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sevaka (Worker)

यत्करोषि यदश्न‍ासि यज्ज‍ुहोषि ददासि यत् ।
यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ॥ २७ ॥

Whatever you do,
whatever you eat,
whatever you offer or give away,
and whatever austerities you perform
do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me. -Bhagavad Gita 9.27

The greatest men in the world have passed away unknown. The Buddhas and the Christs that we know are but second-rate heroes in comparison with the greatest men of whom the world knows nothing. -Swami Vivekananda, Karma Yoga.

Our first duty is not to hate ourselves, because to advance we must have faith in ourselves first and then in God. He who has no faith in himself can never have faith in God. -Swami Vivekananda, Karma Yoga.

What is a sevaka?​

Operations are largely run through a set of generalists who are expected to learn a set of skills and be able to work on any part of the business. sevakas are expected to adapt to the needs of the business and learn new skills as needed.

What is the expected skills of sevakas?​

sevakas should be developed in all aspects of life. They should not be just good at just one thing, but to be well-rounded individuals who can contribute to family, society, business, and most importantly to Bhagavan.

  • Dharma
    • No bias on caste, class, creed or sex. Everyone is equal.
    • Everyone on the team is a leader, if you think something is not right, you should speak up.
    • Read Bhagavad Gita.
    • Read Swami Vivekananda.
    • Practice meditation and yoga.
    • Learn Sanskrit.
    • Read books to expand knowledge.
    • Volunteer in the community.
    • Take care of family and fulfill the needs of parents and children.
  • Health
    • Physical fitness.
    • Good diet and sleep.
  • Code
    • Github and Git.
    • Write in Python, TypeScript, Go and Terraform.
    • Understand ReactJS and Django Frameworks.
    • Linux and bash.
    • AWS and Kubernetes.
  • Finance
    • Understand the basics of bookkeeping.
    • Read financial statements.
  • Sales & Marketing
    • Strong English speaking and writing skills.
    • Email and social media marketing.
    • SEO and content marketing.
    • Support and customer service.
    • Public relations and networking.
  • Operations
    • Organization skills.
    • Project management.

Naturally most of the people hired are not going to have these skills when they join so other sevakas are expected to help them learn these skills.

How are sevakas organized?​

sevakas are organized in a sakha of 3-4. Each sakha has a specific product that it is responsible for. The shaka is expected to work independently and be able to deliver results without much supervision. The sevakas are expected to be able to work on any part of the sakha and be able to learn new skills as needed.

How are days organized?​

  • Monday-Thursdays are tasks and routines.
    • Tasks are single purpose tasks that can be completed in a few hour.
    • Routines are daily or weekly tasks that are repeated.
    • We will be optimizing for a set of metrics, these will be defined.
  • Fridays
    • Half day is spent on learning new technology skills or contributing to JnanaPress.
    • Half day should be spent volunteering to serve others.
  • Saturday-Sunday
    • Study and memorize one sloka from the Bhagavad Gita.
    • One small reading from Swami Vivekananda.

How are sevakas developed?​

I develop sevakas through a combination of training, tasks, and mentorship. Every person will learn both coding and business skills.

  1. Coding Basics. Learn to write code in Python, TypeScript, and Go.
  2. Coding Advanced. Learn to use Linux, bash, AWS, and Kubernetes.
  3. Business Basics. Learn the basics of bookkeeping, financial statements, and business strategy.
  4. Business Advanced. Learn sales and marketing, public relations, and networking.
  5. Entrepreneurship. Learn how to launch and run a business.

How are sevakas paid?​

Sevakas are paid a fixed salary every month. Every six months based on the performance there will be a salary increase.

If sevakas are generalists, how is specialized work completed?​

For specialists I tend to hire contractors or freelancers who are experts in a specific area. This allows me to get the expertise I need without having to hire full-time employees.

Specialists have Roles, Responsibilities, and Ownership. The structure of which is:

  • Job Description
    • A clear and concise description of the role.
  • Responsibilities
    • Define what this position has ultimate responsibility and decision authority over.
    • Clearly outline the products, services, assets, activities, and subordinates assigned to the position.
  • Expectations
    • Specify the results required of the position to achieve the firm's objectives.
    • Expectations should be:
      • Clear, specific, and measurable.
      • Focused on desired outcomes rather than activities.
      • Open-ended and challenging to encourage experimentation and innovation.
  • Access
    • Define what resources or systems the person is given access to and how they are expected to use them.
    • Ensure each person is given the least amount of access needed to accomplish their job.
  • Training
    • Provide the information needed to be most effective at their job.
    • Include any specific principles or guidelines related to their role.
  • Routine
    • If the job involves singular tasks, list them here.
    • Link to recurring tasks that the role is responsible for accomplishing.