Written by Kareena Terry

One of the things that struck me most from my time in India is the warmth and kindness of nearly everyone I met there. While the language barrier does make communication difficult, you can’t mistake the friendliness of a smile or the kindness of a family welcoming you into their home. I’m learning that perhaps words are less important than we think. Although my experience would be easier if I could communicate in a shared language with those I meet, I’ve realised that an emotional connection runs far deeper than an arrangement of letters and the pronunciation of sounds.

On my first day in India, I was taken to a Sewa International Fellowship Camp taking place on the beautiful, green grounds of Keshavshrushti, just outside Mumbai. Whilst I won’t pretend I wasn’t feeling scared, anxious and very lonely at times, the kindness of those I met here absolutely blew me away. I was invited to attend various group sessions where I got to know new and friendly people, many of whom provided their contact details and even invited me to their homes in various parts of the country. This hospitality and warmth I soon found extends to most people in India and is something I feel should be implemented more widely into Western culture.

I witnessed another example of the effortless kindness of strangers when I arrived at Sanvedana in Latur. Here, I met Ashokji who immediately took me under his wing and treated me like family from my very first day. Having grown up in England where such a culture is not impossible to find, but certainly uncommon, I was blown away with gratitude. My first night at Sanvedana was rough to say the least – I felt so far away from home, alone and anxious. I had a tearful talk with Ashokji the next morning who took me to meet Deepatai and Sureshji, the couple who first opened Sanvedana and have a house just next-door. He explained to them that I was struggling and, without any hesitation, the couple agreed that I should be moved to stay with them. I was once again blown away by this act of kindness; to them I was a stranger and yet they welcomed me so openly to their home.

To get from Mumbai to Latur, I had to take an overnight train. This was incredibly daunting to me, since the trains and train stations in India are nothing like those I’m used to back in England. Luckily, my worries were put to rest as soon as I met Vinkatji who works at Sanvedana and accompanied me on the whole journey. He was the kind of friendly person I really needed to ease my anxieties and, once we had arrived in Latur, he too invited me to his home and introduced me to his lovely wife and adorable children, Shlok and Suyash. I visited the family home again on several occasions, where the boys proudly showed me their brilliant homework or invited me to join them in many different games. The family atmosphere was always so warm and welcoming, and I am so thankful for their kindness. This was yet another example of the incredible Indian warmth and hospitality that took me completely by surprise!

 Written by Kareena Terry

My YfS journey began on the 7th of August with my Orientation Day in Leicester. The focus of the day was to prepare us for the journey ahead, to meet other interns and to learn from the experiences of previous YfS interns. Hearing the stories, challenges and successes of previous interns was all I needed to truly start to feel excited about the journey on which I was about to embark, as it began to hit me that I really was about to travel alone to India for the very first time.

The day also consisted of talks on the meaning of ‘sewa’ and the concept of ‘dharma’, both of which are integral parts of Hinduism and underline the YfS process. I learnt to distinguish between the idea of ‘sewa’, meaning selfless service and the idea of charity, which I would previously have also defined as selfless service.

While both do involve helping those less fortunate than ourselves, ‘sewa’ has a greater emphasis on abandonment of the ego and a breaking down of the barrier between ‘us’ and ‘them’ when it comes to helping others. The idea of ‘charity’ often places us in a position of superiority, while performing an act of ‘sewa’ means viewing oneself as equal to all of humanity, including those who are in need.

It does not mean using one’s wealth and privilege to serve others as a means of earning status or recognition, as can often be the motive behind an act of charity, but rather abandoning such desires in order to support the ‘family’ that is all of mankind and to give something back to the world. This was a concept that stuck with me throughout my YfS experience, particularly in my work at Sanvedana Rehabilitation Centre.

The idea of ‘dharma’ was also prominent in my experience. Dharma comes from the Sanskrit word, ‘dhri’, which means to uphold, maintain, or preserve. Whilst different translations and interpretations lead to varying definitions of the word, put simply, ‘dharma’ means ‘that which upholds, maintains and allows flourishing’. I believe this ‘flourishing’ belongs to the entire universe and ‘dharma’ is the means through which this is achieved.

For me, ‘dharma’ is an individualistic concept; one person’s ‘dharma’ can differ from that of the next, and we are all here to discover and create our own ‘dharma’ to uphold and preserve the happiness of the world. With these new concepts in mind, I felt ready to embark on my journey of self-discovery, and selfless contribution to the maintenance and flourishing of the world.

 Written by Sanjana Idnani

In March, I began my Youth For Sewa (YFS) journey with my first orientation day. It started, like many things in this Covid world, on a Zoom call. But this was a transformative zoom call in more ways than one — it was interactive, open, and so informative in preparing us for the months ahead.

The day had three parts — a talk on Sewa and Dharma, a talk on perseverance, and reflection and planning for the internship tasks ahead.

Sewa and Dharma are integral parts of Hinduism and concepts that many Hindus are familiar with. Dharma is righteousness and duty, and Sewa is selfless service. But the perspective I got from YFS alumn, Vipasha’s talk was so beautiful and added new layers to my understanding of these ideas. I want to share a little more about what I learnt in this blog.

As an English student, I was over the moon when Vipasha’s talk began with the origin of the word Dharma. I was not disappointed with the insights this etymology provided. Dharma comes from the Sanskrit word, Dhri, which means to hold, maintain, or preserve. From this word, Dharma then came to be known as how we hold, maintain, or preserve something.

“If we do not believe in what we are doing, our work will suffer. Our mindset is everything.”

To maintain something means to keep it flourishing. We can do this through laws and actions. However, Vipasha was quick to point out we must act with the right mindset or the effect will be limited

We can follow all the possible rules and procedures, we can act in a particular way, but if we do not believe in what we are doing, our work will suffer. Our mindset is everything.

And yet, our mindset when it comes to achieving or preserving anything, while determined, can sometimes be quite individualistic. Western individualism has taught us that if we take care of ourselves, everything else will fall in line.

Vipasha’s perspective on Sewa — selfless service — completely turned that idea on its head, providing us YFS attendees with a whole new framework for thinking.

Vipasha highlighted a concept called the concentric circles of identification. We identify ourselves in many ways — as ourselves, with our family, with our country, and finally with the entire world or universe.

As mentioned above, we often judge our welfare purely by the first circle of identification — me.

But we forget that we are within our family, our country, and our world. The concentric circles of being teaches us to adjust our thinking so that we see the welfare of the universe as the most important thing.

“the entire world is one family.”

When we think in this way, the primary benefit is that we centre others rather than ourselves and act in a mood of selflessness. However, a secondary benefit is that the good welfare of the universe automatically benefits us as we are a part of that universe.

This way of thinking allows everyone to flourish. It is an idea nicely summed up by a teaching in the Vedas: Vasudhaiva kutumbakam which means “the entire world is one family.”

This concept felt even more relevant given we were at a low point of the pandemic. We were in the middle of the third lockdown, winter blues had sunk in, and deadlines were looming. But we were struggling together and we were doing these lockdowns for the safety of those around us. By protecting others, we were also protecting ourselves.

Learning this lesson during the pandemic was a wonderful reminder of the good in the world and our inherent capacity to selflessly serve. It motivated me and helped me realise that Sewa isn’t just an obligation, but that Sewa is a survival instinct that we all need in our lives. It is the absolute essence of our being, and it helps us maintain ourselves and others.

Featured Image courtesy of Yousef Salhamoud via Unsplash. Image license can be found here.

 Written by Pavan Bains

I started the YFS programme 6 months into lockdown and like most others people I was experiencing that now common feeling of zoom fatigue so when I was introduced to my task for October of reading a book I was relieved to do something away from my screen! It had been a while since I’d read a book that wasn’t on my university essential reading list so I was excited to read ‘My Grandfather’s Blessings’.

The author of this book is Dr Rachel Remen, a professor and a physician who uses a spiritual approach to healing her patients. The book contained several short stories from her patients about what she and they had learnt through their medical issues. Over the next few weeks I felt extremely moved by what I read. I would think about the stories I read for days afterwards and couldn’t wait to read the next chapter. Overall, the book was the most moving piece of work I have ever read.

A lot of the spiritual teachings overlapped with Dharmic teachings which I thought I’d share with you.

Whilst reading the book I came across the term frontier culture. It describes the traits of self-reliance, self-sufficiency and independence that were important for survival when Americans began inhabiting areas of land far away from their communities. These traits that would ensure their survival in a hostile and unknown environment. However, even after the end of the frontier we still inhabit these characteristics in western culture. The author points out that individualism and independence won’t allow us to live in the most fulfilling way and it can lead to feelings of sadness and isolation.

So how can we lead lives that move away from the frontier culture?

One of the ways mentioned is by connecting with others through Sewa.

The meaning of sewa is discussed in the book and the author explores the difference between helping and serving (or sewa). This part stood out to me because I’d been asked a similar question during my YFS interview. I thought the author answered the question beautifully when she says that “A helping relationship may incur a sense of debt, but service, like healing, is mutual”. Service or sewa is an experience that both parties are fortunate to experience and over time whilst helping can become draining, sewa will sustain you. When we carry out sewa we connect with others. Through experiencing connectedness serving others becomes a natural and joyful thing to do.

Reading this chapter made me think about the YFS programme and how in a few months I’d be carrying out sewa with an organisation. I was feeling excited for what the next few months held and to read more of this fantastic book!

Written by Soch With Sam

A funny title you may think? The last two weeks of my YfS programme have been inspiring to say the least. Inspiring because I have realised that it is the not the end, rather the beginning of my journey ahead to be a Sevak for my society.

In the two weeks before, I was involved in the paperwork and training for one of my projects under Spread Some Joy: to be a Wellbeing friend.

As part of the services offered by the Slough Council Volunteering Scheme, this role involves having weekly conversations with individuals who are self-isolating over the

phone in their preferred language and spending time listening and talking them to ease the impact of the pandemic. Through this role I can help to identify any problems that individuals might be experiencing, notify the wellbeing team and council of these issues, and ensure clients understand the latest government advice.

This is a project I will certainly be continuing over the lockdown period, as it truly has helped to spread joy to those who need it more than ever now. I managed to have my first calls this week and can’t wait to carry on!

05/08 was truly an amazing day and I had been working on organising this event the weeks before. We went to deliver an appreciation parcel at the Applegarth Care Home and had invited the High Sheriff of Berkshire, Mary Riall, to attend as well.

It was a privilege to discuss with her all the fabulous work the local Sewa Day team had gotten up to over the COVID19 pandemic and for her to see us in action as we gave the appreciation parcels to the care workers.

I had even contacted the local newspaper to arrive so that there is further outreach for our work; and the family who had made the parcel so the children could also see how their work is spreading joy.

It was all worth it for the care workers to then say: “thank you for thinking of us.”

The Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan celebrates the duty of care, the obligation to serve those in need, and celebrates the relationships we hold dear to one another. During these unprecedented times, the value of community spirit has proved to be necessary more than ever. We have seen the spirit of humanity come together with selfless service, breaking down barriers, and embodying in full the essence of the Hindu value of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakum, “the whole world is one family.” This is a central pillar of our work at Sewa Day and to express our gratitude for the tremendous support and care that our key workers have provided to keep us and our communities safe, we have extended the ethos of our festival and even tied Rakhis on our care workers!

At this visit, I tied the Rakhi (sacred thread of protection) on the care home manager and the High Sheriff.

The published article is: https://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/gallery/taplow/160682/sewa-day-volunteers-visit-applegarth-care-home.html

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 Written by Priya

Following on from our book presentations at orientation day 2, I felt inspired to read this book. Karan, a fellow intern, spoke about this book and its storyteller narrative. I felt like this writing style would be attractive to me as I often enjoy reading books which are more informal in nature, and in this case I was correct. This book so far has been a gloriously easy read. It follows the author, Dr Rachel Remen, as she reminisces in her life stories and as she remembers her Grandfathers legacy.

I don’t tend to buy many books first hand for a few reasons; environmentally I feel sort of guilty if I were to buy a book new whilst knowing there is a preloved copy with the same story out there looking for a home and also secondly, through buying secondhand books you get to in a way connect with the previous owner. I was pleasantly surprised when I received my copy of this book in the post because all along the margins and on the inside cover there were lovely little handwritten scribbles. At the start there was this note on the first page saying “Kathy, with all our blessings! -Scott and Melanie”. There was also a little section called “Pages of Importance” in which they, i’m assuming this was Scott and Melanie, wrote out a few passage references which they liked most. I love these and cannot wait until I reach these sections! Will they be equally as important when I read them? In fact I thought the passage on page 6 which they flagged was beautiful. I’m going to share some passages and sections which I really liked and what I would include in my pages of importance xx

• A blessing is not something that one person gives another. A blessing is a moment of meeting, a certain kind of relationship in which both people involved remember and acknowledge their true nature and worth, and strengthen what is whole in one another.
  page 6
  
  
• As life becomes colder and somehow harder, we struggle to create places of safety for ourselves and those we love through our learning, our skills, our income. We build places of security in our homes and our offices and even our cars. These places separate us from one another. Perhaps our only place of refuge is in the goodness in each other.
  page 10
  
  
• We can bless others only when we feel blessed ourselves. Blessing life may be more about learning how to celebrate life than learning how to fix life
  page 18
  
  
• Grieving is not about forgetting. Grieving allows us to heal, to remember with love rather than pain. It is a sorting process. One by one you let go of things that are gone and you mourn for them. One by one you take hold of the things that have become a part of who you are and build again.,l;l
  page 38

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 Written by Karan Patel

The dictionary definition of gratitude is the quality of being thankful, the readiness to show appreciation and to return the kindness you have received. To me gratitude means being thankful for everything I have in my life even the simple things such as water and food, it means appreciating and acknowledging all the blessings I have received, it means living life as if everything is a miracle. The more you practice being grateful the faster your perspective on life will change; it will change from focusing on the things which are missing in your life to the things that you have in your life.

Harvard university conducted a study to see the effects of gratitude has on people. They had three groups who each had a different task, one group were asked to write the things they were grateful for the things that happened during the week. The other group were asked to write about the things the were irritated by or things that annoyed them during the week. The final group were asked to write about things that affected them – without any emphasis on being positive or negative. After 10 weeks of doing this they found that those who wrote about being grateful were more optimistic and felt better about life. They also found that this group exercised more and had less visits to the physicians compared to the group who wrote about the things that irritated or annoyed them.

It is amazing how a simple thing like being grateful can have a huge impact on one’s life in such a positive way. There are many ways in which one can be grateful: you can write a thank-you note expressing your enjoyment and how it has impacted you. You can count your blessings: reflecting on your blessings and on what went right or what you are grateful of.  You can include the gratitude in your prayers. I am grateful that you took your time to read my blog. Thank You!

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 Written by Neel Joshi

Namaste and welcome along to my Youth for Sewa expedition, one in which I hope to learn the true essence of selfless and devotional service while on my journey through Bharat. A historical landscape esteemed in culture, traditions and values. This journey is not aimed at me “helping” in the improvement of such Sewa projects, no, I aim to focus on Karyakarta Nirman, developing myself  through Atmeeyataa (relationship), Swadhyay (self-study), Antarik Vikaas (self-introspection) and Atyanta Pramanikata (reliability, integrity, and honesty).

As part of the YfS process. An understanding must first be developed as to the true nature of the task and project at hand. This is through the soft skills workshops such as righteous conduct, the removal of selfishness, learning the development of 21st Century India and writing to create effect when writing these blogs.

Orientation day 2 provided a more in depth analysis as to the true difficulties India faces, as interns, we presented on a matter which we restricts India’s development as a recognised world leader. I focussed upon India’s colonial rule as to the source of the current injustices faced in the region. The disparity in the customs across different areas/states further hindered by the perception shown in western media which downgrades and mocks the abilities of the Indian people. These ideas were further encouraged in the session led by the highly intellectual Sachin-ji Nandha whom also highlighted the further inequality in the healthcare system, sanitation and access to clean water. This led to some further thought provoking discussion as to the rebuilding process for the nation.

Following on from this, the gracious Vidhu-ji Sharma delivered her creative writing session which explained how to explain macro story using a micro format. This I found helps build substance and setting to the story by focussing on the specifics. This I feel would be of real benefit when my make my journey to Bharat and document my travels.

To end the orientation day, we were left with some final remarks by former YfS intern, Meet, who explained the meaning gratitude. From the session, I have learnt that happiness takes many forms and this idea relates back to a lesson taught n the book, Sadhana of Service which explained that

“To enjoy oneself is selfishness, but to enjoy along with others is enlightened happiness”
Eknath-ji Ranade – Sadhana of Service

which I believe embodies the true essence of gratitude. Share and enjoy experiences together as happiness is infectious and can be shared by everyone. This is the core objectives when conducting sewa.

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 Written by Meet Mehta

Today is my last day here in Nashik.

It has been a real rollercoaster ride, mostly filled with ups and very very few downs. I can honestly say I am sad to be leaving. For the first time , in a long long time, I feel content. I feel happy with myself and have gained loving traits. Before I would see slum kids. Now I see beautiful children playing innocently enjoying each other’s company. Before I saw villagers soiled in animal dung ploughing the fields, now I see my countrymen working hard to provide our families with food on the table and see that it is my responsibility to ensure they do not get caught in the agricultural scam.

I have always had love for my home country, India, Bharat, Hindustan. After this experience, I love my country even more, I love the beauty of the pitruesque landscapes filled with waterfalls and lush fields of rice. I love the warm smiles of my countrymen who are delighted to see me. I love the cows, mothers who gives us its milk, peacocks, chickens and goats alike.

This experience has changed me. Not in an obvious explainable way, but I feel I have found my purpose. I feel I know what makes me content and satisfied, something I have been in the pursuit of for years. I am unexplainably blissful. I am intoxicated without being under the influence.

I do not see the people here and feel sorry for them. I am proud of my brothers and sisters. What they go through everyday , the unconditional love they have for a person who smiles and says “Namaskar” to them. The values they have where they feed their guests with a smile on their face but empty stomachs. The gratitude and respect they show to organisations that care about them and their wellbeing.

I am in love with Bharat. The sweat, the insect bites, the glistening freshwater falls, the snarling wild dogs, the lush green fields, the strong smelling streets, the tasty spicy food. I love it all and want to come back here as often as I can.

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 Written by Manuj Mishra

Its been almost two weeks now since I flew back to London with my Grandma and I’ve been thinking quite a bit about Samvedana and the various things I’ve seen. In this post, I want to summarise my thoughts and experiences outside of the project itself in the form of pictures that I’ve taken throughout my 6 week internship.

One concept that is very prevalant in India and is almost never seen in the UK is the idea of Desh Bhakti (which translates to worship of the country). When Indians refer to their country, they will often refer to it as Bharat Mata (Mother India) and their country is often spoken about with the same reverence that they would use when speaking about God. In the Western countries, concepts of patriotism do exist but there is nothing quite like the Desh Bhakti of Indians. I have found, in my experience, that there are many people in India who have sacrificed huge amounts of time in their lives to better their society. When asked why, I have found that the answer is usually rooted in Desh Bhakti.

I spent a few days with a man called Shankar Jadhav, who had spent 7 years of his life working with indigenous people and helping them develop their access to basic food, water, and healthcare. With him, I travelled from Latur to Osmanabad visiting 12 different families on the way. He now runs a small Bharat Mata Mandir (temple) in Lohara. This is me and his son, holding the Bhagwa Dhwaj.

One day, on my travels with Shankar Jadhav, we were far away from any town and it was getting quite late in the afternoon. We still handn’t eaten lunch so we pulled into this farm. We met this wonderful farmer who let us wander round his fields and pick anything we wanted. Lunch for me that day was about a half-dozen fresh pomegranates. What astounded me most was that this farmer didn’t charge us anything to eat from his fields. The generosity of the poor is something I’ve seen so much of in India and it’s something that I can never forget.

In the village of Killari, I met a man called Chandrashekhar. He was a civil servant who really wanted to learn English. In the few days that I was at Killari, I talked to him many times and taught him quite a lot of English. I went to his house for dinner and he showed me his extensive coin collection which included coins from the Mughal Empire. Before I left, I made sure to gave him a british two poind coin to add to his collection. This photo was taken by his friend who is a professional photographer. When we think of villagers, we usually have a narrow-minded view of what they do in their daily lives. It is easy to forget that they also have hobbies like coin-collection and photography.

Back at Samvedana, I spent much of the final week teaching year 5 kids English. Sitting here with my tea in one hand, waiting for the students to finish an exercise I had set them and thinking about when I’d get my lunch break, I felt like a true teacher.

Next door, at Janakalyan, the boarding school for (non-disabled) kids, one of the boys showed me this book he was reading. I was amazed to see that these boys went through the same experience of reading Harry Potter as I did when I was their age.

On most days, I would spend the afternoons at Janakalya. I got to play loads of sports including Football, Cricket, Kho-Kho, and Kabaddi.

Of course, I have wayyyy too many pictures to put in one blog post so I’ll be sure to make at least one more picture-based posts in the coming weeks.

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