Serve like a Sikh

In June last year when the pandemic was raging in the US a group of 30 cooks at the Sikh Centre of New York in Queens Village had busied themselves in the kitchen starting their day at 4 am preparing hot Indian meals for hospital workers In the short span of 10 weeks they had served about 145000 free meals enough to get the attention of The New York Times that published an article titled How to Feed Crowds in a Protest or Pandemic The Sikhs KnowThey were doing seva an act of selfless service and giving which is at the heart of Sikhism says writerjournalist Jasreen Mayal Khanna Her new book Seva Sikh Secrets on How to be Good in the Real World Juggernaut unlocks the science behind the eight rules for daily lifemdashascribed to sevamdashto become kinder and happier and lead a more meaningful lifeThe first time Khanna remembers doing seva was as an eightyearold at the Dhan Pothohar her local gurudwara in Mumbai With a basket of rotis she remembers walking into the langar hall feeling rather ldquoshy and smallrdquo ldquoI felt a glow akin to the psychological concept of flowrdquo she shares now in an email interview ldquoItrsquos never explicitly said but I always had the sense that I was doing seva to play my part in the community The focus was never on doing a good or selfless deed for someone else We would all chop or cook in a steady meditative rhythm and then go back to our normal livesmdashfeeling a little more relaxed after seva The funny thing is that even the sevadars had seva done for themmdashusually a snack langar like tea and samosas Such are the SikhsrdquoJasreen Mayal KhannaHer book which has been described as ldquoIndiarsquos answer to Japanrsquos Ikigairdquo is peppered with wisdom drawing from the teachings and philosophies of Guru Nanak and the 10 gurus Before starting work on the book Khanna did an online course on Sikhism offered by Harvard University because ldquoI wanted to make sure my understanding of the religionrsquos history and scripture is accuraterdquo ldquoAs part of my research I also dug up studies from the behavioural sciences to substantiate my thesis because I wanted seva to appeal to everyone irrespective of whether they believe in religion or not The science behind seva was a game changer for me giving is associated with lower BP lower mortality rates and higher markers of happinessrdquo she says She also spoke with prominent names within the community including Nimrat Kaur Tavleen Singh Ranveer Brar and Lt General IS Singha ldquoThese conversations were truly enlightening because I got to hear of the various ways that individuals incorporate Sikhi in modern liferdquo she sharesWriting the book while the world was battling a dreaded contagion also helped her understand how to incorporate seva into her own life As a firsttime mum this was also a personally challenging time ldquoI had breastfeeding struggles and momguilt I was moody and not in control of my emotions My son had to go through surgery when he was six weeks old and simultaneously a close family member tested positive for COVID It was a tough phase and one day when I was having a meltdown I found myself going into the kitchen and cooking a giant pot of my grandmotherrsquos biryani I sent tiffins of it to two friends who were living away from their families during lockdown Did this fix all my problems No But it did give me some joy for that day and dissipated my anxiety to some extentrdquo she remembersOne of the rules of seva which she found hard to practise was building resilience ldquoBut considering we are living in a pandemic it has also been my greatest learning When you feel broken yourself it can be very hard to swim instead of sinking and I found that the Sikh practice of shukrana gratitude went a long way in helping me overcome adversityrdquo she shares The Sikh concept of chardi kala which translates to eternal positivity is muchneeded for our times she feels ldquoNo in the real world itrsquos not possible to feel eternal positivity What is worthwhile however is the attempt Sikhs say lsquochard i kalarsquo during celebrations and weddings at funerals and to each other when life deals them a blowrdquoA few rules for a happy life1 Help someone every day2 Embrace joy3 Be brave4 Say thank you daily5 Learn to laugh at yourselfWHAT Seva Sikh Secrets on How to be Good in the Real WorldWHERE amazoninFOR Rs 351