Seva

The Focus of a Fragmented but Gradually Coalescing Field of Study

Bibliographic Data

ID12908571
AuthorsGwilym Beckerlegge (0000-0001-9054-0403, The Open University, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume9
Issue2
Pages208-239
Publication date2016-06-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions of South Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2689 • E-ISSN: 1751-2697
PublisherEquinox Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1558/rosa.v9i2.31070
OpenAlexW2421622574
LanguageEN
Citations received11

The study of seva in the Hindu tradition has increasingly come to focus on its relatively recent meaning of organized 'humanitarian service'. Acknowledging that this is but one understanding that has been attached to this concept, this article traces the emergence of a more clearly defined body of scholarly studies centred on the promotion of the practice of humanitarian service as a sadhana by Hindu movements and their teachers since the early nineteenth century. Noting links between the study of seva, social reform in India, voluntary action, and national and international humanitarianism, the article argues for the importance of this branch of study in the early twenty-first century

Action (physics · Epistemology · Focus (optics · Hinduism · Meaning (existential · Political science · Politics · Promotion (chess · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies

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