Commonly Asked Questions About the
Siddha Yoga Practice of Dakshina
- What is dakshina?
- When can I offer dakshina?
- How can I make an offering of dakshina?
- What is the Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice, and how can I participate?
- How can I determine the amount of my monthly offering?
- What are some ways I can speak about the practice of dakshina with my children?
- 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?
- When offering dakshina, why do we specifically offer money?
- What is the distinction between practicing dakshina and making donations?
- 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?
- I would like to arrange to make a planned gift. How do I contact the Planned Giving Department?
Dakshina is the Siddha Yoga practice of making monetary offerings to the Guru and is an important part of Siddha Yoga sadhana. In the practice of offering dakshina, we honor the invaluable knowledge that the Guru imparts, the knowledge of the Self. As we offer dakshina regularly and with awareness, we open our hearts to receive and assimilate the Guru’s grace and teachings, and thereby become increasingly established in our identity with the inner Self.
Siddha Yogis offer dakshina without specifying how it will be used or expecting material gain. The word dakshina also refers to the offering itself.
Dakshina is offered regularly as a part of sadhana by Siddha Yogis of all ages. A way you can engage in this core practice is through the Siddha Yoga Monthly Dakshina Practice. (See question below.)
In addition, you can offer dakshina in honor of Siddha Yoga holidays and teaching and learning events, and during darshan in a Siddha Yoga Ashram, meditation center, or chanting and meditation group.
You can offer dakshina whenever inspired to do so and on occasions of personal significance, such as the day you received shaktipat initiation or a birthday. Or, you may wish to honor such occasions by increasing your monthly offering of dakshina.
You can also create a plan to offer dakshina at the end of your life by arranging to give a financial gift (a bequest), naming the SYDA Foundation as a beneficiary. Learn more about planned giving here.
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 [email protected]
- 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 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.
Read the Questions and Answers about Dakshina with Swami Indirananda to learn about ways to bring greater awareness to your monthly offering of 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 [email protected]. 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.
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 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.
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 Siddha Yoga practice, like chanting, meditation, and seva.
- In the practice of offering dakshina to the Guru, we open our hearts and learn that the Guru is always with us.
- Our offerings of dakshina also 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.
To learn about ways you can include your children in the practice of dakshina, read the Questions and Answers about Dakshina with Swami Indirananda.
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.
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 [email protected]
- Call (+1) 845-434-2000, extension 1543
- Mail to SYDA Foundation, Planned Giving Department, 371 Brickman Road, Hurleyville, NY 12747-6001, USA