'Annadan has special importance in life'
Whatever may be the religion, but you must have often seen that whenever people do any religious work, they get Bhandara or Langar on the day of its completion. Not only this, there are also many religious places where Bhandara is continuously done. Since ancient times, whenever the King-Maharaja used to perform any havan, yagya or any other religious program, he used to distribute clothes or food.
During bhandara, people distribute food according to their reverence or their status. The main purpose of making bhandara is taken from providing food to the needy, but there is another importance of this bhandara in the scriptures, let's know what it is.
According to our scriptures, if the world's largest donation is anything, it is Annadan. This world is made of food itself and its creations are being nutrition only with the help of food. Food is the only thing that satisfies the body as well as the soul.
Annadan has special importance in life. The glorification of self-cooked Annadan is immense. The purity of the donor's mind is not by how much charity is given, but by how much charity it is given with reverence. Yajna is also a charity. This helps many, so it is Mahadan. The entire Vedic life philosophy gives people the inspiration to live a yagyamaya, altruistic and healthy life. Grain is said to be the king of food items and in front of grains, diamonds and pearls are also despised. Praising the glory of food, it said that it is due to the consumption of food that our body grows and nutrition . Food is important from the beginning to the end of the universe. Food is very important in our life too. Food is a sattvic food and due to its consumption, bad feelings are relatively less. Food is essential for everyone. Whether it is an ordinary being, a saint, a rich and poor is necessary for everyone. The glory of the one who donates food cannot be praised. The glory of this importance and glory of foods are ringing around in this world. The glory of food grains is abundant in all the realms.
The body moves only through food. Food is the basis of life. Food is life, so its donation is like life. It is considered to be the best and most fruitful of all donations. It is the most important part of dharma.
A person who performs Anandan daily receives all the auspicious results of the world. According to your ability and convenience, you should give some food. This leads to ultimate well-being. In particular, donation of food is an honor factor in life. Therefore, food should be donated to the needy. By donating food, all sins are replenished and there is happiness in this world and hereafter.
In dharma, no chanting, penance or sacrifice etc. is complete without food donation. Food is the only thing that satisfies the body as well as the soul. That is why it is said that if you have to donate something then donate food. Giving food is very beneficial. Let us tell you why we should do the benefits of Annadan or Annadan….
A legend related to this is also found in Padmapuran. Once a conversation is happening between Brahma ji, the creator of the universe and Shweta, the king of Vidarbha. This dialogue shows that whatever a person donates in his living state, after death he gets the same thing in the hereafter. King Shweta reaches Brahmaloka on the strength of his harsh austerity, but never receives food there during his lifetime due to not donating food.
Another legend is also recorded in our Puranas. According to which once Lord Shiva, taking the form of a Brahmin, was wandering on the earth. He asked for the donation of an old widowed woman but she said that she could not donate yet because she is making dung cakes. When that Brahmin stubbornly, the woman picked up the cow dung and donated it to the Brahmin. When the woman reached the heaven , she asked for food and got only dung to eat. When she asked why cow dung was given, in response she had to hear that she also donated the same. In this way the importance of food donation can be understood and it can be understood how this grain is necessary for the satisfaction of our soul till life and death.
Feeding the poor and mystified people in the form of food donation is a virtue. This brings happiness and peace to the mind. The soul remains happy. Donating is the greatest and sacred duty of mankind. It should be given as a duty and there should be no desire to get anything in return.
Therefore, when you offer food donation, you are giving their body, food or grain to them. The most important part of motherhood is food donation. From feeding to serving food, you love your mother because she has always donated food to you. So, by taking advantage of the opportunity of food donation, you can transform yourself as the mother of the whole world. Remember this every day and every moment of your life.
Food donation is a possibility to bring your relationship with food to a certain level of consciousness and awareness. Do not see it as just food, it is life. It is very important for all of us to understand - whenever food comes in front of you, do not think of it as an object that you can use or throw away - this is life. If you want to develop your life, you have to see food, water, air and earth as life - because these are the elements from which you are created.
Food donation is a way through which you can connect deeply with another human being, with your hands full, serving food with love and devotion.
The marital life of a person who cannot provide food to a hungry person at home thats life is meaningless. No one can live without food for long. Man's misdeed means that the corrupted karma gets ingested in the grain, so the person who eats such a person eats only the ungodly deeds. On the contrary, one person gets a month's virtue of a person who provides Amritamay's holy food.
‘It is said in the Atharva Veda- 'शतहस्त समाहर सहस्त्रहस्त सं किर’ That is, 'Earn money with hundreds of hands and distribute it with thousands of hands'. To earn money to donate in the Veda, it has been considered necessary karma for man. In Indian culture, it is believed that donations also subdue the gods. Donation brings happiness to God. And everybody searches for God, but God himself searches for donor. Donations made in life are happiness and joy in the next life. In the hereafter, only charity befriends the creature. In the Yaksha-Yudhishthira conversion of Mahabharata, the Yaksha asked Yudhishthira what goes with him after death. Yudhishthira replied that after death, charity karma goes with him. In the Bhavishya purana, Lord Shri Krishna says to Yudhishthira - "After death, wealth does not go with the person, only the donation given by the eligible person goes with him as a patheya (food of the way) in the world." Whatever we give , It does not actually perish but we get by doubling or quadrupling it.
‘नादत्तं कस्योपतिष्ठते’ That is, what will one get without giving. The more you sow, the more you will get. In the Anushashanparva of Mahabharata, it is said that due to which works of previous birth, auspicious or inauspicious results are obtained.
At the time when Duryodhana, Karna and Shakuni seized Yudhishthira's kingdom in gambling with deceit and the Pandavas were going to the forest with Draupadi, Praja and Brahmins also started going to the forest with them.
Seeing this, Yudhishthira felt very sad and he started thinking that how can I fill all these person's stomach in the forest. Everyone fills his stomach, but the life of that person is successful, who can nurture his family, friends, guests and Brahmins. Yudhishthira told those Brahmins that I have to spend twelve years in this uninhabited forest, so tell me a solution that can manage the food of your people including my family.
Then of those Brahmins, Maitreya Muni told Yudhishthira while narrating the story of Draupadi's previous birth - "Nothing is rare where Draupadi in the form of Lakshmi is living." Draupadi can satisfy the world with the food of her Batloi (Batloi, the vessel in which food is made). '
Donate to whom?
This is also a specific question. There are mainly two rules for giving donations, which we should keep in mind while giving donations - First - Shraddha and Second - Eligibility. Shraddha means how much desire we have, that is, our ability. A donation given less or more than the capacity is called a sin, not a donation.
We can understand this very well with an example, if a person has the ability to donate fifty rupees, then he should donate only fifty rupees. Donating ten rupees or hundred rupees in place of fifty is not a donation but a sin. Donation work should be done with a pure and happy mind.
Donation should never be done without considering the trouble or burden without reverence, it is better that charity work should not be done. One should never give charity by expressing gratitude. Donating with a pure heart gives peace to your heart as well and the person taking the donation is happy and prays with the mind, it is not necessary that that prayer should be expressed only through words.
The second law of charity is eligibility, that is, to whom we are giving charity, whether it will be able to consume the donated item or not. We can understand this fact in such a way that if a person who sleeps on a bedstead woven in a village is asked to sleep on the mattress of Dunlop in the city, then he will not sleep all night.
Similarly, if a poor beggar who lives in torn clothes, if given a new cloth to wear, thats coth will not like by him, he will not be able to wear that cloth either he will sell it or throw it away; so he will be like only torn cloth. Feeding food to a full stomach does not make any bless in his mind, but if a poor person with a hungry stomach is fed with food, then he will be fully satisfied and will give prayers from his heart. Donation can be of any thing, not just food. Medicine for the patient, education for the uneducated, food for the hungry, clothing for the naked, it means that if someone who lacks and is unable to get it, then also arrange for such a thing to the people , falls in the category of donation . Therefore, while giving donations, special attention should be given that donations should be given to the appropriate person.
Giving food to any needy person is believed that there will never be a shortage of food in your life. Donating food without cooked gives more virtue than that. The donation of food grains has been described as an important donation in Hinduism. Our ancestral deities are pleased by feeding food to the hungry. This donation helps to remove the misfortune that comes in our future. According to the scriptures, if the biggest donation is any, then it is food donation. This world is made of food itself and its creations are being followed only with the help of food. Food is the only thing that satisfies the body as well as the soul. That is why it is said that if you have to donate something then donate food. Giving food is very beneficial.
According to almost all religions we must donate some part of our income. All such religions are written in texts and we have heard from our ancestors and elders that we must donate some part of our earnings. It is considered a sin to take food without offering to God after cooking. Therefore, after offering to God, one should keep part of the dependent animals.
We have been doing this activity by the ancestors of all of us (grandmother, mother etc.). It is considered our ultimate duty to offer food to Brahmins, Pandits, Pujaris etc. on any festival, date, special (Amavasya, Purnima, Ekadashi etc.). According to our scriptures, donations made in this way are necessary and good. We have seen this practice in all places around us.
Donation should not be done with gratitude to anyone because it depends on our willingness and devotion and the person's aim is to reduce his sufferings, sorrows, impunity etc. while giving donations. Donations are also made for the peace of evil planets and for the relief of various kinds of suffering. By donating some part of your income, there is definitely self-purification and wealth growth. It is absolutely true that donations are made for their own welfare. Donation removes poverty, even improves until the next birth. Donation never reduces because any kind of donation never goes empty, but it gets its results till the next birth. Donation is also a measure of the aggregation of virtuous deeds and repentance of inauspicious deeds done by oneself.
There are many simple and accurate measures to prevent inauspicious deeds, but the most important of them all is charity. Therefore, whenever a donation is made, it should never be done by showing it to everyone, by spreading the publicity, this kind of donation becomes meaningless because everyone knows that the donation should be done in such a way that if the donation is made with one hand then the other hand do not even know. That is why our society has given the most important place to secret donations. Of all donations to the charitable distribution of food (Annadan), the most commendable. A person can be completely satisfied through food. That is why there is something special in Annadan. If money, clothes, jewelry, land, house, etc., are offering and there is a person who receives it and does not say anything. When a person is given food and how much he wants to take but cannot take more than a limit and says enough, I am satisfied. If it has crossed the limit, he says' Please do not do much service. When complete satisfaction is expressed in the same way, only then the donor gets full reward. .
There is no worship and ritual in Hinduism, better than feeding a hungry one. Annadana is a Mahadana - or the largest donation in Hinduism and is an essential part of the Sanatan Dharma tradition. Food donation is not limited to feeding a human being, but it includes all living beings. There are many stories in praise of Annadan, the glory of the Hindu scriptures - the main Goddess Parvati appearing as Goddess Annapurneshwari and feeding Shiva.
Another instant where Karna is reborn as he performed all types of donations except food donation. Many Hindus make the mistake of feeding only Pujaris while performing Annadan. this is wrong. Annadan should be offered to all living castes - no consideration of status, rights, religion or caste or nationality.
In Hinduism, Annadana is performed for the redemption of sins, to gain quick recovery from illness and also to attain salvation, in order to attain godly devotion. The sins committed in previous lives are followed in successive births. There is such a Hindu belief - Annadan is done to end it. The glory of the family, the popularity of the institution, the sanctity of a temple increases with each Annadan. Above all, we become good human beings when we are ready to share our food with someone hungry. Food is needed for the living to survive. In the diet, food is the priority. Food is exclusively for human life. All living beings on earth originate from food and survive from food. The grain has been given the name of Brahma and water as Vishnu. -- अन्नं ब्रह्मा रसो विष्णुः . According to Skandpuran, food is Brahma and everyone's life is distinguished in food only ---
अन्नं ब्रह्म इति प्रोक्तमन्ने प्राणाः प्रतिष्ठिताः।
Therefore, it is clear that food is the main basis of life. Rather food is life. Therefore, food is equal to life. In the scriptures, food is considered to be the best and effulgent virtue. It is a major part of dharma. Any chanting without donations; Tenacity; The yajna etc. is not complete, the person who performs Anandan daily; That river; Receives the fruits of the donation of the entire earth, including mountains and forests. If someone is mentioned in the Mahabharata period as the bravest, the most worthy, the most abandoned and the biggest donor, then he is Karna. As is well known that Karna was the son of Rajmata Kunti and Lord Suryadev and was get flow in the water due to at that time Kunti was not married till then. While flowing in water, Karna met a Sut(slave) and he was brought up by him. Karna later became Duryodhana's first choice and supreme friend due to his valor and also got throne. From childhood to becoming king, Karna always had two characteristics with him, his valor and his charity. Karna's charity was discussed because the petitioner who came to his door had never returned empty handed. Karna had donated gold, silver, diamonds, pearls, etc. throughout his life, but he had never donated food. Being unfamiliar with his past, he said that nobody had even fed food in the name of his ancestors. The same thing went opposite Karna.
Karna was defeated by Arjuna and received Veeragati.
It is mentioned in the Mahabharata that after Karna was defeated at the hands of Arjuna and received Veeragati after the war, he got a place in heaven. In the midst of the majestic splendor of heaven, he was served diamonds, pearls, rubies all the time. Karna was surprised to see this and asked Devraj Indra the reason for this. Indra told them that you never, ever donated food to anyone, nor did you donate food in the name of your ancestors. That is why you are getting back what you donated.
Believing Karna, Indra sent him back to Earth for 15 days.
Karna told Devaraj that he neither had knowledge of his ancestors nor the glory of Annadan, that is why such a crime took place. It is said that Indra, believing Karna's words, sent him back to earth for 15 days. On coming back to Earth, Karna offered his ancestral deities and satisfied them with all kinds of food. After this, on going back to heaven, he got to enjoy all the royal comforts including food.
Food and water are the most important things in life. These are the real gems of the earth. The person who provides food is said to be the person who gives life and the one who gives it all. Even small donations, if done with sincerity, pleases God. Where is this god? He lives around us in eternal forms - hunger, sick, poor and guest. The donation made in this world is the same as the fixed amount deposited in the bank, which becomes infinite in the hereafter. Therefore, all capable humans must donate food.
One story is about the time of Yudhishthira's Rajsuya yagna in the Mahabharata period. The Pandavas performed the Rajsuya Yagna in the joy of victory in the Kurukshetra war. Thousands of people from far and wide were donated extensively. At the end of the yajna, the Pandavas were cheering all around. Pandavas and Shreekrishna were engrossed in discussing the success of Yajna. The Pandavas were satisfied that they would surely receive the results of this Rajasuya Yajna.
Yudhishthira and golden mongoose
Just then, a mongoose whose body was golden and half brown came out of the palace storehouse and began to wallow on the yajna's land. Then went back to the warehouse. He repeated this process four or five times. The Pandavas were surprised to see the strange movements of this remarkable mongoose. Dharmaraja Yudhishthira knew the language of animals and birds. He said to the mongoose - "What are you doing?" What are you looking for? '
Mongoose bowed respectfully to Yudhishthira and said-
'O Rajan, the great yajna you have performed, your fame has spread in all ten directions. There is no end to the virtue you will get from this yagya. I am looking for a small particle of virtue for myself from the eternal ocean of this virtue. People tell a lie that a grand yajna has never happened, but this yajna is nothing. The yajna was where half of my body became golden due to rolling.
When Yudhishthira asked about that yagna, mongoose said-
Once there was a terrible famine. People started dying of hunger and thirst. There was chaos to everywhere. At that time, a poor Brahmin lived in a village with his wife, son and daughter-in-law. For many days no one found food in the Brahmin family. One day, that Brahmin brough somewhere asking for some quantity of sattu and after mixing it with water, he made four rounds like laddus. As the Brahmin, along with his family, started eating the laddus of that Sattu, a guest Brahmin came to the door and said - 'I have been hungry for six days, please calm my hunger.'
The first Brahmin gave his part of the sattu to the guest, considering the guest as a god, but even after eating it, the guest's hunger did not end. Then the Brahmin's wife gave his share of sattu to the guest, even if it did not fill his stomach, the son and daughter-in-law also gave their share of sattu to the guest. The guest Brahmin was satisfied after eating that sattu and went to the same place, washing his hands. That night too, the Brahmin family remained hungry and due to many days of hunger, all were died. Some sattu particles fell on the ground where the guest Brahmin had washed his hands. I (mongoose) started rolling on those particles, so far as my body touched those particles, my body became golden. I could not understand how all this happened? ' I reached a sage and narrated to him the whole story and expressed my curiosity to know how half of my body turned to gold?The sage came to know about the whole incident on the basis of his penance power and said - 'At the place where you were lying, a small part of the sattu was scattered at that place. That miraculous sattu, which part of touch your body, has become golden.
On this, I said to the sage - 'Please tell me any way to make the rest of my body become gold.
The sage said, 'That family has sacrificed its life for dharma and humanity. This is the reason why so much effect has arisen in his remaining food that half of your body has become gold due to his touch. In future, if a person will do righteous work like that family, then the rest of your body will also become golden due to the effect of the remaining food. Since then, I roam all over the world to do the same yagna somewhere else, but I could not see anywhere else, so half of my body has remained brown till today.
When I heard about your Rajsuya Yajna, I thought, you have donated immense wealth to the poor in this yajna and have fed millions of hungry people, due to its majesty, my remaining half body will also become gold. Thinking of this, I used to come to the Yagya Bhoomi and rolling on the earth, but my body is just like the past.
Yudhishthira was ashamed to listen to the mongoose.
Lord Krishna told the importance of selfless donations.
When Shri Krishna saw Yudhishthira worried in this way, he said - It is true that your yagya was unique in itself, in which you people pacified the hunger of innumerable hungry people, but of course the donation of that family was much bigger than your yagya. They donated when they had nothing. Even after putting his life in danger, that family surrendered all the material available with him to the service of that unknown guest. Despite you having a lot, you donated only a part of it. So your donation is not even more than the priceless donation of that family.
Hearing the talk of Shri Krishna, all the Pandavas understood that there is no results due to boasting in charity, yagya, austerity etc. Donation etc. should always be done with honest money.
Annadan is considered to be the best and virtuous. In dharma, no chanting, penance or yajna etc. is complete without food donation. Food is the only thing that satisfies the body as well as the soul. That is why it is said that if you have to donate something then donate food.
