by Jaswinder Singh, chief executive of Sikh Volunteers Australia
Since the inception in 2014 of Sikh Volunteers Australia (SVA), reducing distress and creating a peaceful multicultural community have been the goal.
The concept of ‘sewa’ or selfless service is the driving force behind all activities SVA does.
As a Sikh, selfless service for the whole creation is the way to serve the Creator.
Volunteers from all walks of life and all religions are serving side by side at Sikh Volunteers Australia.
During service, many volunteers have explained their reason for serving. F
or some, it’s a way to serve humanity; for others, it’s a way to connect and listen to others.
Some are doing the service because they want to be part of social support, while others have been through a rough time and helping others soothe their pain.
The more I listen to such dialogues, the more I realise that intercultural understanding, respect, and connections are developing in our community. Alongside intercultural relations, the spirit of selfless service is also evolving.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, the outlook on personal and social belongingness has changed.
An airborne infection pandemic easily transmitted through social contact threatens human relationships by fundamentally altering how people connect. Under such circumstances, individuals from different faiths and communities have come together and started serving meals with an unknown organisation to people they have never met.
It gives me the hope that we are learning to rise above individual levels and work towards the greater good of society.
Many new micro-communities have formed during the pandemic support activities.
Together these new emerging intercultural relations, filled with a sense of empathy and imbedded with selfless service, give an aspiration for a better future.
This is a future where all faiths and cultures believe in working together as one. Multiculturism is not tolerated but celebrated and accepted in its most unique form.
This is a future where the welfare of the whole creation and a positive spiritual level for all beings will be the upkeep.
