Seva - The transformative effect of a gently placed bowl of oatmeal

Meaning

The Sanskrit word Seva (सेवा) means "selfless service." Seva is a fundamental concept in Hinduism and Buddhism, that is practiced by people in so many different ways irrespective of religion. This can be categorized into devotional Seva and Seva in the context of service to humanity.

Introduction to Devotional Seva

There are many collective examples of devotional seva, from Homams performed to purify environments and bring about divinity within ourselves to bhajans (group devotional singing) and chanting mantras. There are also devotional stories of Seva rooted in examples of saints and sages. One that particularly stands out to me is an old story about the devotion of a layman and the extent of his Seva to Lord Shiva.

The Story

The story goes that the layman worshipped a Shiva Lingam in the best way he knew how; by bringing offerings of meat while doing his version of a puja (prayer ceremony). Every time he brought offerings, a more orthodox saint would be appalled because meat is considered an impure offering. The priest would clean up the offerings of the layman and repurify the environment, apologizing to the divine on behalf of the layman. One day, after noticing this, Lord Shiva appeared before the priest and told him that the layman's devotion was pure. The priest doubted Shiva, challenged him, and asked him to prove it. To prove it, Shiva asked the priest to hide and observe the pure devotion of the layman.

The next day, when the layman appeared to give his offerings to the Shiva Lingam, he saw blood on the eyes of the Shiva Lingam. To alleviate this situation, he tried offering food, nearby herbs, and many more solutions, but nothing worked. In desperation, the man took an arrow out and plucked his own eye out, placing it on the Shiva Lingam. When that didn't work, he positioned himself with his feet held up to his eye to extract his second eye and offer it to Shiva. Before he could do so, Shiva appeared before both of them, blessing the two and showing the priest the selfless nature of the layman's devotion.

Explanation

The truth is, I have no idea if this story is true. This was a story I read about when I was a little kid. While I don't look too far into the origins of the story, I think it highlights an exceptional concept of trying to do selfless service in any way you can. This story has always taught me the value of selfless service, and no one has reinforced that more than my parents and grandparents.

Seva - U truly matter

U Truly Matter is a group of people who are dedicated to helping unhoused people get access to necessities, starting with food. I've been a part of the group since its inception and for more than three years. We have had such an incredible impact on unhoused people. I've seen people get jobs, get off the street, and get back on their feet. But most importantly, I've seen people who didn't believe in their own humanity regain a spark of life.

Contextualizing Service: Seva to Humanity

There are so many moments of Seva that I could share, but I want to focus on moments that contrast the value of independent actors with the value "sprayed and prayed" out by social programs. When you dedicate your time to helping people, it really changes them. A mentor of mine went out of his way to help unhoused people get access to identification and other services.

My Own Experiences

In the case of my own experiences, I helped someone get a job. This gentleman was a former employee at Microsoft who fell into difficult circumstances. I first noticed how clearly he articulated himself and began helping him learn how to pass basic data center technician interviews. Despite the rust in his skills, I could see how much he cared and I made it my mission to help him. I spent nearly a month FaceTiming with him to work on interview skills together. We had a couple really funny interactions at this time including walking through debugging on App Native IDEs (yes he was doing DSA on his phone and killing it). This was during a time when I was looking for internships and felt devoid of value because I was not getting the results I had hoped for. Helping him helped heal my internal value compass, and it felt like we were helping each other in different ways.

Another example was Alex (not using his real name for privacy), who was around my age and wanted to enroll at community college (something I highly encouraged him to do). I'll never forget when he told me I was the only person who ever believed in him and spoke to him as an equal. He lived under a tattered-up sheet on an old couch (that was missing a cushion) on the side of the highway. His dad overdosed because of an addiction later that year. It's so hard to see someone like Alex, who is my own age, experiencing such unbelievably difficult circumstances.

One of the most important lessons I've learned

The title of this blog is "Seva - The transformative effect of a gently placed bowl of oatmeal." This idea is derived from a meeting with someone who inspired Seva. I honestly forgot his name, but he does a lot of non-profit work across the world. He was talking to us about the importance of minute actions like the manner in which you place food on the plate of someone you're doing service for. Specifically, he mentioned that often unhoused or unfed people genuinely conveyed to him that the care in which he placed food in their bowls felt like a warm hug. Many people felt that at soup kitchens or other organizations, sometimes volunteers would "plop" the food on their plates, and how that felt demeaning. It really brings to the forefront of my thoughts the importance of small acts of care. The difference between gently placing oatmeal on a bowl and "plopping" it on can be juxtaposed by the contrast of a warm hug and a slap across the face. Service has to be selfless, genuine, and from a place of empathy rather than sympathy.

Full Disclosure

Honestly, I haven't done Seva in a while, even though I used to do it very often. I like to blame it on time, but the truth is I haven't made the time to do so and I really hope I start doing it again.

Conclusion

Doing Seva helped me so much at a time when I was honestly struggling a bit in my life. Empathizing with other people teaches you not only to value other people for their humanity but also to value your own humanity. To me, Seva means so much more than just helping others. Seva is symbiotic in nature, where extending a hand to someone else also gives you a helping hand.

Learn More

If you're interested in learning more about Seva, please check out the website for Seva - U Truly Matter at Seva - U Truly Matter. If you're interested in volunteering, please reach out to me to volunteer (wherever you're located). If you want to start your own non-profit and want a website, I'll send you the source code for FREE and help you integrate it with your particular case!