Being Paid for Seva

[Guest guest]

The "seva" word may be new to people. Usually someone will explain

that it means "service." In this culture, that may come with an

association with many paid jobs, as in "the service sector." It's

my understanding that seva is not a paid activity. In fact

volunteers often pay for the opportunity to do seva by paying rent

to live in one of Amma's ashrams, flying to India, going on various

tours with Amma. The people that you see staffing the tables and

working in the bookstore when Amma is on tour are not being paid.

They work jobs that allow them to take blocks of time off to travel

with Amma.

 

All the residents of the MA Center, who do various types and amounts

of seva, pay rent each month. Only one person, who does tremendous

amounts of backbreaking physical labor lives at the MA Center

without paying money. He pays in hard work.

 

When there is a need for extra volunteers, the MA Center may

announce a "Karma Yoga program." They will allow people to live at

the Center without paying rent if they will help with a particularly

big project that needs to be done.

 

Amma is pretty strict about people working and paying their fair

share. She doesn't encourage freeloaders. Since the MA Center is

in California, no doubt they have had them. Amma is also very

strict about devotees not giving money in connection with a seva

activity.

 

It is one thing to collect money for a specific thing. Circle of

Love Letters and Circle of Love Inside collected money for our ads

in the program guide which also pays for Amma's trip here to the

US. Sweta collected money to rent the van that brought the Case

Manager and residents of the homeless shelter to meet Amma, to give

them lunch, etc. The use for the money was defined in both cases

and it was handled with integrity.

 

It used to be here in California that each year the state attorney

general would issue a report that was published and widely discussed

about nonprofit organizations who were collecting money. The AG

would say what percentage of the organization's donation money

actually went to the program folks thought they were supporting.

People became quite sophisticated about which nonprofits were

operating with integrity. People became cautious and would check

the report to choose to whom they would donate.

 

All this is probably old news to many on the list but I have been

contacted by people who don't seem to know any of this. It needs to

be put out again. We need to consider how Amma does things as we

decide how to financially support her ideals. Over the past 30

years or so, she and those who run things under her direction must

have learned a few things. There can always be new ideas, new

projects, but we must use discrimination.

 

In what ways are things done with integrity and when are they out of

integrity? We ourselves need to be alert to these questions.

 

Aikya

[Guest guest]

One of the nyc devotees was talking to me about maybe moving to Minnesota,

which reminded me that that was where I first went to "rent parties" to help

friends' out who needed help paying the bills that month -- things like a

disappearing roommate stiffing them with the rent, or a long distance bill.

 

I don't know much about other organizations' "angel" process. Certainly

around Amma's 50th Birthday Celebration people seemed to be coming out of

the woodwork to sponsor folks who had a need to attend & participate.

 

But, FWIW, a friend of a friend started this site to help with an

alternative to the whole PayPal thing of contributing financial assistance.

http://www.karmus.com/

 

lotsof love, Prashanti