Annadhanam - அன்னதானம்

Annadhanam (Tamil – அன்னதானம்)

 

 

Annam (அன்னம் ) – food, dhanam (தானம் ) – charity, giving, donation (not to be confused with another dhanam (தனம் ) – wealth).

Depending on ability, one can perform many kinds of charity. Some being: anna dhanam (food donation), ratha dhanam (blood donation), vastra dhanam (clothing), vidya dhanam (education) etc.

Annadhanam is often called the best form of dhanam. Because without food life cease to exist. Also, this is one kind of charity where the receiver can say “Enough”. Try giving them money, they need more. Give them clothes, they want a different style or color. Irrespective of how much food one can offer, the receiver will stop at some point and say, Thank you – I am full.

Why should one give food or do any charity?

 
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad has a great story on what the Brahma preached:

Once devas, humans and asuras (demons) went to Brahma to gain knowledge and asked him to give instructions. Brahma spoke to the Devas and said “Da“. Next to humans, he said “Da” and to the asuras he repeated “Da”. He asked each group whether they understood the meaning and all said yes. Even though the same word is repeated, it is different for each group.

For devas, it is Da-“Damyata” – Be self-controlled. As they are used to much pleasures from the heaven, it is recommended they practice self-restraint.

For humans, it is Da- “Datta” – Be Charitable. Humans are greedy and was too much material possession – the recommendation is “to give” – be charitable.

For asuras, it is Da-“Dayadhvam” – Be compassionate. As asuras used to get angry and create destruction, the recommendation is to be merciful and show compassion.

Lord Krishna says, “the World is sustained by food. The giver of food is the giver of life. “

Taittriya Upanishad says: Do not turn away anybody who seeks shelter. This is the vow. Therefore let one acquire much food by any means whatsoever. They say: food is ready. If food is prepared in the best manner, food is given to him (the guest) also in the best manner. If food is prepared in the medium manner, food is given to him also in the medium manner. If food is prepared in the lowest manner, food is also given to him in the lowest manner.

Avvaiyar said, “Aram seiyya virumbu” (Desire to do charity). She did not say, “Do Charity”. She wanted us to be willing from heart to do good. When charity is performed without heart, it serves no purpose to the giver.

She also said, “Iyammitu un” (Eat after sharing) in Aathichudi. Here “I (tamil: ஐ) ” refers to God [translated from some audio discourses], meaning give food to god, his devotees, guests and then eat yourself.

Thiruvalluvar gaves these Kurals:
பகுத்துண்டு பல்லுயிர் ஓம்புதல் நூலோர்
தொகுத்தவற்றுள் எல்லாந் தலை.

Sharing the food with others is one of the supreme virtue of mankind.

அற்றார் அழிபசி தீர்த்தல் அஃதொருவன்
பெற்றான் பொருள்வைப் புழி.

When you feed the hungry and poor, your wealth is secured in this vault (their stomach). The true meaning is the merits you achieve from feeding the needy is the ultimate wealth you can gather, which will help you in need.

Many old scriptures talk about feeding Athithis and Sivanadiyars before eating. An athithi is a guest to our house; not only humans but animals, insects and birds that look to us for food. When you give food to a Sadhu (Sivanadiyar – devotee of Siva, usually renounced family life and became a sanyasi), it is equivalent to feeding God himself.

Some great saints like Pattinathar took vow to not beg for alms going rounds and eat only what is given to him wherever he is. It was considered a great privilege to bring food to such saints wherever they are.

Beggars are usually treated with left-overs and foods that are about to go bad. This should be avoided at all costs; you can better throw away the food rather than someone who begs for it to eat it. Remember, food should be shared before you eat – meaning it should be the same food that you will eat too.

While growing up, even during tough times, i remember my mom used to keep at least an extra cup of rice and dishes for lunch and dinner. If guests unexpectedly show up (they always do at lunch time, don’t they), they’re taken care of right away. The left overs are usually given to the beggars or fed to the animals without having to go bad. In Tamilnadu, the tradition is to keep some food for birds before one eats and for animals after one finishes*.

[[Note *The belief is our ancestors visit us in the form of crows to keep an eye on us and protect us. So they are fed first. Lunch is usually served in plantain leaves and are thrown out after the meal. So, it is customary to keep some food in the folded leaf before throwing them away, so the dogs get to eat the left over food, and cows usually eat the leaves]].

In Hinduism, most of the poojas, vrathas recommend fasting, praying and feeding the needy. Recently, Shridi Sai vrat for 9 thursdays seem popular in urban areas. As part of this Vrat, they were asked to feed 5 poor people on the 9th Thursday and distribute the books. I personally observed that most of those who undertook this Vrat, call their friends for dinner invite and distribute prasad and it is reciprocated later. At least, they can donate some money to the food bank where it really feeds the needy. [[ I’m not nitpicking this particular Vrat, but included it here to show how people take the easy way ]]. Sai baba says, when you feed somebody an handful of food, the merits you get is equivalent to feeding mountain sized food.

Kanchi Seer (Kanchi Elder) is a staunch advocate of feeding the Athithis (Guests). He recommends to feed at least one guest everyday without failure; even when you are out of town, make arrangements so the feeding will never stop. He says, Annadhanam is the easiest way to attain salvation (Moksha). There are many stories on the web about his advice on this topic.

How to donate food?

If possible, give monetary donations to food banks, humanitarian agencies that feed the poor hungry at regular intervals. Mark your calendars to donate regularly on your birthdays (+ family members), anniversaries and other significant events. The amount doesn’t matter as long as you do it regularly.

There are orphan homes, elderly homes that care for the needy and disabled. You can cover the cost of one good meal to help the organization. Volunteer some time to help those homes, prepare and serve meals.

If someone asks for food, donate what you can. It can be a small breakfast or can be a few bucks to spend.

In some religion, people are asked to skip a single meal once a week, and donate that money towards charity. In some cases, they should skip a regular restaurant trip and donate that money towards needy.

Practice fasting at least once a week – if possible, skip one meal for the week. When breaking the fast, feed the needy.

Now in TamilNadu, more temples are under the control of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments board (AraNilaya thurai) and offer Annadhanam every day. Most temples don’t have enough funds to carry out this good deed daily. Consider monetary or grocery donation.

All charity should be done without expecting anything in return. Merits are accumulated by doing good deeds. You see the paradox here? Consider it as a Dharma or Duty and it becomes selfless act. God Bless.

Note: This post goes up in the time of the virus affecting worldwide and many nations in lock-down. You see one side staying home and eating comfortably whereas many people lost their jobs and doesn't have a place to stay or don't know when or where the next meal is coming from. Even if its a small amount please do donate - either food or money to organizations that cares for the needy. This too shall pass. Stay safe. God bless.