Benevolence

 
 

“Benevolence is the characteristic element of humanity.”

Confucius

 

Benevolence is a virtue that springs from goodwill.

Furthermore, it is one of the principles of righteous living in all religions. And it entails infusing generosity into every relationship, engagement and interaction that we have with other people, young or old and even with animals.

It is an internal force that compels us to lend our help to others with little or no chance of reward as the Scottish moral philosopher Adam Smith discovered:

“To feel much for others and little for ourselves, that to restrain our selfish, and to indulge our benevolent affections, constitutes the perfection of human nature.”

Fortunately, when we dedicate ourselves to fulfilling the need of others, we have a deep sense of personal satisfaction that is hard to describe in words.

Now let’s get a little bit practical.

 

How to Demonstrate More Benevolence

Ultimately, benevolence is not only the key to true success; it is what genuine fulfilment is all about.

The Indian philosopher, Chanakya wrote about this a few centuries ago in the following words: “He who nurtures benevolence for all creatures within his heart overcomes all difficulties and will be the recipient of all types of riches at every step.”

In other words, we won’t achieve our meaningful personal dreams by being self-centered and egotistical but by being benevolent, generous and well-meaning.

This is so because once we are caring enough to make other people succeed first, in return other people will likely go out of their way to cater for our own personal needs.

And to apply this in real life, all we need to do is simply put ourselves in the shoes of the other persons. It is no wonder then that Mencius, the Chinese philosopher once wrote: “Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence.”

Therefore, I advise myself and you to make it our personal mission to make someone else’s day brighter now and again; it is a great way to live an exceptional life.

In this direction, an American social reformer, Henry Ward Beecher enlightens us further when he wrote: “Every fresh act of benevolence is the herald of deeper satisfaction; every charitable act a stepping-stone towards heaven.”

Remember, benevolence is not just a virtue of spirituality and religion; it is also a principle of true prosperity and success.