For the first time on Sunday 25th September 2011, Bolton took part in its first ever Sewaday project. What was a little project in London two years ago has now become an international phenomenon spanning across the globe. The local hindu community decided to create their own project to mass clean up the local hindu community temple (Veda Mandir, Bolton).
The day consisted of 46 bright red dressed volunteers pumped up to give a day of sewa and a rather messy temple which had to be cleaned up in time for the Navratri season which was a few days away. So it was a good combination. There were all sorts that needed to be cleaned and renovated such as the bathrooms, the halls, the study rooms, the actual temple and the stair case just to name a few. This involved mopping, vacuuming (or as we boltoners call it ‘hoovering’), dusting, polishing, paint stripping, etc. However this wasn’t only a day of hard work – it also involved having a lot of fun, socialising and meeting new and like-minded people. With a combination of working hard and having fun, the day of sewa was overall a great success and we ended the day with a chilled out session of eating choc ice together.
Putting aside what you see on the face of sewaday, there is a deeper meaning as to why we do this. In Hinduism, Sewa (selfless service) is a fundamental part of part of being a Hindu or even human for that matter and is something that should be widely adopted throughout all cultures. What makes sewaday unique from any other day of charity is that it is not a way to raise money – in fact it is discouraged as everyone is there to give their time and we measure the amount of sewa done by the number of hours each person has put into the cause.
If you would like to find out more, then visit http://www.sewaday.org/ and if you wish to get involved then keep an eye out on the sewaday website.
Remember, Sewa is an act of kindness without expectation.
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