The Law Of Receiving & Giving
We know that giving a gift is a noble act. We also need to know, as per Vedanta, that whatever we want in our life, we have to give it first. Similarly, what most people do not know, that receiving a gift gracefully, is equally important; as it elevates the giver. My understandings are based on continuous research through Vedanta, Gita, self study, meditation, and realisation through messages that I receive incessantly from God. Have you realised, we have no problem in understanding and recognising each other, as a Human being. That is because, we have realised and recognised ourselves to be a Human being. On the contrary, even when we read in all scriptures, that we are God’s children, it is very difficult for us, to see other’s, as God’s children. We do not see our husbands, our wife’s, our children, our parents, our teachers, our colleagues, our friends or our brothers, as God’s children. It is because, we fail to see the God within our own self, we fail to connect with the God within. Our journey in life, is just to do that, become one with God, in this life alone.
When we do, then this little ‘I’, ‘Me’, ‘Myself’, goes away. You and I, stop to exist and we become one. Then receiving and giving has different connotations, different understandings.
Who is giving & Who is receiving? – You also know, nothing happens without God’s wish. Who are we to propose to give any gift. Through us as the medium, it is God alone who gives us the gift and He alone receives the gift. He himself is the giver and he also is the receiver.
This Universe, as per Vedanta, operates through the laws of dynamic exchange – giving’ and ‘receiving’ are two different aspects of flow of energy, in the Universe. And in our willingness to receive joyfully and give joyfully; we receive effortlessly from the Universe, what we seek, what we desire. We keep the abundances (wealth, richness, lavishness) of this Universe, circulating in our lives. We realize, despite all the abuses and misuses of humans, we, yet do not have any shortage of ‘air to breath’, ‘water to drink’ and God has given food to everyone – the microscopic life deep under the ground, up in the sky, the old, the aged and the new borns!
When you are disconnected with these dynamic exchanges of receiving and giving, we find ourselves deprived of the abundance of the Universe. We start to count, how much we have, how much we need, what bills we have to pay and what is my bank balance?
The few lines of the translations of Vedanta & Brihadarnakya Upanishad is for you, to reflect and meditate upon.
This Law of Giving and Receiving, is because the Universe operates through dynamic exchange. Nothing is static. Your body is in dynamic and constant exchange with the body of the universe; your mind is dynamically interacting with the mind of the cosmos; your energy is an expression of cosmic energy.
The flow of life is nothing other than the harmonious interaction of all the elements and forces that structure the field of existence. This harmonious interaction of elements and forces in your life operates as the Law of ‘Receiving and Giving’. Because your body and your mind and the universe are in constant and dynamic exchange, stopping the circulation of energy is like stopping the flow of blood. Whenever blood stops flowing, it begins to clot, to coagulate, to stagnate. That is why you must give and receive in order to keep wealth and affluence – or anything else you want in – circulating in your life.
The word affluence comes from the root word “affluence”, where means “to flow to”. The word affluence means “to flow in abundance”. Money is really a symbol of the life energy we exchange and the life energy we use a result of the service we provide to the universe. Another word for money is “currency”, which also reflects the flowing nature of energy. The word currency comes from the Latin word “currere” which means “to run” or to flow.
Therefore, if we stop the circulation of money – if our only intention is to hold on to our money and hoard it – since it is life energy, we will stop its circulation back into our lives as well. In order to keep that energy coming to us, we have to keep the energy circulating. Like a river, money must keep flowing, otherwise it begins to stagnate, to clog, to suffocate and strangle its very own life force. Circulation keeps it alive and vital.
Every relationship is one of ‘give and take’. Giving engenders receiving, and receiving engenders giving. What goes up must come down; what goes out must come back. In reality, receiving is the same thing as giving, because giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe. And if you stop the flow of either, you interfere with nature’s intelligence. I apply this law sincerely in my life and I, with the Divine Grace, have experienced this truth continuously. These principles have changed my life and have created a sense of abundance of God’s Universe, where there is no shortage for anything.
In every seed is the promise of thousands of forests. But the seed must not be hoarded; it must give its intelligence to the fertile ground. Through its giving, its unseen energy flows into material manifestation.
The more you give, the more you will receive, because you will keep the abundance of the universe circulating in your life. Similarly, the more you receive, the more you will have the potential and a cheerful attitude to give. In fact, anything that is of value in life only multiplies when it is given. That which doesn’t multiply through giving is neither worth giving nor worth receiving. If, through the act of giving, you feel you have lost something, then the gift is not truly given and will not cause increase. If you give grudgingly, there is no energy behind that giving. Similarly, when you receive with a feeling, as if you have been bought or under obligation, you have not received with the openness of a child. You have blocked the flow of energy and have created a wall, between You & the Giver. You have lost an opportunity to elevate the Giver, by receiving the gift gracefully.
It is the intention behind your giving and receiving that is the most important thing. The intention should always be to create happiness for the giver and receiver, because happiness is life-supporting and life-sustaining and therefore generates increase. The return is directly proportional to the giving when it is unconditional and from the heart. That is why the act of giving and receiving, has to be joyful – the frame of mind has to be one in which you feel joy in the very act of giving. Then the energy behind the giving and receiving, increases many times over.
Practicing the Law of Receiving & Giving is actually very simple: if you want joy, give joy to others; if you want love, learn to give love; if you want attention and appreciation, learn to give attention and appreciation; if you want material affluence, help others to become materially affluent. In fact, the easiest way to get what you want is to help others get what they want. This principle works equally well for individuals, corporations, societies and nations, If you want to be blessed with all the good things in life, learn to silently bless everyone with all the good things in life.
Even the thought of giving, the thought of blessing, or a simple prayer has the power to affect others. This is because our body, reduced to its essential state, is a localised bundle of energy and information in a universe of energy and information. We are localised bundles of consciousness in a conscious universe. The word “consciousness” implies more than just energy and information – it implies energy and information which is alive as thought. Therefore we are bundles of thought in a thinking universe. And thought has the power to transform. We don’t mind receiving a compliment or a prayer from anyone, with a smile. But, have you realised that the moment we receive some materialistic gift or money, immediately we start to calculate, ‘How much’. In other words, we have given tremendous importance to the material world and the money and not have remained child-like, who does not know, ‘What is Money?’
Life is the eternal dance of consciousness that expresses itself as the dynamic exchange of impulses of intelligence between microcosm and macrocosm, between the human body and the universal body, between the human mind and the cosmic mind.
When you learn to give that which you seek, you activate and choreograph the dance with an exquisite, energetic and vital movement that constitutes the eternal throb of life.
The best way to put the Law of Giving into operation – to start the whole process of circulation – is to make a decision that any time you come into contact with anyone, you will give them something. It doesn’t have to be in the form of material things; it could be a flower, a compliment, or a prayer. In fact, the most powerful forms of giving are non-material. The gifts of caring, attention, affection, appreciation and love are some of the most precious gifts you can give and they don’t cost you anything.
When you meet someone, you can silently send them a blessing, wishing them happiness, joy and laughter. This kind of silent giving is very powerful.
One of the things I was taught as a child and which I have been teaching my devotees and school children also, is never to go to anyone’s house without bringing something – never visit anyone without bringing them a gift. You may say, “How can I give to others when at the moment I don’t have enough myself?” You can bring a flower. You can bring a note or a card, which says something about your feelings for the person you’re visiting. You can bring a compliment. You can bring a prayer.
Make a decision to give wherever you go, to whomever you see. As long as you’re giving, you will be receiving. The more you give, the more confidence you will gain in receiving and in the miraculous effects of this law. And as you receive more, your ability to give more will also increase.
Our true nature is one of affluence and abundance; we are naturally affluent because nature supports every need and desire. We lack nothing, because our essential nature is one of pure potentiality and infinite possibilities. Therefore, you must know that you are already inherently affluent, no matter how much or how little money you have, because the source of all wealth is the field of pure potentiality – it is the consciousness that knows how to fulfill every need, including joy, love, laughter, peace, harmony and knowledge. If you seek these things first – not only for yourself, but for others – all else will come to you spontaneously.
Applying The Law Of Giving
I put the Law of Giving into effect by making a commitment to take the following steps, in my everyday life:
(1) Wherever I go and whoever I encounter, I will bring them a gift. The gift may be a compliment, a flower, or a prayer. Today, I will give something to everyone I come into contact with and so I will begin the process of circulating joy, wealth and affluence in my life and in the lives of others.
(2) Today I will gratefully receive all the gifts that life has to offer me. I will receive the gifts of nature: sunlight and the sound of birds singing, or spring showers or the first snow of winter. I will also be open to receiving from others, whether it be in the form of a material gift, money, a compliment, or a prayer.
(3) I will make a commitment to keep wealth circulating in my life by giving and receiving life’s most precious gifts: the gifts of caring, affection, appreciation and love. Each time I meet someone, I will silently wish them happiness, joy and laughter.
I pray to Heavenly Father, Mother, Friend, Our Beloved God that may you be able to, establish peace, love, joy & abundance of material world, where there is no shortage of anything. May you be able to, establish and spread this love for God, in the heart of all. May you be able to, with His Divine Grace, establish that Inner Peace, where everything is possible. May you be able to unite, in this life alone, become one with God, through experiential realisation.
Let me quote a few lines from Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali
The universe operates through dynamic exchange … giving and receiving are different aspects of the flow of energy in the universe.
And in our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of
the universe circulating in our lives.
his frail vessel thou emptiest again and again,
and fillest it ever with fresh life. This little flute of
a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and
hast breathed through it melodies eternally
new…. Thy infinite gifts come to me only on
those very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and
still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.