Selfless service; service to others while trying to serve the God within them. (Glossary for the Vahinis)

When you go into the qualifications needed for seva, you will know that a pure heart uncontaminated by conceit, greed, envy, hatred or competition is essential; also, faith in God, as the spring of vitality, virtue, and justice. Seva is the worship you offer to the God in the heart of everyone. Do not ask for another which state he belongs to or which caste or creed he professes. See your favourite form of God in that other person; as a matter of fact, he is not other at all. It is His image, as much as you are. You are not helping some one individual ; you are adoring Me, in him. I am before you in that Form; so, what room is there for the ego in you to raise its hood? (SSS Vol.10

Wherever you see a sick person, a dispirited, disconsolate, diseased person, there is your field of service. Every blood cell, every nerve, must tingle with Love, with eagerness to share that Love with the forlorn. When Love has filled the heart, it has really been transformed into Divinity, for, God is Love and Love is God.

The relief and joy that you give to the sick and the sad, reach Me, for I am in their hearts, and I am the One they call out for. God has no need of your service; does he suffer from pain in the legs, or ache in the stomach? Try to serve the godly; be dasanudasas - servant of the servants of the Lord. The service of man is the only means by which you can serve God. (SSS Vol.10)

As a preliminary to seva you have to win purity of heart. You must examine your motives and skills, your intentions and qualifications, and discover for yourself what you hope to achieve through the seva. You should ferret out any trace of egotism, and also the desire for fame. Preliminary to any seva, you have to uproot all egotistic tendencies, get rid of all sense of mine and thine and burn to ashes the pride that comes of the feeling that you are offering service to someone poorer and less fortunate. Do not hesitate to practise humility and obedience, discipline and compassion. Give up pride at your status, wealth, scholarship or official position. But more essential is another type of seva. Carry in the inner pocket, the heart, a box with a few tablets of discrimination, an ounce or two of sense control and a few packets of powder prepared as the mixture of love and forbearance. Use this box to infuse courage and compassion in others and in yourself.(SSS Vol. 14)

Seva is the worship you offer to the God in the heart of everyone. (SSS Vol.8, p. 1)

Seva is more fruitful than japa, dhyana, yajna and yoga, usually recommended for spiritual aspirants, for it serves two purposes: the extinction of the ego and attainment of ananda. (SSS Vol.8, p. 2)

Seva is a process through which the lower wisdom, and after that, even higher wisdom can be gained. Education is essential if man is to be inspired by this high ideal of Seva as Sadhana. Not the acquisition of information or skills, but the sublimation of impulses, emotions and passions, the mastery of the wayward mind, the grounding of the individual in the eternal Atma. You must be encouraged to investigate your own reality and discover your limitless core. Do not entangle yourselves in the relatively real: anchor your life on the Absolute. That is the education needed. It will make you one with the Lord of the Universe. You will draw all the Love, Power and Wisdom therefrom. (SSS Vol.7, p. 469)

Train yourselves to serve God by serving man, in whom there is God installed in the heart. Convince yourselves that the seva of man is worship of God. (SSS Vol.6, p. 65)

The real value of Seva, and its most visible result is that it transforms and reshapes you. (BU1:4, p. 160)

You are called Sevaks (Servant), because you are engaged in Seva (Service). What exactly is Seva? Is it the way in which Bhakti (devotion) manifests itself, a consequence of devotion? Or is it the cause of Bhakti, one of the methods by which Bhakti is expressed and developed? It is neither. It is not the sine qua non of Bhakti, nor is it the result. It is the very essence of Bhakthi, the very breath of a Bhakta (devotee), his very nature. It springs from the actual experience of the Bhakta – an experience that convinces him that all beings are God s children, that all bodies are altars where God is installed, that all places are His Residences. Consider Seva as the best Sadhana (spiritual discipline). This is a great chance that you have secured. Seva must be directed towards the removal of physical distress, the alleviation of mental agony, and the fulfilment of spiritual yearning. (SSS Vol.7, p. 9)

Seva is the primary means through which the heart is purified. (S, p. 28)

The Worship of the individual self, which is the other name for seva, can be done with some little gain, only when the heart is pure. (S, p. 28)

Modern man is acquisitive and has not cultivated a heart filled with sacrifice and love. Then seva becomes Yoga, union with the Divine. (S, p. 56)

The first lesson in Seva has to be learnt in the family circle itself. Father, mother, brothers, sisters-in the limited group, which is well- knit, one must engage in loving service and prepare for the wider Seva that awaits outside the home. The character of each individual member determines the peace and prosperity of the family; the character of each family is the basic factor that decides the happiness and joy of the village or the community. And, the nation’s progress is based on the strength and happiness of the communities, which are its components. So, for the welfare of the country and of the entire world, the spirit of service, vital enthusiasm, constructive imagination, pure motivation, and selfish alertness are all urgently needed. (SSS Vol.15)

Basic Purpose Of Seva

Was it beyond the power of Rama to discover Sita in Lanka Himself? What need was there for Him to send Hanuman? Rama wanted Hanuman to go on the search, so that He could show to the world the devotion and steadfastness and faith of Hanuman. It is a case of Grace on the part of Rama. In the same manner, if Sai so much as wants to do so many things Himself, He could do anything. This endeavour is not for the sake of Sai. It is done through these Seva Organisations so that members of the organisation get the chance to do service and redeem themselves. Try to understand the basic truth that these avenues of service have been provided so that you will get good name for yourselves and not for the sake of Sai. (SSS Vol.17, p. 111)

Karma is Sadhana, when it is done as Seva. The Seva attitude is most beneficial to the person rendering it as well as to others. Seva is the best use to which the body can be put. In fact, you are not doing Seva to others. You are doing it always to yourselves, to the God in you, the God who is equally present in others. Your spiritual hunger can be quenched only by more frequent Seva, at least for two or four hours a day. Each one of you wastes more hours every day in gossip and scandal mongering. Better than these barren pursuits, one can visit hospital wards or villages or sweep and clean bazaars or bus stations.

These little acts of Seva can confer on you great spiritual benefit. Firstly, it will destroy your egoism. Pride will transform friends into enemies; it will keep kinsmen afar; it will defeat all good schemes. Seva will develop in you the quality of humility. Humility will enable you to work in happy unison with others. (SSS Vol.11, pp. 197-198)

The accent henceforth in the Sai Movement will be on Seva - Seva not in the sense of service to the less fortunate members of society as a social welfare concept, but loving service rendered spontaneously and unselfishly to any one in need, in the spirit of worship of the Divine and as an offering to the Divine. (SS Feb ’85, p. 29)

Seva is a pre-requisite in the way to leadership... Seva as a matter of fact, is the easiest of spiritual sadhana... In your youthful enthusiasm, do not overstrain yourself in social service activities, at great cost of your resources, time and energy. The rural welfare programmes for example, make the villagers learn and do work for themselves. May your service fire their imagination with a self-awareness to redeem themselves. (YG, p.69)

I really do all Seva (service) and allow you to take the credit for it. (Uniq, p.153)

Serving the poor in the villages is the best form of Sadhana. In the various forms of worship of the Divine, culminating Atmanivedanam (complete surrender to the Divine), Seva comes before Atnanivedanam. God’s grace will come when Seva is done without expectation of reward or recognition. Sometimes ahamkaram (ego) and abhimanam (attachment) rear their heads during Seva. These should be eliminated altogether. (SSS Vol.18, pp.11-12)