Commonly Asked Questions about the
Siddha Yoga Practice of Dakshina

How can I make an offering of dakshina?

You can make a dakshina offering online via the Siddha Yoga path website or you can send your offering by mail or fax, using the form for offering dakshina. If you have questions about your offering, please contact the Dakshina Office in any of the following ways:

• Email Dakshina@syda.org
• Call (+1) 845-434-2000, extension 2390
• Send a fax to (+1) 845-640-5277
• Mail to SYDA Foundation, Dakshina Office, PO Box 600, South Fallsburg, NY 12779-0600, USA
  • When sending mail that requires a street address, such as for courier delivery, mail to SYDA Foundation, 371 Brickman Road, Hurleyville, NY 12747-6001 USA.

What does it mean to practice dakshina regularly and with discipline?

To fully integrate the practice of dakshina into your sadhana, discipline and regularity are necessary.

Discipline in practicing dakshina means putting forth the steady self-effort to strengthen your practice. One way to approach your practice with discipline is to study and apply the Siddha Yoga teachings about dakshina. For example, you might read the exposition on The Tradition of Dakshina by Ami Bansal and take notes in your journal. You may wish to jot down words and phrases that stand out for you, key insights, and teachings that you wish to explore further through your practice of dakshina.

Discipline also includes taking the time after you practice to reflect on your experience. Reflection supports you in noticing and appreciating the benefits of your practice.

Regularity is a key part of discipline. To practice dakshina regularly means to engage in your practice with constancy. For example, you engage regularly in the practice by committing to a monthly offering through the Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice. A regular practice may also include planning and making offerings in honor of Siddha Yoga celebrations, teaching and learning events, and events of personal significance throughout the year.

As with meditation, chanting, and offering seva, when you practice dakshina regularly and with discipline, you make space for the transformative power of the practice to reveal itself and become part of the fabric of your daily life.

 

What is the Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice, and how can I participate?

The purpose of the Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice is to help Siddha Yogis engage in the practice of dakshina regularly and with discipline by committing to a monthly offering. In the regular offering of dakshina, practitioners can experience the power and benefit of the practice in their lives.

You can determine an amount to offer each month through automatic bank transfer, credit card, or check. Many Siddha Yogis choose to offer a percentage of their income as monthly dakshina.

If you reside outside of India, you can establish or update a Monthly Dakshina Practice in the following ways:

• By using the online form for the Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice. For example, you can update the amount of your monthly offering or payment details at any time using this form.
• By filling out a card for Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice and mailing it to the SYDA Foundation. You can download a PDF file of the card here.
  • If you send your monthly offering by check or money order, please write “Monthly Dakshina Practice” and the month on the memo line.
• By calling (+1) 845-434-2000, extension 2390, or sending a fax to the Dakshina Office of the SYDA Foundation at (+1) 845-640-5277. You can also email Dakshina@syda.org. Please do not send your credit card number in the email.
  • If you make your monthly offering via automatic bank transfer or credit card, updates made by phone or fax must be received by the 12th day of the month to be processed within that month.

The SYDA Foundation receives the monthly offerings made via credit card or direct debit on the 20th of each month. For this reason, many practitioners choose the 20th of the month to honor their monthly offering. For suggestions on ways to strengthen engagement with your regular practice of dakshina, see the question below.

If you are a resident of India, please visit the Siddha Yoga path India website for ways to establish or update a Monthly Dakshina Practice.

 

How can I strengthen my engagement with the practice of dakshina?

You can strengthen your engagement by practicing dakshina regularly, cultivating your understanding of the practice, preparing for the practice, invoking grace, reflecting on your experience, and aligning the amount you offer with your priorities and means. Below are specific suggestions for ways to do this.

You can practice dakshina regularly by participating in the Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice and making offerings in honor of Siddha Yoga celebrations, teaching and learning events, and events of personal significance throughout the year.

You can study more about the significance of the practice by reading the introductory page The Siddha Yoga Practice of Dakshina and the exposition The Tradition of Dakshina.

Just as you may prepare to practice meditation in a satsang by bringing your asana, you can prepare your dakshina offering before the satsang. This supports you in honoring the sacredness of your offering and giving your full attention to the practice.

When practicing dakshina, you can hold the awareness that you are making a sacred offering to the Guru.

If you are sending dakshina from home, you can honor your offering and invoke grace by singing one of the Siddha Yoga hymns such as Jyota se Jyota Jagao or the Shri Mahalakshmi Stotram, both of which you can also find in The Nectar of Chanting book. If you use an automatic transfer for your Monthly Dakshina Practice, you can sing a hymn or offer a prayer on the day your offering is received.

After making an offering of dakshina, sit quietly to relish the effects of this practice, just as you would after chanting or meditating. This will support you in assimilating your experience. You can regularly reflect on your practice of dakshina by recalling your experiences and insights and writing about them in your journal.

Periodically revisit the amount that you offer to ensure it aligns with your current priorities and means. For example, you may be inspired to do this after receiving a raise at work or on an annual basis or at the beginning of a new year.

If you have made a commitment to give a planned gift or are considering making such a commitment, you can contemplate the significance this has for you.

 

How can I determine the amount of my monthly offering?

You can review your finances in light of your priorities and commitment to offer dakshina. Consider your expenses and financial obligations to determine a monthly offering that is in alignment with your priorities and within your means.

For example, a young adult who is graduating from school or starting their first job can determine an amount that is in accordance with their current budget and revisit that amount as their career progresses.

Many Siddha Yogis determine the amount by offering a percentage of their income as monthly dakshina.

Reflecting on the amount to offer that is right for you is a part of establishing and strengthening a regular practice of dakshina.

 

I have often heard people share that they offer dakshina out of love and gratitude. If I am not experiencing these feelings, is it still okay to make the offering?

Virtues such as love and gratitude are important to cultivate in sadhana.

At the same time, it is important to perform the spiritual practices with discipline and regularity, and not to make our practice contingent upon a particular feeling or experience. We do not chant or sit for meditation only when we are feeling devotion; in the same way, we do not practice dakshina only when experiencing love and gratitude.

 

What are some ways I can speak about the practice of dakshina with my children?

When you speak with your children about dakshina, you can explain the following:

• Dakshina is an offering of money to the Guru.
• In offering dakshina, Siddha Yogis honor the Guru’s grace and teachings.
• Dakshina is a spiritual practice, like chanting, meditation, and seva.
• In the practice of dakshina, we open to the presence of the Guru in our hearts through giving.
• Our offerings of dakshina help make it possible for others around the world to receive the Guru’s teachings.

You can also share your experience of offering dakshina and what it means to you to participate in the Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice.

 

What are some ways I can include my children in the practice of dakshina?

Children learn best from our example. They learn about dakshina when they experience the practice as a regular part of their family’s life.

Children love to give and to express their love through giving. When you practice dakshina with commitment and enthusiasm, and share this with your children, they will naturally learn about and be drawn to the practice of dakshina.

Children can be included in the practice according to their age and stage of development. Below you will find several suggestions for including your children in the practice:

• Keep an envelope on the puja at home in which your family can place dakshina offerings.
  • Children may enjoy decorating the envelopes your family uses for offerings.
  • After offering dakshina at the puja at home, you can sit quietly together and share about your experiences of the practice.
  • If you attend satsang at a Siddha Yoga Ashram, meditation center, or chanting and meditation group, your children can place the envelope in the container for dakshina offerings.
  • If you mail a check, they can help to prepare the envelope and put it into the mailbox.
• Young children are hands-on learners.
  • Young children can learn about the Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice by putting the golden heart stickers (which are sent annually by the SYDA Foundation to monthly dakshina practitioners) on a calendar and then watching for the day each month that your family’s monthly offering is sent or received.
  • When offering dakshina through the Siddha Yoga path website, you may wish to include your children as you fill out the online form and click the button to make your offering.
• When you sing Jyota se Jyota Jagao or the Shri Mahalakshmi Stotram in honor of your monthly offering, your children can listen and participate.
• As a family, you can read and reflect on the introductory page about the practice of dakshina on the Siddha Yoga path website. With older children, you can read and discuss the exposition on dakshina and the shares about the practice of dakshina. Talk about dakshina, share experiences, and gather ideas with other families.

 

I notice that when I make dakshina offerings by check, I write the checks out to the SYDA Foundation. Are they still offerings to the Guru?

Yes, dakshina is always an offering to the Siddha Yoga Guru.

The SYDA Foundation is responsible for receiving the dakshina that Siddha Yogis offer to the Guru and for directing the dakshina to the Foundation’s core purpose of protecting, preserving, and facilitating the dissemination of the Siddha Yoga teachings worldwide. In this way, the dakshina we offer helps to spread the Siddha Yoga teachings and supports the Siddha Yoga Mission.

The charitable trust of Gurudev Siddha Peeth holds the responsibility for receiving and administering dakshina offered by Siddha Yogis within India.

 

When offering dakshina, why do we specifically offer money?

When offering dakshina, we give something that we value highly. In ancient times the items of value offered as dakshina took different forms, such as grain, cattle, and silk. Today, money is a standard measure of value. It is also the form in which the SYDA Foundation and the charitable trust of Gurudev Siddha Peeth are able to receive offerings of dakshina on behalf of the Guru.

 

What is the distinction between practicing dakshina and making donations?

Dakshina is a core Siddha Yoga practice and a part of Siddha Yoga sadhana and studentship. It is an offering to the Guru, and as such is given without stipulation for its use.

Within the context of the Siddha Yoga path, a donation is a contribution given with stipulation for a particular use. For example, Siddha Yogis and friends of the Siddha Yoga path make donations to support specific activities and projects of the SYDA Foundation. They might also donate to support the operations of a Siddha Yoga Ashram, meditation center, or national organization.

 

When I name the SYDA Foundation as a beneficiary of a planned gift, a bequest, is it an offering of dakshina or is it a donation?

Planned gifts, or bequests, which name the SYDA Foundation as a beneficiary without specifying how the gift will be used, are offerings of dakshina.

Planned gifts that are made with a stipulation for how the SYDA Foundation will use them are donations. For example, your planned gift is a donation if you have directed it to support a specific activity of the SYDA Foundation.

 

I would like to arrange to make a planned gift. How do I contact the Planned Giving Department?

You can contact the Planned Giving Department in any of the following ways:

• Email PlannedGiving@syda.org
• Call (+1) 845-434-2000, extension 1543
• Mail to SYDA Foundation, Planned Giving Department, 371 Brickman Road, Hurleyville, NY 12747-6001, USA