In English, the word seva is translated to mean service, but in reality, it is the culmination and perfection of karma yoga. When a person is able to perform karma yoga with three ideas: participation, perfection and no expectation, the state of seva is experienced. Ishwara pranidhana, complete dedication to the Lord, happens automatically. When there is no expectation, one let’s go and surrenders. When there is total participation, one-pointedness is experienced. As one strives for perfection, one sees new expressions of creativity. The mind, emotions and actions, head, heart and hands, become aligned and balanced. This balanced expression is known as seva.
Swami Sivananda went one step further when defining seva. He said the purpose of seva is to purify the heart. Purification of the heart comes about when expectations and attachments are refined. When they are no longer sensorial or sensual, they do not carry any idea of gain or loss. Instead, one feels for others as one does for oneself. There is a shift in perception, a shift from being self-orientated to self-expressive.
Seva is a state of participation in life at a higher level of consciousness. Seva means the final stage of human involvement in the world, while being in a higher state of consciousness. The literal meaning of the word seva is ‘to be with that’, saha eva, to be with that which is human, compassionate and loving.
Seva means to connect with the divine transcendental nature and express that nature in thought, word and deed. Of course, to do this, one needs to let go of the many identities and ideas that are held close. This is where the concept of letting go or surrender comes in. Surrendering to the divine will and becoming the instrument of its peace is the outcome of seva. At the final level of seva, one becomes only a medium of expressing God’s grace and will. That is the real meaning of the word seva, where one is ‘with That’.