DASOHA- “distribution of excess wealth”
The fruits of work should not be for individual alone. He should keep the income required for him and the remaining portion should be dedicated to the society at large. That was called Dasoha. As the work donewith dedication is called kayaka, dedicating the income carried fromit without ego and with Dasohabhavane is called Dasoha: it is not easy to win body, mind and wealth. We have to give those three to another set of holy three- Guru, Linga and Jangama.

Kayaka and Dasoha are not different. They are two faces of the same coin. One is the way of earning and another is the way of utilization. These are the principles of production and distribution of wealth. The earnings of a person who earns for society and for the country are more valuable than the one who earns for himself and his family.

Dasoha forbids hoarding and selfish preservation as a sin. Thinking about tomorrow leads to storing. Many Shivasharanas believed that god is there to look after their daily needs. With this trust we must keep away the hoarding for tomorrow. One should keep what is required for himself and should give away the remaining to the Jangama, the Society.

This is truly visionary thinking. All the Sharanas were aware that such distribution of wealth will help social health and promote satisfied lifestyles.

Another aspect of Dasoha is that in these offerings, there is no superiority complex. This is not a donation, because one does not expect reward of righteousness. Dasoha never expectsn any returns. One should have only the devotion to duty. He is not the only owner for all that he has earned. It is the property of the society. As the tank water is thrown to the tank, he should utilize it to the cause of society. Kayaka is the duty, the Dasoha is a commitment. The roots are the mouth of the tree. If we watered at the base, it will sprout at the top. Accordingly if a Jangama(living beings) is fed, Linga- God will be satisfied.

The receiver should never feel inferior nor the donor ever feel superior in this practice of Dasoha. This is a yoga wherein the person practicing Dasoha becomes a complete man without thinking in his mind that he is giving and not even remembering his act by giving.

Those who are engaged in kayaka are satisfied with Dasoha. All living beings are Jangamas in the eyes of Dasohi. Sharana too can not be determined on caste. Dasohi is kingman of all living beings Kayaka-Dasoha concepts are the best examples as to how sharanas conceived the concept of Dasoha and nurtured it and spread it on the basis of spiritual thinking.

A question arises whether these great principles are relevant to the present world? Could they be followed? The Sharanas lead a noble life depended on the religion and they were living a contented life and permanent bliss was their aim. The life today is glamourous: worldly, material benefit is the motto. People aspire for easy living and aim to amass wealth in the shortest possible time. On the other hand, poverty and hunger are on the increase, thereby creating a huge gap between the haves and the have-nots. These principle od DASOHA is very relevant to the present day and needs to be practiced with dedication to build a better world around us. It is the time for us to appreciate this and follow is as a habit, and not by any religious considerations.

“In a life where there is no purity, good practices and dasohahambhava- how could there be happiness and contentment? To remove slath, disparity, hatred ness, dissatisfaction, jealousy in the society and to instill peace of mind, good taste, broad mindedness and other human sentiments, the concepts of kayaka and Dasoha are very essential.”

We must be grateful to Shivasharanas for their experiments in pursuit of human values – and their landmark contributions like kayaka and Dasoha- awy back in the 12th century.Today, even after 9 centuries, these simple teachings are globally relevant, and there is a huge amount of learning for all of us in this Sharana Chaitanya.