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NamasteNancy wrote:

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I'm curious to find out how many of you participate in some sort of annual Seva. Giving with no expection of receiving. I'm wrapping up a whole summer series of Free Yoga in the Park, which I've provided to my community at no cost, twice weekly for four months. I've had over 100 people per class and sometimes upwards of 200. It has been an amazing journey, for while I had no expectation going in, I have reaped many backend benefits and business. One thing that has manifested is that I was asked to speak on a marketing panel this fall about why selfless giving should be a componet of every business. Would you be willing to share your experience with Seva and if in giving - something manifested for you?

Nancy
http://www.namasteworksyoga.com

Hi Nancy,

Seva can be seen as a form of karma yoga and bhakti yoga combined. The purpose is to loosen up (and if lucky lose) the egoic delusion, thus acting as the hands and limbs of Mahesvara. In that sense it is isvara pranidhana (surrender to our highest creative potential) and also asteya (non-hoarding and generosity) . All the yams and niyams have one purpose, to loosen up our petty attachments to limited knowledge and beingness and bring us into complete alignment with Sat-Chit-Ananda (pure and complete presence, pure and unobstructed awareness, and unconditional everlasting bliss!

I also teach yoga only on a donation basis, but when I do work for survival, I try to keep that awareness of seva alive as an indicator of that vast spaciousness of being and vast knowledge which it encompasses, where the barriers of "self and other" no longer have any draw or power. I trust in the good results of selfless service (seva), while making sure that it is skillful; i.e., the intent to help has to integrated with wisdom in order to be skillful and effective. Although not being attached to results, seva has to create some karmic or spiritual benefit in order for it to be seva.


Donny

EDIT:
PS: Further...

By you opening yourself up to giving freely (without expectation of reward) you are opening up others to receiving. When people are open to receiving, they are open to giving. Open giving begets open receiving and that compassionate mindset becomes magnified. You have opened up a doorway or have at least shined your light through it illuminating it.

According to yoga, this gets down to karma where we can make positive changes (good karma) in our life through skillful means (wise and compassionate) activity.

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"Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness." -Allen Ginsberg

"Nobody knows whether we were catalysts or invented something, or just the froth riding on a wave of its own. We were all three, I suppose." - Allen Ginsberg

Hi Nancy,

That's very innovative and thanks for sharing. In business "service is our most important product", but in business one expects reciprocity. The act of generosity, giving, and/or creating abundance is generally performed by those who have realized a higher understanding of the laws of karma. Seva is most often associated as a combination of karma yoga and bhakti yoga as in selfless service or selfless love.

The Sanskrit word, seva, does not mean thread. If I am wrong, please I would like to learn about it if you can provide a citation/refermce. Thanks

I suggest that if we are use Sanskrit words, then we should acknowledge their traditional Sanskrit meanings. In order not to contribute to any additional confusion in this regard, I'd like to offer that the traditional accepted definition of the Sanskrit term, seva, remains "selfless service": service without expecting material reciprocity. It has been used that way for millennia. The key word in the definition is selfless, not "selfish", to make a crucial point. It is also translated as surrender to divine will or doing god's work, which is interpreted as manifesting love as in your selfless love and devotion (bhakti) manifests as god's work in compassionate or healing activity on the planet.The key point of the key point is that the rewrad is in the giving. There is no expectation in that giving, rather it is free and spontaneous. Hence Seva as bahkti/karma yoga is a step beyond generosity which may include karmic expectations/rewards. .

Just to make a clear distinction that seva is a lofty ideal, above that of ordinary generosity, and more so above that of ordinary contractual service for remuneration (like I serve you and you pay/reward me). Also the element of selfless has to be aligned with what is wise. For example, it is not seva when we help a swindler steal, a murderer kill, a liar lie, contribute materially to a war effort, or help an exploiter abuse others, even if we may do that unknowingly and without the expectation of material reward. The latter is just mindless stupidity, not seva, according to its traditional purport.

For seva to be skillfully expressed, the aid to others must be rendered without expectation of worldly reciprocity (aparigraha), plus the nature of work must not be at the expense of others, create harm (himsa), nor promote dishonesty (asteya), asatya (produce confusion or lies), or act counter to any of the yams. This type of seva has its own simultaneous rewards such as in prema seva (service in love), seva-ananda (the joy of service), Kṛṣṇa-seva-ananda - the transcendental bliss of serving Kṛṣṇa, etc

Seva, as selfless service, occurs naturally and spontaneously once the obstructions of the mindstream and nadis have been removed. What is left is pure love in action.

Thanks for the share and modern interpretation. Helping others helps ourselves, once we realize the wisdom behind love and compassion.

Jai MA!

Donny

Hey Marianne!

How wonderful. It's another wonderful opportunity to express our love (bhakti/prem) -- Opening the door for its free expression. What a great opportunity, the joy being in the giving in the moment - in the activity. Every moment provides an opportunity if we open to it, but dumbed down people, like me, need an objectified structure to remind me of the possibility... for the most part.

Secondarily, generosity and compassion affects our future karma, as in creating causes for future happiness (spiritual transformation) which dislodge old mental habits (generating wisdom and merit -- prajna and karuna). Kirtan is like both karma and bhakti yoga combined, while the rewards are instantaneous as well as intangible (subtle) -- both. Although the sounds or actions are not necessary, such give the gives the pure loving formless intent an area of provocation, hence its manifestation.

"In the present context, we can say that those who have not learned to recognize the true nature of mind, ultimate bodhicitta, are only able to exchange themselves for other beings and to try to eliminate the suffering of others through prayer, visualization, and empathizing with others. However, if one knows how to recognize the true nature of mind, and mixes or merges the exchange of self and others with the recognition of mind nature, this is the best possible way to practice this exchange. The ultimate awakening of bodhicitta includes the realization that the true nature of all living beings is utterly free from all the varieties of temporary, conceptual confusion that normally deludes them. In fact, all beings share the true nature of phenomena (dharmata), which is emptiness. All beings have awareness-wisdom (rigpa'i yeshe), the luminous clear light of the nature of reality. The true nature of all living beings is the expanse of primordial purity (kadag ying). This essence is present in all living beings, and it never leaves them, but they fail to recognize it. Recognizing it is the ultimate awakening of bodhicitta."

~HE Chogye Trichen Rinpoche

Don'e

This is the hot link to HHDL's video entitled "War is Outmoded" --it's time has come!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C4Yw_BNrVs

"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."

- Albert Schweitzer

Hi Nancy,

It is my turn to thank you for educating me on the true roots of the ancient Sanskrit word, sevA. For some strange reason all my Sanskrit dictionaries including the standard (Monier-Williams Sanskrit English dictionary) still says that sevA means serving; to serve, to attend upon, etc. Most other sites continue to confirm its usage as selfless service.

From Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary: v0.3 RC1 :

From Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary: v0.3 RC1 :

From Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary: v0.3 RC1 :

From Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary: v0.3 RC1 :

See http://lexica.indica-et-buddhica.org/dict/lexica

See:http://www.ee.adfa.edu.au/staff/hrp/personal/Sanskrit-External/mw_dict_xhtml/s.html

Seva Foundation

Here is a great video with Ram Dass on the Seva Foundation Mission which translates to them as divine work, selfless service, working to help "others".

From Kripalu
This is an excellently researched article from a Sikh site. It provides many excellent references.

Literally there are thousands of reliable sites and dictionaries which give sevA as devotional or selfless service. This is the common yogic meaning, not string. Again Monier-Williams translation can be considered as literal as it gets..

I totally agree with you that a thread or web interconnects us all. That word, for thread or string is most often translated as sutra. Further, I think the main purpose/intent behind sevA in a yogic sense, is to do this for those who need it the most. This is not serving god, but expressing love through inner grace (ishvara pranidhana). Vara means grace, while ish or Ishta means inner and refers to the universal inner teacher (inside all). If you like, it's doing god's work, but in the Yoga Sutras at least, we do not use the concept of God.

Shivarea says that the: "Sanskrit word Seva translates directly as string, implying that all things are connected in the thread of existence. To engage with one is to engage with the whole. Likewise, to serve one is to serve the whole." However, she does not give any references. I can't find any justification for this. Can you?

Logically, string for sevA, makes no sense to me. If sevA were just a string, then rope made from strings used to tie up people would also be an extension of the word, seva. Perhaps a ball of yarn would be sevA also. This defeats the meaning of the word. Thus sevA must mean more than string. I was only able to find a few sites that used SevA as string. They all repeat Shivarea's definition verbatim. Giving no citations, I suspect that they simply are repeating what Shivarea reported. I see some people referenced to wikipedia, but Wikipedia wisely has taken out all references to seva as meaning string. Please note that all of the other sites that mentioned sevA as string are from Westerners, while none of them have stated that they have studied Sanskrit or gave any references. One thing though, they all sound alike -- like perhaps they got it from Shivarea?. .

SevA is actually an ancient Sanskrit word and in all the ancient literature nowhere can I find it meaning string. Please give me some references for this claim. I am more than willing to learn more, but not fro yound Western yoga teachers who have not studied Sanskrit..

I'm just trying to find out the truth here. String doesn't make any sense as a direct translation (and I have a few Sanskrit dictionaries), but please give me some authoritative references. Thanks.

Light and Love - live and learn!

Donny

Hi Lil

Yes, seva comes from that sweet space in the beautiful heart.

According to Patanjali, seva (as isvara pranidhana) is a natural, spontaneous, and effortless reflection/response to knowing the true "self" (swarupa sunyam). That occurs when the mental obscurations (the chief ones being pride, ignorance, and attachment) are purified through the heat of yoga. Kriya yoga II.1-2 is very clear on the relationship between self study (swadhyaya), this purification fire (tapas), and isvara pranidhana (surrender to our innate inner most teacher). All that reflects wisdom (prajna), while prajna is married to a transpersonal and non-dual intelligent selflessness (compassion) where we are all connected - all one big family. As you well know, this cannot be learned analytically through philosophical study or logic, but must be tasted/experienced through functional yoga practice - within that context.

On the other hand, if seva becomes misunderstood as a mechanical means for selfish gain or personal reward, then I think the heart-wisdom of the idea has become reversed and perverted. I don't think it can be understood that way.

I am not saying that there are not well meaning people who donate time, effort, or money to various projects, but without that heart-wisdom, foolish compassion just becomes a diversion at best, and sometimes can actually harm.

In short, there is a wisdom in true compassion as it reflects the culmination of yoga in samadhi. There is also compassion in that all encompassing boundless wisdom. In the traditional yoga context, we can call karuna, love, just as well, with the qualifier that it is not foolish or neurotic love, but direct spiritual passion (tapas) unleashed by our innate evolutionary potentiality (isvara), when given attention (cit) --

Karuna Ma

"when self is defined

as separate

I and it are separated

I and thou becomes unrecognized

when selflessness is recognized

experientially

all bounds are broken asunder

we become as one"

Anon