Seva
Also known as: Selfless Service, Karma Seva
Sanskrit: seva, meaning service.
Seva is selfless service performed without expectation of personal reward or recognition, considered in Indian spiritual traditions to be a form of spiritual practice in its own right, purifying the ego and cultivating compassion through action rather than solely through meditation or study. It is closely connected to karma yoga.
Traditional teaching distinguishes seva from ordinary volunteering primarily by its inner orientation: the same outward action becomes seva when performed without attachment to praise, results, or reciprocation, offered rather than transacted. Modern research on volunteering and prosocial behavior has independently found associations between regular service and measures of wellbeing, offering a psychological parallel to the traditional claim that selfless action benefits the giver as much as the receiver.
Seva is distinguished in the tradition from ordinary charity or volunteering by its motivation: it is offered without expectation of recognition, payment, or even a good outcome, closely related to the principle of nishkama karma, action without attachment to results, found in Karma Yoga. Community kitchens, or langar, at Sikh gurdwaras, open to anyone regardless of background, are one of the most visible living examples of seva as an organized daily practice rather than an occasional act.
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Related Terms
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is the path of selfless action described in the Bhagavad Gita, teaching that one can attain spiritual liberation by performing one's duties and work without attachment to personal outcomes or reward, offering the fruits of action rather than grasping at them.
Guru
A guru is a teacher in Indian spiritual tradition who has direct, lived realization of the teaching they transmit and who guides a student's spiritual development through instruction, example, and relationship over time. The term is traditionally reserved for a teacher of significant depth, used more carefully than its casual modern use.