What is Seva?

Seva is a Sanskrti word from the root sev meaning to attend to or to go towards.  This has been expanded to mean service performed in a selfless, compassionate way.  In English, Seva has been translated as "selfless service".  Selfless could be considered as having or exhibiting no concern for oneself.  A selfless person puts the wellbeing of others ahead of any need for personal gain or achievement.  This princple of Seva or selfless service may seem foreign to those who have been taught that the most important goals in life are to get ahead of the competition so you can "succeed in life" or to be the best you can be (for your own benefit, not for everyone else's).  A more harmonious way of living would be to follow the example of the Sun- it shines on all equally, providing support for the growth of all beings, not asking for anything in return.  Are you shining like the Sun?

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Losing Selfishness, Gaining Freedom

In the West (and increasingly in the East), many people view every personal interaction in terms of a transaction:  I will give this and in return I want that.  While this philosophy of living appears to have value in a commercial, material world, it is quite limiting.  In reverse, it becomes:  I won’t give this unless I can get that.  All giving is based on some condition of an expected equal or greater return in value.   Yet because of the restrictions imposed, the true value of what is received is greatly reduced. 

What is not clearly understood is that when one gives wholeheartedly, without reservation or condition, one is opening fully to receive an infinite array of “benefits”: joy, love, happiness and fulfillment.  Why is this?  Conditions are like pre-set computer programs that say, “only if this happens, then I will open and give”.   When this programming is removed, the heart will open naturally and the resistance to giving and accepting love, joy, happiness and peace will be dissolved.

The spirit behind Seva, or selfless service, can be looked upon in simple terms that do not depend on the idea that a transaction must take place for one to be content.  When one wants to do something for someone he or she loves and this act comes from the heart, then the mere act of serving becomes a source of immense joy.  Love flows freely, without condition or expectation of reward or recognition.

One way to generate a more selfless attitude and manner is to dedicate the merit of any service performed for the betterment and spiritual upliftment of all beings everywhere.  You are not performing a service with the idea or thought that you will benefit in any way- you act solely for the benefit of others.

Mahatma Gandhi is a great example of a person who lived with an attitude of selfless service.  He did not seek to bring about change of rule in India because he wanted that to happen for himself.   Rather, Gandhi looked to a higher purpose, that all people have the right of self-determination, dignity and freedom.   Many other people in India were inspired by Gandhi’s acts of selflessness and non-violence and joined him to make a change in their world and, more broadly, in the world in which we live today.

One does not have to take on such a task as Gandhi did in order to be of service, to perform Seva.  Start at home with your family and look to your community for ways in which you can support someone in need.   If one feels moved to do so, one can offer Seva to the teacher or guru, or to a spiritual community or Sangha.  Ultimately, all true Seva is dedicated to Truth, the Dharma, God, the Absolute, the One…the Highest Source of all things.

As Gandhi has been quoted as saying:  “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”.  What you “lose” is selfishness, what you gain is freedom.

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