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WHY SHOULD ONE BE CHARITABLE ?
charitable acts.
Dt. 25-06-1982
Birth in this world and exit from it are mere 'stations in a man's journey. They represent neither a start nor an end, if one takes into account the doctrine of transmigration of souls, which all religious philosophies accept. The soul (or Atma) is indestructible and continues for ever.
The existence of soul and its successive appearance in different births has been accepted by Jainism too. Acharya Vikramsuriji said in a discoures, 'Why should people gather wealth? Why not they willingly contribute their earnings for a good purpose ? Why should not they cultivate virtues and earn the merit (Punya) when they know that the fruits of good deeds alone will accompany the souls?'
Men quarelling with one another, during the short sojourn on earth, for material benefits is thus an exercise in futility, for none - not even a monarch who has wielded enormous poweres - will carry with him any of his material acquisitions.
The Acharya observed that people spent time and money on adorning and beautifying their bodies which are perishable and wondered why they do not take steps to decorate the 'Atma' by resorting to religious practices and righteous action.
Out of ignorance and even knowing this peripatetic nature of the soul, men do not carry out pious deeds. Some refuse to part even with a little of their wealth but after their death their entire estate is enjoyed by someone else. Shastras point out the uncertainty of the hour of death and as such ask everyone to be ready to depart at any time. Death does not wait for a man to check whether he has enjoyed his life or has fulfilled all his duties. It can pluck a man's life any time. So all religions exhort us never to delay carrying out noble tasks and
Birth is an Accident,
Living is an art and Death is an Achievement.
If you want to learn anything from the attached, detached, it is 'Humility'.
