"Seva is a win, win, win. The moment you serve with your heart and head and without grinding any axe, you win the person forever. Seva means that you deliver another person in the face of difficulty. You save the person in the save-face of calamity. You protect the person in the face of non-reality and bring home the reality. This all is seva. In any form, shape and projection, if you can elevate a person's consciousness, his spirit, his self, his environments, his life - that is seva."

-Siri Singh Sahib Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Khalsa Yogiji, July 23, 1991

Many times in our lives we think like shop-keepers. What do I have to sell? What can I get for it? Who is going to pay me the most for it? But one powerful practice in Sikh Dharma is to serve others just for the sake of serving. Not to get anything back. Not to be recognized. But to serve just because the service is needed.

When you think about it, all of the most important relationships in our lives - spouses, parents, children, teachers, friends - are relationships of service and love. People give their time, share their talents and energy in the name of nurturing each other. In the name of helping someone else become successful. Even Mother Nature gives her gifts to the creatures of the earth. The food, the sun, the trees, the flowers - it's all just a gift.

Similarly, seva is a state of consciousness where you become so filled with love that you serve others without needing anything back. Serve their excellence, serve the needs of the community. Just to be of help.

"Seva is selfless service. It is work done for the benefit of the community and others, without a thought of reward. When such humility reigns, God bows. He reaches out for the servers and service. The hand of God becomes the hand of man, and many hands become one. In turn, seva supports those environments that support the soul. The practice of seva or selfless service enabled the Gurus to build a social structure capable of taking care of all the people's basic needs. The work of seva gives us everlasting friendships, and the breadth and depth to touch every heart. Seva gives purity, beauty, grace and the bountiful bliss of God.

Seva is service in the divine realm where the medium is inspiration. A job is work in the earthly realm, where the medium is material."

-Bhai Sahiba Dr. Bibiji Inderjit Kaur Khalsa. Living Reality. Pages 93-94