How to give
In the ordinary world, giving appears simple. One person has something; another does not. The first offers, the second receives. It’s an exchange across a divide.
But in the deep current of the spiritual life, that divide dissolves. Ram Dass called this the illusion of giver and receiver. From the view of the soul or from consciousness itself, there are not two—only the One, wearing different faces. The hands that offer and the hands that receive are moved by the same heart.
True giving is not transactional. It does not keep score, weigh worthiness, or measure return. It is love serving love, God serving God, Self serving Self. When giving springs from this place, there is no “I” who gives, no “you” who receives, no object that changes hands. There is only the movement of grace through form.
This is why the sages speak of seva—selfless service—as a path to liberation. In fact, Swami Kriyananda (direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda) said that seva is the most direct path to the dissolution of the egoic self. Each selfless act is a softening of the ego’s grip, a loosening of the “me” who wants credit, thanks, or recognition. In this space, generosity becomes effortless, like a tree shading the earth or a river nourishing the fields.
And the beauty is this: the so-called “recipient” is also the giver, for they allow the flow to complete its circle. Without them, the love you are could not find its way into form.
So, let us give, not to fix, not to rescue, but because it is our nature to do so. Give as the sun shines, without thought of who stands in the light. Let the act be its own joy, for there was never a separate giver, never a separate receiver—only the endless dance of the One, playing at two.
Through loving awareness,