BENEVOLENT (Kindness)

To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfishness and exercise our benevolent affections, constitute the perfection of human nature - Adam Smith

 Week 1 : Becoming Benevolent - Practice of Soul-Consciousness

The first method is to increase the awareness of the self as soul and reduce the illusion (false belief) that we are our body. This ensures that all actions come from an inner state of peace, generosity and benevolence (kindness), without any personal gain or conscious desire for any return. This requires the gentle effort of constantly reminding ourselves who and what we are — soul not body. Our identification with our body is so strong that it can be drawn like a curtain across our consciousness in a second.

Week 2 : Becoming Benevolent – Changing yourself

There is no greater teacher than one's own practical example. To be really benevolent therefore means that I must first change, then I have the power, the knowledge and the experience of thinking and doing for the ultimate benefit of all.

Week 3 : Worry free through Benevolence

With Benevolent feelings and good wishes we can free people from worrying. When we come across someone who is faced with a difficult situation because of which he is worrying, we too usually tend to think about it. Instead of helping the other person to be free from worrying, we too begin to worry. This doesn't help either of us in anyway but only adds to the negativity of the situation. We need to develop such benevolent feelings for the one who is going through the situation that the power of our positive feelings will spread to them too. It will act like the light of the lamp, which helps to dispel the darkness around. Only when there is positivity in the mind will they be able to think of some solution.

Week 4 : Bringing true Non-Violence through Good wishes and Benevolent Feelings

Normally we pay a lot of attention not to hurt people physically but end up hurting others through our words. This creates negativity in others which in turn affects us negatively too. Our work too is affected by these kind of words. In order to bring true non-violence in our lives, it is equally important to pay special attention to our words too. The basis of words that don't hurt others are positive thoughts – thoughts based on good wishes and benevolent feelings for others.