Daily Devotion -May 9, 2026 (English)- Give It Back
God says, "Offer Me everything that belongs to you; only then can I bestow my grace upon you. I will give you unlimited happiness for eternity."
In the words of the devotee, Shri Maharaj Ji asks God, "What do you ask of Me? Do you consider the wealth I possess as truly mine?" Then hear me out -
- When I came into my mother's womb, I had nothing. Even this body is given to me by You.
- This wealth is part of creation, and the creation is Yours. You have made the entire earth; I have merely built a house on a piece of land and claimed it as mine. But it is indeed Yours.
- Even the 'I', the soul, is but a part of You. I have no ownership over it. You alone regulate and govern it.
So what do You ask of me? Everything naturally belongs to You. Even if I forcibly claim ownership over all this, at the time of death, I will have to leave it all behind and cannot take anything with me. Do not fear that I will take away what is Yours."
For this, God says, "I understand your cleverness. So I have made a rule - I gave you this body. After coming to this world, you have forcibly occupied My land and become wealthy. You have claimed ownership over your body, mind, intellect, and wealth - in essence, usurping government property, which is an offence. Return it all. This world is Mine, not yours. You came into your mother's womb as a subtle soul and will depart as a subtle soul. What you amassed in between was not even earned by rightful means - you accumulated your wealth by selling a ten-rupee commodity for twenty rupees. You will have to undergo punishment for all these misdeeds, and the possessions you have collected will remain here, as is the case in the worldly government."
God says - This is my law: yāvad bhriyeta jaṭharaṃ tāvat svatvaṃ hi dehinām। adhikaṃ yo'bhimanyeta sa steno daṇḍamarhati॥
"I gave you the human body and sent you to this world so that you can attain Me through devotion. But what did you do? You were meant to use the world only to sustain this body, as much as required to fill your stomach, have a room to live in, and clothes to cover yourself. You had no right over possessions beyond this bare necessity. Why did you illegally occupy My property? - sa steno daṇḍamarhati. You are a thief in the eyes of the spiritual government, so all this will remain here. Look, you considered My property to be your own - this is an offense. Therefore, I ask you to return it all. I do not actually need these material things - body, senses, mind, intellect - for they are all material. In My abode, everything is divine. What would I do with these material objects?
By donating ten paise at the temple and spending 50-60 lakhs on your daughter's wedding, do you think you will attain Golok? Do you think this will make you famous? Many great millionaires and billionaires have come and gone in this world. Who even remembers their names now? And what is the use of such fame?" So, for such offences that we have committed, God says that He has made a rule that you should surrender everything to Him.
He says, "You have one mind, and I ask that mind from you. Since you have given that mind to the world through attachment already, where will you get another mind to attach to Me?"
yat yadīṣṭatamaṃ loke yat cātīpriyamātmanaḥ | tat tat nivedayet mahyaṃ - Offer to Me whatever you feel most attached to in this world. Then your mind will become empty, and you can love Me.
God doesn't even let us keep our bodies, lest people would perform surgeries and fill them with diamonds and jewels before departing the world.
To avoid punishment, donate everything beyond what is necessary to sustain your body. And donate to the right recipient. There are four types of recipients for charity:
- God and His saints - this yields liberation and divine bliss.
- Sattvic - donating to celestial Gods yields heaven.
- Rajasic- donating to those attached to the world yields mrityulok.
- Tamasik - donating to the sinful, the unrighteous, and immoral leads to hell.
The results of the charity will depend on the recipient and the intention behind the act of giving.
People are so egotistical about their wealth that they engrave their names on the stones of the temples they have built. But such ostentation destroys the merits of charity. Once, a king became Indra and tormented all the sages, so they stripped him of all his pious credits. They praised him and asked, "What great merits did you accumulate to attain such an exalted seat of Indra?" Puffed up with pride, he narrated everything, due to which he fell from that position and was reborn as a donkey.
God does not ask us to surrender our possessions for His own pleasure but so that our attachment to them diminishes and our love for Him increases. If saints take anything from us, it is for our own spiritual welfare and not for any selfish motive. After all, they have attained divine bliss, plus the Lord of Countless Universes Himself walks behind such saints.
Therefore, we should surrender everything to God, primarily the mind and intellect. Charity can be given through three means - physical service, mental contemplation, and wealth, which is beyond our necessities, to worthy recipients. Otherwise:
dhanavantuamadātāraṃ daridraṃ cātapasvinam (Vedavyāsa) -
"Tie a heavy stone around the neck of the one who is wealthy and yet doesn't donate and throw him into the ocean." Why? Because after death, he will suffer great punishment -
adattadānācca bhaveddaridrī daridrahāvācca karotipāpam । pāpaprabhāvāttārakaṃ prayāti punardaridra: punareva pāpī। (Vedavyāsa)
By not giving charity, one takes birth as an impoverished person in a poor home after death. To satisfy hunger, the impoverished person then commits sins. Poverty is indeed the root cause for many to turn into great dacoits. Seeing the opulence of others, envy arises in them, and they think, "He is enjoying all the delicacies while I can't even get two slices of bread without butter." So one resorts to killing and looting. As a consequence, such a person goes to hell after death and is again made to be born into poverty by God. This poor soul suffers this punishment for millions of lifetimes just because, in one lifetime, he did not give charity - he gave everything to his children, grandchildren, and relatives but did nothing for his own soul, and neither practised devotion to God. Such a great punishment is described in the scriptures, which we should listen to and follow.
So, the devotee says to God, "Take everything that is mine." God responds, "I do not take anything by force. If you offer with genuine loving sentiments, then I will accept - a leaf, flower, fruit, or water - I will accept even a leaf from any tree if given with love, not pride. And if you do not give, I will not take it but punish you instead." Therefore, God asks us to give everything, for neither did we have anything nor will anything remain ours forever.
Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:
