On this episode of Living with Reality, Dr. Robert Svoboda covers the three Da’s: Dama (self-control), Daya (compassion) and Dāna (generosity).
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The Three Da’s
Through a story of the creator Prajapati in the Vedic tradition, Dr. Svoboda covers what he calls the three Da’s. The three Da’s are the three great qualities all humans possess: Dama (self-control), Dāna (generosity), and Daya (compassion).
“And Prajapati was then satisfied, because each of the classes of beings that he had taught had understood what was the appropriate lesson for them. And this, of course, is a lesson that all of us should remember as we move through the world of today; we should maintain self-control, we should maintain compassion, we should maintain generosity.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda
Great People (10:30)
What makes a person great? Dr. Svoboda talks about the qualities of the three Da’s in relation to how great people act in this world. He explores why generosity and donating our time, money, and resources might be the most important part of the equation.
“Great people are great not because they are well known, not because they are rich, not because they are powerful; the really, truly, great people are great because at all times they are concerned with the welfare of others.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda
Ram Dass and Raghu Markus have a conversation around generosity on Here and Now Ep. 129
The Importance of Generosity (19:02)
Dr. Svoboda shares a Sanskrit Shloka about how everything in the world has a potential value, that there is no human being who is completely worthless. We can all bring some benefit to the world when we act according to our personal dharma. He ends by reiterating the importance of generosity and why it’s the characteristic humans need to spend the most time contemplating.
“So the challenge in life is not that all of these things are lying around and we can’t use them, the challenge is finding out how to use them.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda
