Radhanath Swami On Seva

21-Seva

 

“Seva does not simply means to serve, seva means to serve with no egoism and no selfishness.” – Radhanath Swami

Real seva means we are not considering what we will get in return. Seva is service with the intent to please the object of our service. Cultivating this attitude brings about real bhakti, real love. So in this sense, by external considerations, there is no big or small service.

“Big and small are seen by Krishna only in reference to the content of our sincerity, and the purity of our love.” – Radhanath Swami

One can build a magnificent temple with pure love and that is a great service, or one can offer a simple flower and that is just as good, may be even better, depending on the internal quality of how we are genuinely trying to please the Lord. One of the reasons our spiritual progress gets impeded is because we don’t really appreciate the opportunity to serve.

The human ego wants to be served. The human ego wants to be glorified. And to the degree we hold onto these attachments, we cannot really appreciate the supreme, eternal, infinite value of glorifying Krishna, glorifying and serving those who love Krishna.

– Radhanath Swami

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78 comments

  1. Very profound and powerful truth spoken by Radhanath Swami. It pierce through my heart

  2. The first statement itself from Radhanath Swami is so powerful –

    Seva does not simply means to serve, seva means to serve with no egoism and no selfishness.

  3. Serving the Lord without false ego and without expectations but with loving feelings is the right attitude to draw the Lord’s attention.
    Thank you for this wonderful explanation Maharaj

  4. Even just by developing a service attitude one can make his journey towards perfection.

  5. “Seva does not simply means to serve, seva means to serve with no egoism and no selfishness. Real seva means we are not considering what we will get in return. Seva is service with the intent to please the object of our service. Cultivating this attitude brings about real bhakti, real love. ” A profound meaning of seva and the root of bhakti.

  6. Without service there is no servant. Waiting for the opportunity to serve having no intention to get anything in return but just to please. He must be the great soul. All glories to HH Radhanatha Svami Maharaja.

    1. True. Great souls are eager to serve and have the right attitude. Thanks Radhanath Swami.

  7. Beautiful article on what seva means! Heartfelt gratitude to swami Radhanath for sharing this with us.

  8. This is an enlightening statement by Radhanath Swami-

    Seva does not simply means to serve, seva means to serve with no egoism and no selfishness.

  9. The true gift is an opportunity to serve the Lord and His children selflessly. Radhanath Swami reminds us the need of sincerity in our service attitude.

  10. Thank you so much HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj Ji for such an inspiring & wonderful article..

  11. This is really very deep article. Lord accepts whatever we offer to Him with love and devotion. That is the success of any service.

  12. This is an enlightening statement by Radhanath Swami-

    Big and small are seen by Krishna only in reference to the content of our sincerity

  13. Very enlivening to read..Needed to remind ourselves again & again of this very vital principle of DS.

  14. Thanks to Radhanath Swami for explaining us the subtleties of devotional service. I liked below portion from the article:-

    seva means to serve with no egoism and no selfishness. Real seva means we are not considering what we will get in return.

  15. This article really pushes us towards removing our egoistic propensities.

  16. This is a very nice explanation of the word “seva”. Let us pray to the Lord that we get to do such a kind of seva always.

  17. “The human ego wants to be served. The human ego wants to be glorified. And to the degree we hold onto these attachments, we cannot really
    appreciate the supreme, eternal, infinite value of glorifying Krishna, glorifying and serving those who love Krishna.” What a great lesson? We should be guarded against ego and this is within. This is a struggle to be fought with determination.

  18. As HH Radhanath Swami says, any heart gets full satisfaction only when engaged in the selfless service through glorification of Krishna.

  19. Radhanath Swami shared a nectarine point in this wonderful article : ” One of the reasons our spiritual progress gets impeded is because we don’t really appreciate the opportunity to serve”.

    It is so important to appreciate what sevas are given to us. Sometime if we can’t appreciate the sevas we are rendering, those services are taken away from us.

  20. Big and small are seen by Krishna only in reference to the content of our sincerity, and the purity of our love.. so enlightening statement by Radhanath Swami

  21. “Big and small are seen by Krishna only in reference to the content of our sincerity, and the purity of our love” Thank you Radhanath swami for this excellent article.

  22. These are the words of wisdom by Radhanath Swami if imbibed sincerely would transform one’s life. Being selfless and sincere and remaining in that mood calls for a lot of spiritual exercise of regular hearing, reading and contemplation. Thank you for this point should be continuously reiterated in one’s mind to become a better serving human being.

  23. Radhanath Swami explains the real meaning of service which is absolutely stunning. We pray to be able to have proper attitude of service. Thank you for sharing.

  24. As HH Radhanath Swami says, whenever we are getting the opportunities for seva we should immediately take up them as the are the highest wealth one can get.

  25. We have practically seen Radhanath Swami exhibiting the seva mood during his stay at New Vrindavan in those austere conditions.

  26. I remember HH Radhanath Swami once saying in a lecture that any seva to Krishna and His devotees is the most precious thing in the world. You should know it to be a privilige that you are getting to serve rather than feel it to be a burden.

  27. Such a clear reason that impedes the progress, I can certainly relate to this.

    “One of the reasons our spiritual progress gets impeded is because we don’t really appreciate the opportunity to serve.”

    Many Thanks to HH Radhanath Swami for this eye opener.

  28. deeply realized instruction…something as an aspiring devotee, must follow

  29. Swamiji has so beautifully described the glories of devotional service & the attitude with which we should carry it out……

  30. My prayers to Krishna that Il can develop this service attitude towards devotees of Krishna

  31. True! Our seva must be unconditional with no motives and no expectations for praise or acknowledgement

  32. One of the reasons our spiritual progress gets impeded is because we don’t really appreciate the opportunity to serve.

    Thanks Radhanath Swami for telling us about the imp reason choking our progress in bhakti.

  33. Best Definition of Seva in just 2 key words : seva means to serve with NO EGOISM and NO SELFISHNESS..

    Thank you Maharaj !!

  34. “Big and small services are seen by Krishna only in reference to the content of our sincerity, and the purity of our love.”

    The above line from the article teaches, Bhakti is not an external activity but an internal process!

    Thank you Radhanath swami very much for this nectar.

  35. One of HH Radhanath Swmai’s quotes, “If we take joy in our own greatness, it will be washed away by the waves of time. If we take pleasure in Krishna’s greatness, we dive into an ocean of spiritual joy.”

  36. These words spoken by Radhanath Swami will help me for my personal development as there is a desire to get name, fame & recognition if if I am trying to serve the Lord.

  37. Thank you Radhanath swami for this very illuminating article on the real mood that one should cultivate when serving.

  38. deeply enlightening and liberating. I sincerely pray and wish I can emulate such mood of service – no ego and selfishness and serve with no desire for profit, adoration and distinction.

  39. Thanks Radhanath swmai for explaining real meaning of seve.’Seva does not simply means to serve, seva means to serve with no egoism and no selfishness. Real seva means we are not considering what we will get in return’.

  40. HH Radhanath Swami’s realisations and teachings are wonderful gems, no doubt about it. However, to follow and put into practice really requires huge amount of sincerity and seriousness. We have to really really meditate constantly upon these gospel truths based on scriptural essence and pragmatic wisdom.

  41. This reminds me of the pastime of Lord Krishna, Srimati Satyabhama and Srimati Rukmini devi at Dwarika. After donating Lord Krishna to a brahmin, Srimati Satyabhama tried to purchase Lord Krishna back by weighing Him in a physical balance against the gold piles she had. She exhausted all her gold but could not balance with Lord Krishna on the weighing physical balance. Finally Srimati Rukmini devi could win Lord Krishna by placing one Tulsi leaf while uttering His Holy Names with all devotion which balanced with the weight of Lord Krishna.
    Thank you Maharaj for teaching the essence of Bhakti / devotional service.

  42. We have to transform our desire of getting served into serving krishna and his devotees!!Thanks for sharing this beautiful article.

  43. One of the reasons our spiritual progress gets impeded is because we don’t really appreciate the opportunity to serve.

    This is a golden statement by Radhanath Swami.

  44. It is said that Krishna does not see what we offer to Him, but what we carry back with us. He only needs the love and devotion with which one offers to Him. Thank you very much Radhanath Swami for this great message.

  45. Radhanath swami mentioned very nicely what is seva & in what mood it has to be done.

  46. Wow! Beautiful blog by Radhanath swami. This is just what I wanted… A very troubling situation within my mind has been answered by the swami… A million thanks to him for this 🙂

  47. Thank you Radhanath Swami for illuminating such subtle principles of bhakti! These principles, if adhered to strictly, can definitely help one progress nicely in devotional service.

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