess contentment; who are meat-eaters; who are drunkards; who are excessively angry; who take pleasure in fighting and causing others to fight; who are merely readers of scriptures; who are always engrossed in the thoughts of scholars; and who are atheists in reality, are considered to be highly unworthy. Thus, excluding the unworthy and the highly unworthy, those who are desirous of liberation, wise, and discerning, tend to give to the worthy. Giving to the worthy makes the donation successful, while giving to the unworthy or highly unworthy does not make the donation successful. Giving to the worthy is a cause for the increase of virtue, while giving to the unworthy is a cause for the increase of vice. Just as feeding milk to a snake is like increasing poison, so too, giving to the unworthy is like increasing rebirth. Just as sweet milk poured into a bitter gourd becomes contaminated and unfit for drinking, so too, the donation given to the unworthy or highly unworthy becomes contaminated. Even if the entire earth is given as a donation to the unworthy or highly unworthy, it will not be fruitful. On the contrary, even a small amount of food given with faith to the worthy will be highly fruitful. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the worthy and the unworthy in the matter of donations that lead to liberation. However, the knowers of truth have never prohibited compassion or giving. The worthy and the donation, pure and impure; thus, when considering these four possibilities, the first possibility (both the worthy and the donation are pure) is pure. The second possibility (the worthy is pure, but the donation is impure) is semi-pure. The third possibility (the worthy is impure, but the donation is pure) is also semi-pure. And the fourth possibility (both the worthy and the donation are impure) is completely impure. In reality, except for the first possibility, the remaining three possibilities are, in a way, thoughtless and fruitless. Giving leads to the attainment of enjoyments; this possibility is also thoughtless, being a symbol of impure donation. Although the fruit of a donation given to a worthy person is the attainment of pure enjoyments, it is pure because it is not a donation given with the desire to attain enjoyments. And truly, how insignificant and small is the fruit of a donation in the form of the attainment of enjoyments! The main and great fruit of a pure donation is the attainment of liberation. Just as the main fruit of farming is the attainment of grain, and the fruit in the form of the attainment of grass is incidental and small; so too, the main fruit of a pure donation given to the worthy is the attainment of liberation, and the fruit in the form of the attainment of enjoyments is small and incidental. Through this pure act of giving, the wealthy merchant, in the first birth of the first Tirthankara, attained Right Faith (the seed of enlightenment) and the great fruit of liberation in this very life. When the Tirthankara Rishabhadeva was given alms in the royal palace on the first day of his renunciation, the gods were pleased and immediately showered flowers and declared, "Oh, what a donation!" We have already spoken extensively about the division of guests in the Atithisambhagavat. Therefore, one should give appropriate donations after discerning what is to be given and what is not to be given, who is worthy and who is not worthy. || 87 || Although wise and faithful people attain the fruit of liberation directly or through tradition by giving to the highly worthy, giving to the worthy is beneficial for all virtuous beings in every way. From this perspective, we describe the incidental fruit of giving to the worthy.