You can be happy not just when you receive but also when you give something. Remember the saying – giving beats receiving. Giving brings joy and in addition, contentment, peace and fulfilment. By giving, I don’t mean only material things. Any act of love, compassion and kindness can be the best form of giving a person can do.
In Srimad Bhagwad Gita, when Lord Krishna tells Arjuna the importance of Karma, he says Karma is best performed when it is without any expectation of return.
So when you give without any expectation, you will find yourself experiencing joy. Why so? Because in giving, you adopt a higher level of consciousness and awareness about the universe. Giving opens up your Heart Chakra and removes any judgement you may have, allowing acceptance of people and things. And in this way, you are aligned to your Higher Self, your true nature of compassion, joy and bliss.
Giving can take many forms. It can be done in cash, in kind and as a service. When you give cash, the receiver has the liberty to use the money as per his immediate needs.
If you are giving in kind, assess the needs of the person first and depending on their situation, you can offer blankets, food, clothes, books, shoes, mat, utensils or other items of basic needs.
If you don’t have the means to give in cash or kind, you can offer your service by sponsoring someone’s education, or by facilitating some need of the person. You can offer to teach a child or a person in your free time, or help a person accomplish some worthy goal.
In the highest form of giving, there is no “Me” and “You” involved. A true giver removes his ego from the picture and in doing so, embodies his soul nature of selflessness. When the ego goes away, nothing separates you from the other person. There is no one higher or lower, no have or have-not and you are connected to your Higher Self, the Sat Chit Ananda.
Those who give selflessly will receive selflessly. When you give something, look deeply into the other person’s eyes and give with compassion, with your own hands. In this way, you will receive gratitude and good wishes from the other person. After all, giving should not be just an act of giving. You must remain open to receiving the blessings of the other person.
All of us have, at some or other time, been a giver and a receiver. The Law of the Universe lays down that whatever goes around comes around. Thus, it is in the giving that we receive.
