“The science of transcendental knowledge has been imparted to you, O Arjuna.
Now listen to the science of God-dedicated, selfless action (Seva), endowed with which you will free yourself from all Karmic bondage, or sin. (2.39)
No effort ever goes to waste in selfless service, and there is no adverse effect.
Even a little practice of this discipline protects one from the cycle of repeated birth and death”
~ Bhagavad Gita
Seva, or selfless service, is a beautiful privilege bestowed to us from the divine. It is opportunity by which we can express our gratitude towards the Supreme for all that we have been blessed and further share this unconditional love with the rest of creation.
As stated by Krishna himself, eventually, every action should be performed selflessly without any attachment for the action itself or any desire for reward as a result. To adopt this selfless mindset and passionate work ethic requires us to immerse ourselves in divine knowledge to center ourselves to the truth. However, as Krishna reminds us, knowledge itself is insufficient. To free ourselves from the bonds of attachment, we must apply ourselves in accordance to that divine vision.
Therefore, community service is one context by which we can engage in Seva. Community service, is fundamentally unconditional, we invest our time and energy into an activity to fulfill a need for our community and its members without expectation for any desired result. It should be noted that engaging in this Seva without knowledge may be detrimental for our spiritual sadhana. It is vital to realize that we are merely God’s instrument, simply a conduit through which the divine source is flowing to touch our communities. Without this vision we are susceptible to false and inflated egos, using this selfish satisfaction to fuel any and all of our actions. This strips the essence of Seva and cannot even be called the same. It mutates into another selfish action instead of fostering our spiritual elevation. Remaining steadfast in our Seva requires us to experience, practice, and reflect on the knowledge that has been imparted to us in a disciplined manner.
Furthermore, via community service, we are able to honor the Chinmaya Mission pledge reminding ourselves of the beauty of living a “noble life of sacrifice and service” in accordance with “producing more than what we consume and giving more than what we take.” In addition to praying that the Lord’s “grace and blessing flow through us to the world around us” we are able to experience and engage in this incredible feat first-hand. Through our devotion to the people and our community, we engage in the practice of seeing beyond the senses, reaching closer to envisioning the Supreme Self in every inch of creation.
At Chinmaya Mission Raleigh Durham, we engage in Seva by participating in activities like Food Bank and Highway Cleanup.
Food Bank – Our young volunteers will tour the distribution center and participate in an age-appropriate food sorting project. An example of a Kids Day volunteer project is repackaging bulk food into family-size portions (potatoes or rice) or labeling Capri Sun packets with ingredients. It is a great opportunity for families and groups to work and learn together.
Highway Cleanup – This is an opportunity to keep our environment clean and also kids can get their volunteer hours for the time they spend. More details can be found here.