My favorite Seva memory

I finally have the bandwidth to share my favorite memory of Seva.

I had only moved to the Ananda Palo Alto community in 1999, so when I relocated to Assisi in 2002 to be part of a singing group touring Italy, I was still quite new to the path.

In January of 2004, Assisi was raided by the Guardia di Finanza, and nine of our key leaders were put in prison in March. Although it took something like seven years, the charges were eventually completely repudiated, but while it was happening it was a very intense situation.

Jyotish and Devi were visiting Ananda Assisi for a Kriyaban retreat followed by a big public event in celebration of Yogananda’s Mahasamadhi. They and many others stepped right in to cover for the leaders and teachers who were in prison so the event went off as planned.

Our choir director was among those arrested, so I was called upon to direct the choir, including for a large concert we had planned to do in Perugia later in the week.

And this is where Seva came into the picture.

You see, there was a large group of American devotees coming to Assisi on pilgrimage. Imagine their surprise when they arrived to the news of all that was going on!

To me, they were like the cavalry; a group of solid, seasoned devotees who came in and helped prop us up when we had been broadsided by circumstances. And Seva stood out for me, even in the midst of this amazing group of souls.

So, I asked her to sing the woman’s solo at the beginning of “Lift Your Hearts.” I remember her looking a little surprised, but she said yes. Later I discovered (I don’t recall exactly how) that Seva was not normally a soloist! I guess I had put her on the spot, but she didn’t hesitate. She simply did it.

And that is now a memory I cherish.

Here’s a recording of the song from that concert. Seva’s is the second solo voice you hear at the beginning.