Volunteering
Seva, selfless service, as volunteering.
Seva, Selfless service
Seva is a concept found throughout Hindu traditions. In our tradition, we take inspiration and guidance from such sages as Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo, who said, “The joy of service and the joy of inner growth through work is the sufficient recompense of the selfless worker.”
Volunteering is one way that we accomplish this goal, performing work that serves our communities while helping to gain experience that deepens our empathy, expands our knowledge, and helps to control our egos. Much of our seva can be found in our Citizen Science and Social Justice sections, but we welcome more than this. Opportunities to serve without attachment or the expectation of reward come to us from all sides at all times. As a guiding principle, we are vigilant for these opportunities and understand them to be Divinely orchestrated for the purpose of our healing and growth. Pick up the trash on the side of the road, help someone cross the street, donate $5 at the grocery store checkout and don’t give them your name - opportunities are everywhere. We serve for the sake of love, for connection, and in doing so we recognize that sometimes we are the recipients of such care and attention.
In giving, we learn to receive as well. In Tantra, the spider sometimes symbolizes the Divine Mother, who creates out of Her own self. As the spider eats their web, the creation returns to the beginning. We’re all part of this web, and continually learning about and experiencing this interconnectedness is key to our practice.
We welcome opportunities for such service, and invite those within our community and beyond to join us in that work.