Seva Croydon

The concept of selfless service (seva) is fundamental in Hinduism as it is believed that God has an interest in the well-being of others and is considered as an essential devotional practice of indirectly serving God and living a spiritual life benefiting both self and others, without expecting anything in return.

According to the Puranas, it is believed that seva is the highest form of dharma and is said to provide good karma which facilitates the soul to attain moksha.

2023 was another successful year of LIVE and Night Watch Croydon providing hot meals, clothes and blankets to the homeless within Croydon.

Last year we successfully increased the frequency of providing the seva, as there were a few instances we managed to do the seva on special occasions such as Diwali, New Year’s Eve and akshaya tritiya. We also managed to do the seva on the request of some devotees and volunteers to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries.

For Seva done during Diwali, we displayed artwork done by children, and encouraged clients to light a Diya and make a wish to Krishna as is traditionally done. The New Year’s Eve seva was a very special as we managed to collect clothes, blankets, gloves, scarves, and hats from all the devotees from the Mandir to be handed out when the food was distributed amongst the homeless.

The team of volunteers have grown in numbers, thanks to the hard work and dedication of the current volunteers, who have spread the word of the great work we do amongst the devotees of the Mandir and managed to arrange this wonderful collaboration with the Night Watch Croydon to help our local community.

With the usual items such as freshwater bottles, boxed juices, fresh fruits, crisp, energy bars and biscuits donated by the devotees, the clients are also given a hot meal and the occasional treat of freshly baked cakes and muffins. The food handed out during the seva is well received and enjoyed by the clients and the thanks and praise they give is heartwarming.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who cook the wonderful meals and everyone who has given us a helping hand from collecting the items, packing the meals and distributing the food bags to the clients and making this programme successful.

The thanks and praise we receive from the clients who receive the food cannot be described using words and we wish everyone to experience it by taking part in the programme. We hope to expand by,

• Collecting more food items such as crisps, biscuits and energy bars to be distributed during the seva.
• Collecting items such as rice, tinned vegetables to cook the food.
• Collecting more winter clothes and toiletries to donate during winter.
• Increasing the frequency of the seva to at least twice a month so everyone can take part.

I have been contributing to the programme for some time and since 2022 I have been regularly volunteering when time permits me, and it has been an immense pleasure to meet new individuals each time during the seva and it is awe inspiring to witness the dedication of the volunteers of to help out individuals who are in need of help.