One of my favourite childhood memories is when I gave my savings to our servant’s child so that he could buy new clothes for Eid. It was not a very large amount and he couldn’t have probably bought a new dress with it, but I could tell from the child’s reaction that it meant the world to him.

The feeling I had after doing this was overwhelming and it was worth giving away the money for. The best part was yet to follow as the Eidi I got that Eid was much more than I ever had on any previous Eids. The additional amount I got was more than the amount I had given to that poor child!

The act of giving is magical in itself for the benefit it brings to both the “giver” and the “receiver”. However, giving is not instinctive and the primary natural instinct for many of us is to hold on to what we have rather than to give it away to others.

But if it is done in the right way, the act of giving has advantages that only few people can imagine.

Anything you give away with gladness returns to you multiplied many times over the quantity you give away. Some of the wealthiest people in the world have given away millions of dollars in charity and help to others. Some of them maintain that giving money away has been their secret to acquire the riches that they have. The more they give, the richer they get.

This aspect has been endorsed by many prosperity writers and teachers. Based on their research, they maintain that giving of money as charity and help is the secret and best way to get rich. However it is giving of money in the right spirit that counts.

You should give only for the pleasure of giving and making someone else happy. Anything given away that makes you regret the act of giving or feel bad about parting with the money or any other material thing, doesn’t bring forth the expected return.

What applies for money also applies to other things that you give away. If you want more clothes, then give away your old clothes or the ones that are not very important for you. If you want more success, then help others succeed so that the doors of opportunity and success open up for you. If you want more love in your life, then love your family and friends more.

In short, anything you want more of will come to you if you learn to give it away in kind first.

As Confucius noted in The Analects, “You yourself desire rank and standing; then help others to get rank and standing. You want to turn your own merits to account; then help others to turn theirs to account.”

As you sow, so shall you reap, so make sure that you make the right use of the karma that exists in the life of each one of us.

However, you must take care to give everything away with purity of heart and not expect returns from the person you are doing a favour to.

Giving also teaches you to be grateful for the blessings and things you have. You become thankful to God for giving you things and making you in a position to help others. And you also feel good for being able to help someone.

You can test for yourself the concept of giving to be sure of its rewards. Make a resolve to give things away. It can be anything — a smile, a prayer, a blessing, a compliment — whatever you give away will find its way back to you multiplied. And then when you are sure of the workability of the idea of giving, you can build on that and achieve your wishes and aims. Whatever you want to have in life, you can have it by helping others get the same. There are no limits to the things that you might like to give and you will always get a return similar to what you have given away, if not more.

The material value of things we give is not as important as our intentions and the sincerity of desire with which we are giving.

Many times when you give something away as help or kindness, you feel a little regret at having done so. At those times fight that negative feeling within you and try to reason with yourself. The negative feeling from within can be overcome if you realise fully that it’s not a sacrifice you are making — whatever you give is for the good of everyone concerned, including yourself.

So give as much as you can and anything you can but solely for the pleasure and good feeling of giving and whatever you give away will find its way back to you in some form, sooner or later. Happy giving!