A Quiet Life of Seva

eric mccarty
2 min readApr 11, 2024
Seva — Service — Headless Now — Lyrical Prose — Moca McCarty Photo

A quiet life of Seva:

lately, I’ve been thinking of the concept of seva, a Sanskrit term for selfless service and is usually viewed as a means of practicing karma yoga, a transformative means of surrounding ourselves to the aid of others without concern for personal attainment. This is the path that mindfully recognized the ego as it rebels against what often feels like such a thankless task, instead of an attempt to subdue this voice of displeasure and personal demands, it’s simply recognized and worked through until it eventually surrenders to the joy of serving others.

it seems to be a difficult path to follow.

yet only to a point of that surrender.

and then we serve with love…

for that’s all we have to give.

seva.

traditionally seva is practiced within a community, being of service to a guru and the place of gathering for their devotees, an ashram. It’s pointing other peoples needs above our own and surrendering the results of our actions to God. In this way we are actually serving in worship to life through its various manifestations and forms, trusting that every appearance is divine.

it can be a beautiful path.

but lately, I’m thinking more on intimate terms, a quiet life of seva, just a small…

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eric mccarty

Writer, prose poetry, meditation teacher and lifetime student