Niśkāma śeva (selfless social service) in Different Schools of Indic thought: Alternate Models for Mainstream Social Work”: A Two Day National Seminar 2, 3 March 2024 IIT Kharagpur

Niṣkāma sevā (selfless social service) in Different Schools of Indic Thought: Alternate Models for Mainstream Social Work, and was deep dive into the centrality of the “individual self-making and Self-actualization’’ to acts of altruism’ that cuts across the rich spiritual legacy of Bhārata

In social work, ‘spirituality’ is gradually being visualised as a classical intervention (particularly in transpersonal domains) as well as in lending an epistemic base to the values and ethics of the profession. The underlying assumption is that the spiritual Self of the individual needs to be addressed and all other aspects of existence converge into or diverge from that spiritual Self. This two-day national Seminar is scheduled to fortify the more recent social work conceptualisations of the whole person that includes ‘spirituality’ – which is reflected in the social work literature with a broadened focus to embrace it. The programme would deep dive into the centrality of ‘individual self-making ‘Self-actualization’’ to acts of ‘altruism’ that cut across the rich spiritual legacy of bhārata encompassing sanātana dharma (with its sub-traditions ‘sampraḍaya’), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.This is aimed at lending and advancing knowledge in mainstream social work through deliberations based on the holistic, Indic Model of selfless social service. The registered audience would comprise students - faculty from Higher Educational Institutions, professionals – and stakeholders from the social work arena and its allied domains. Scholars and grassroots volunteers engaged in niśkāma śeva across various Indic schools of thought will facilitate the sessions. Principle Investigator & Project Tenure: Prof. Richa Chopra Center of Excellence for Indian Knowledge Systems, IIT Kharagpur (CoE-IKS IIT Kharagpur) | September 2023 - March 2024