How to acquire merit?
Question
Hello,
It is said that accumulating merit is very important if you want to achieve hish stage of samadhi.
But for example if someone is not rich himself how can he give much to others? Can you accumulate merit only by purity of mind (bramacharya) and mindfulness or yoga meditation? Its hard to give when you are poor yourself... What produce more merit, giving or bramacharya? Bramacharya is hard but everyone have the necessary to do it.
Answer
1. One should not aspire to intentionally gain merit. To whom does merit or demerit apply? To the body & the Ego and not to your self which is ever pure and taint free. Such intentional actions to gain merit cause bondage and impede Samadhi as well as liberation.
2. What is required is to surrender all actions to God and work with a Ego free perspective, neither caring for merit nor demerit. When one follows one's Dharma with this attitude, striving for liberation, Samadhi dawns by itself.
You need not give money (which itself is impermanent) to others. Your only duty is to know your self. If that much is sought after through Dharma (duty) and Sadhana (practice), everything takes care of itself. So simply adhere to honest Brahmacharya to know the self and let go of useless things such as merit or demerit.
ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)