By Rishpal Singh Sidhu | Opinion |
Seva (ਸੇਵਾ, also spelt as sewa and short for kar seva, is derived from the Sanskrit words kar, meaning hands or work, and seva, meaning service) literally means service and worship, a labor of love carried out in Waheguru’s name with humility, without desire and intention, and expectation of getting anything back in return. It involves acting selflessly and helping others in numerous ways, without any expectation of personal or material gain.
ਮਨੁ ਤਨੁ ਤੇਰਾ ਧਨੁ ਭੀ ਤੇਰਾ ॥ (GGS, p.106)
ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰਤ ਹੋਇ ਨਿਹਕਾਮੀ ॥ (GGS, p.286)
Sikhism values the practice of all three aspects of seva, Man (ਮਨੁ, mind/mental service in helping others), Tan (ਤਨੁ, physical service as in cleaning, washing dishes, or serving langar), and Dhan (ਧਨੁ, material service, financial support, donations). Depending on his/her individual circumstances, a Sikh might only be able to perform or practice one type of sewa more frequently than others. In showing our love and caring for others we are also showing our abiding love for Waheguru that abides in every one of us, and this helps us on the path to becoming gurmukh and detaching ourselves from the five vices of lust, greed, attachment to material possessions, anger, and pride.
Sikh aid organizations and gurdwaras around the world have been in the news media in recent months with their relief efforts and selfless services for the many people whose very lives and livelihoods have been adversely affected by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this is not the first time that their efforts have caught the attention of the news media and been applauded by governments world-wide. Who are these organizations, why do they do this, how are they supported in their work, are their efforts and services unique and intrinsically part of the Sikh faith, are charitable organizations and followers from other religions also involved in similar relief/aid efforts, does a distinction really exist between active and passive selfless service to others and, more importantly, how does selfless service personally benefit the many volunteers from these organizations? Is there such a thing as a truly selfless act?
Khalsa Aid is a UK based international non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1999 by British Sikh Ravi Singh based on the Sikh principle of “recognizing the whole human race as one”, and it has been involved in providing humanitarian aid in disaster areas and conflict zones around the world from earthquakes in Turkey (1999), Pakistan (2005), Haiti (2010), Nepal (2015), Indonesian earthquake and tsunami relief (2018); floods in Punjab (2007), UK (2014 & 2015), Australia’s cyclone Marcia (2015), Kerala (2018); Greece refugee crisis (2016), Syrian refugees emergency relief (2017); water and medical supplies for the Grenfell Tower (London) fire in 2017; and more recently, Covid-19 relief efforts including oxygen concentrator machines in India and Nepal (2020 & 2021). In 2019/20, its charitable relief efforts reached 221,000 people around the globe. Its operations have been funded by generous Sikhs and business titans, including individuals and corporate donors from other faiths, and it recently received a generous six figure donation from J. K. Rowling’s Volant Charitable Trust to fight Coronavirus in India. In 2017, Ravi Singh was presented the “International Sensation/Extraordinary Achievement” award by Darpan Magazine in Vancouver, Canada. He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021.
Not unlike Khalsa Aid, United Sikhs is a United States based and United Nations affiliated international, civil, and human rights, non-profit, humanitarian disaster relief, education, human development, NGO, and advocacy organization. Like Khalsa Aid, it also recognizes the human race as one, is international in scope, aims to help people regardless of color, race, gender, nationality, or creed, and has been involved in global disaster relief and Covid-19 emergency relief efforts. Both these organizations have affiliated chapters in other countries. Mention also needs to be made of Sikh Relief, a UK based NGO first established in 2008 with a mandate as a Sikh Organization for Prisoner Welfare (SOPW). It is registered internationally as a global NGO with offices in Europe, North America, and India, and besides prisoner welfare, now also provides disaster, education, medical, and farmer reliefs. It has delivered disaster relief in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan, the UK and the United States.
In the Asia Pacific region, Australian Sikh Support is an Australian based philanthropic not-for-profit organization established in 2013, and it has been helping people affected by disasters such as bushfires, droughts, and floods, by providing food and household items, grocery kits, and medicine supplies. Sewa International Australia (SEWA) is yet another Australian based charity and volunteer service organization inspired by its mission statement of serving humanity in distress through performing sewa by aiding local communities and promoting volunteerism. Like Australian Sikh Support, it has also been actively involved in providing disaster relief and rehabilitation support to victims of natural disasters in developing countries, including Covid-19 relief operations in India.
The Sikh Welfare Council (SIWEC) in Singapore, founded in 1995, and the Sikh Welfare Society Malaysia, founded in 1980, have both been providing welfare services to the needy regardless of their race and ethnic backgrounds. In recent months, and amidst the recent movement control orders (MCO) imposed by the Malaysian Government, some gurdwaras have been providing free ‘makanan percuma’ to the poor and needy whose jobs and livelihoods have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Red Cross, World Vision International, Tearfund, Salvation Army, The Save the Children Fund, and Jewish Aid to name a few, are counterpart Western aid organizations providing humanitarian aid similar to these Sikh aid organizations.
These charitable aid organizations rely heavily on their corps of volunteers who give so generously of their time, and some at personal risk of losing life and limb through working in war stricken zones and areas ravaged by illness such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Some volunteers have indeed lost their lives in selfless service to needy others regardless of their race.
The late writer, environmentalist, and philanthropist, Bhagat Puran Singh, founder of the All India Pingalwara Charitable Society in Amritsar, stands out as an epitome of selfless service to humanity by a single individual. Born a Hindu, he was later baptized as a Sikh and dedicated his entire life to helping the poor and downtrodden, diseased, and physically and mentally handicapped. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for his selfless service in feeding, clothing, and tending to the sick and dying and maintained that dignity in death is a birthright of each living person. Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar established the Bhagat Puran Singh Chair for Studies in Selfless Service to Humanity in 2005 to commemorate his philosophy and contribution to the betterment of our society.
Standing against the tyranny and oppression of the Mughal emperors, our fifth and ninth Sikh Gurus are nonpareil in having selflessly sacrificed their lives in service to humanity. Guru Arjan martyred his life in the name of the Sikh faith for defying Mughal emperor Jehangir. Guru Tegh Bahadur took a firm and principled stand in defending the rights of the Punjab and Kashmiri Hindus against their forced conversion to Islam and paid with his life in defiance of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Our tenth Guru Gobind’s Singh’s life was no less filled with selfless personal sacrifices.
Where does the funding support come from?
In carrying out their work, these aid organizations are very much reliant on their fund raising efforts and generosity of individual and corporate donors acting from a sense of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and their many other benefactors in terms of money, food, equipment, and supplies without which they would not be able to successfully carry out their various humanitarian aid projects. Donations of money, equipment, and supplies have been spontaneously pouring in from individuals, businesses, and Sikh professional groups within and outside India in support of efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Charitable Sikh aid organizations and gurdwaras have always been able to confidently rely and draw upon the Sikh community at large for financial support of all their worthy projects. Vand Ke Chakna (alternative spellings Vand Chhako or Vand Shhako ਵੰਡ ਛਕੋ) is one of the three core tenets of the Sikh faith and a Gursikh is expected to contribute a portion of their wealth or income to others in need or to a worthy cause. The concept of dasvandh (ਦਸਵੰਧ, also spelt as daswandh) drew its origins from the time of the building of the Harmandir Sahib under Guru Ram Das when Sikhs were encouraged to set aside a minimum of ten per cent of their income for the common cause and the concept of Guru Ki Golak “Guru’s treasury” was coined.
ਪੁੰਨ ਦਾਨ ਪੂਜਾ ਪਰਮੇਸੁਰ ਹਰਿ ਕੀਰਤਿ ਤਤੁ ਬੀਚਾਰੇ ॥ (GGS, p.718)
ਪੁੰਨ ਦਾਨ ਪੂਜਾ ਪਰਮੇਸੁਰ ਹਰਿ ਕੀਰਤਿ ਤਤੁ ਬੀਚਾਰੇ ॥ (GGS, p.1245)
The practice of tithing (tithe, from Old English teogopa, meaning tenth) is however not unique to the Sikh faith and is a custom dating back to Old Testament times whereby lay people contributed one tenth of their income for religious purposes, often under ecclesiastical or legal obligation.1 Historically, tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural produce. Tithing today is normally voluntary and either paid in cash, cheques, or through automated electronic interbanking payment services. Some members of the small Sikh community in Singapore voluntarily make direct monthly General Interbank Recurring Order (GIRO) contributions to the Sikh Welfare Council (SIWEC) to help in carrying out and managing welfare schemes for those requiring assistance within the Singapore community regardless of their ethnic background.
Tithing today has parallels in all the world’s major religions and varies from contributing money as well as time as an act of worship for Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and Jews. For Hindus, dana or daana (Sanskrit and Pali word connoting the virtues of generosity, charity, and alms giving) is an important part of one’s dharma or religious duty dating back to Vedic traditions. “Buddhists believe that giving without seeking anything in return leads to greater spiritual wealth. Moreover, it reduces the acquisitive impulses that ultimately lead to continued suffering from egotism.”2 Generally, dana in Hinduism and Buddhism tends to be more local than global in their reach. Zakat (from Arabic, “that which purifies”) is one of the five pillars of Islam whereby Muslims are required to donate at the rate of 2.5% of their wealth in a lunar new year to the needy and it is a “tax levied on income and wealth for the purpose of their purification.”3 In most Muslim majority countries, zakat contributions are voluntary, while in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen, zakat is mandated and collected by the State. Muslims in Singapore, including foreign workers and permanent residents, contribute to a community fund known as the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund ((MBMF) in support of educational and social programs to strengthen and uplift Malay/Muslim families. In the Jewish faith tzedakah or sedaqah is based on the Hebrew tzedek meaning doing the right thing or charitable giving and ma’aser meaning one tenth part of something given to charity. It is voluntary yet embedded in Jewish culture and in the Torah (Jewish scripture).
Does truly selfless service exist?
Can and does a distinction exist between passive and active selfless service, and whether there is indeed such a thing as a truly unselfish act are vexed questions. It could be argued that active selfless services as are carried out by charitable Sikh aid organizations on an extensive global scale would simply not have been possible if not for the generosity of individuals, companies, and corporate donors making financial and other donations in kind from the relative safety of their home turfs, as against the actual and physical delivery of relief efforts by volunteers at some risks to their personal safety.
Is there such a thing as a truly unselfish act where the recipient benefits and the giver receives nothing in return? Does a biological explanation exist for anonymous acts of selfless service? The evolutionists would have us believe that we perform altruistic acts in order to ensure the survival of our genes. French sociologist Emile Durkheim considered altruism to be a social mechanism that keeps individuals focused on the greater good. There is some agreement between philosophers, social scientists, and neurologists that it is difficult to prove the existence of a truly selfless act. Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), researchers have found that giving money activates the striatum, the ‘reward center’ in the brain that produces feelings of reward or pleasure, although the evidence is not entirely conclusive. British psychiatrist, philosopher, writer, and educator Neel Burton notes that “in the longer term, altruism is associated with better mental and physical health and greater longevity. Kinder people are happier, and happier people are kinder, establishing a virtuous cycle of altruism.”4 Some donors have indeed anecdotally reported an improvement in both, their own well being and finances while tithing.
In the final analysis, if the carrying out of acts of seva or selfless service by any individuals or charitable organizations, regardless of their religious affiliation, makes them feel good, does this make it any less worthwhile? Indeed not, and this is what makes for a more caring and compassionate society.
REFERENCES
1.Dallmann, R. W. (2020). To tithe or not to tithe?;That is the question. Niagara Falls, NY, ChristLife.
2. Tsong-kha-pa (2002). Guy Newland (ed.). The great treatise on the stages of the path to enlightenment, Volume II. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Joshua Cutler, Editor-in-Chief. Canada, Snow Lion, pp. 236-238.
3.Hefner, R.W. (2006). Islamic economics and global capitalism. Society 44(1), p.20.
4. Burton, N. (2020). Heaven and hell; The psychology of the emotions. 2nd ed. Oxford, Acheron Press.
Rishpal Singh Sidhu has been involved in library and information services management in Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia over the past four decades. He has a passion for research, writing, and teaching. He is the compiler and editor of the book, Singapore’s early Sikh pioneers: Origins, settlement, contributions and Institutions, published by the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board in Singapore in 2017. He is presently based in Sydney, Australia.
RELATED STORY:
The different names of God in Sikhism (Asia Samachar, 17 July 2021)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
