Wow! I got seriously tagged with an act of anonymous kindness last week. Actually,”seriously pummeled” with kindness is more like it. I spent 26 days at a meditation retreat, mainly to begin the process of self purification through self discovery…I guess you could call it a renovation of the interior walls of my mind. As I walked back into my studio home on Sunday, WOW, a few folks had decided that they would self-purify my home and renovate its interior walls as well. The place has been tiled, every corner has been painted, fridge has been stocked, light switches have been replaced, new furniture has been added, and an infinite amount of love has been poured into every inch of that space. On the table in the middle of my room was a flower pot with one smile card attached to the stem. I also found one forgotten pink piece of paper in the cabinet that had the handwritten words: “kitchen: yellow and orange trim”. That piece of paper provides the only evidence of the magnitude of planning that went into this gift (and the fact that this was actually conducted by human beings : ).

The walls reverberate generosity. Every moment I spend in there, I feel is a moment my heart spends in meditation, a moment spent in making myself and the world a better place. The place now feels like a Temple and I return back to feeling speechless again. The process of self purification continues, but now its the walls that do the work.

I’m not exactly sure whose hearts were in this process, but I bow my head to them. If something like this could happen in my life, then I have no choice but to keep on serving, to keep on paying it foward. My neighbor who got to witness this effort on a daily basis was also blown away. Her husband shook his head every night, he couldn’t believe that people like this exist in this world. They invited their daughters, son-in-laws, even relatives from Sacramento to witness the product of this miracle. I can’t imagine how this is affecting them, I can’t even imagine how it is affecting me right now. On the day that I arrived, my neighbor came in and leaned against the wall of the new kitchen, with her eyes closed she just shook her head in disbelief. I asked her, “What if I spent the rest of my life serving others”? She said, “even that won’t be enough for all the love that you have received”. Wise words, even serving for the rest of my life won’t be enough to make up for all the love that I have received. I hope I can stop staring at the walls soon so that I can get to rippling this generosity to others.

… and there’s more: A few days later, after I invited some friends to share in my home, I opened up my blanket and 40 photographs fell out. The pictures, which apparantly were taken by the folks who had renovated the home, documented the entire process of renovation. None of the photographs contained any faces or other unique characteristics that would give the anonymity away. There are photographs of hands holding paint brushes, of furniture piled up, of hands doing tiling work, of legs standing next to paint buckets… but no faces. Not only did time and energy go into beautifying the home, but a lot of thought went into keeping it anonymous (and to dupe me in this way).

Now it becomes apparent that the food I eat, the car I drive, the place where I live, the clothes I wear, all exist only because of the gifts of another. It seems as if my entire life is a donation. I have no choice, but to give myself away to this love that surrounds me. Thank you, isn’t really thank you anymore.

To my friends, there is something that connects us beyond friendship, beyond service, beyond even Love. There is something even deeper than we know that exists here. Now, it exists in the paint on my walls.

>> Click here to see some of the pictures that were left behind
>> This story also made the helpothers.org newsletter. Click here to read comments made by the helpothers.org readers

I walked outside late in the afternoon. These days I typically slept in – being unemployed has many benefits. The sun was beaming down on us as it always does. It was mildly cloudy, mildly windy… all in all, it was the perfect day.

I stepped outside the apartment complex. I thought of my best friend as the apartment gate closed behind me, how compassionate he was for letting me stay at his place for an entire 2 months. People don’t typically see him as a ‘giver’ – but I know a whole different side to him. I see a man who helps people out in a time of need, who opens his home to his friends and his family. I see a brother that accepts me in any condition I am in. I see a selfless man.

I bounced into the clear crisp air. My day was playing out like a Louis Armstrong Song: “What a wonderful world”. Being unemployed has many benefits.

But all this musing about the beauty of life was about to change. 2 days from this exact moment I was to move to own place, pay my own rent, get a job, read the newspaper, provide commentary on sports and the stock market. I was about to step backwards into an average life. No longer would I be able to devote myself to volunteering full-time, I would have to supplement my life with a steady income. Isn’t it amazing how we come into this world with little say and then again have no choice but to work at some job just to survive.

In my universe we would share everything, we would work 2 days out of the week and the other days we would just get what we needed from our neighbors. We would have conquered things like greed and jealousy. We would spend more time cultivating contentment. Think of how much time we could spend in utter enjoyment of this wondrous planet. Think about how many problems we could alleviate.

So all this is going through my mind and it dawns on me – I can’t find my car! Not trusting myself I decided to keep walking around the block – heavy thinkers tend to forget where they park their cars.

Walking walking walking. If you can imagine for a moment what that walk would feel like. A slow creeping anxiety growing in your limbs, moving inside towards your lungs, headed into the vessels of your heart, coupled with the physical exertion of your feet pounding the pavement. Like a poisonous gas traveling through your veins. It was an awaking, an epiphany, “someone has taken my car”.

I kept walking. Get used to it I thought – you got no car – just keep walking.

***

In the evening I found myself at a temple doing what I usually do: meditating, serving food, eating dinner and ignoring comments about why I look the way I do (long hair, long beard). I sat next to a man and he asked how I was doing. I felt content so naturally I responded that “I Love My Life”. He wasn’t really listening.

Eventually he asked what I was up to; he wanted to know how successful I was as a Human Being. I told him – I’ve been volunteering full-time. He probed to find out how I survived – I told him that everything works out. He needled further to find out how I paid for rent – I told him – I design websites as a side business and work 20 hours a week as an admin assistant making $10 an hour. Oh yes, that was the response I was waiting for: Didn’t you work for a big company, weren’t you making a lot of money, didn’t they pay for your apartment and your car. They did, but they stole every moment of my awake and asleep life for 2 years. It wasn’t worth it.

I asked him how he was doing. I actually listened. He was miserable.

He felt ill, he was afraid of getting laid off, he didn’t know how he was going to pay his bills. I reminded him that everything would work out – he agreed, I stated that people are in worse conditions than all of us here in the temple – he agreed, I re-reminded him that happiness exists internally – he agreed as he walked away.

It makes me wonder.

After my car was stolen, everyone around me was concerned about the situation, I on the other hand wasn’t disturbed. It was after all just a car. Nothing worth losing your peace over, nothing in the world is that valuable.

I gave up a lucrative career to satisfy some urge for peace. I wasn’t going to let a $1700 vehicle get in the way now.

The man at the temple reminded me of how good I really have it. Most spend their lives loving their misery, I spend mine loving my life. Every aspect, every detail, every challenge, every triumph, every failure, every cell, every breathe, every hair, every mistake. Everything is part of my journey, my experience.

I love the fact that my car got stolen, because it got stolen. It is now a part of my entire being, a part of my memory, a part of my existence.

Thank you, whoever, for stealing my car. I trust that you are receiving everything you need in this moment for your happiness. I trust that everything in the universe is exactly the way it should be. My life, all life, the universe is perfection.

To you, I say love your life. Accept your challenges and your suffering with open arms. Above all, don’t trade in your peace for any thing in this world – nothing is that valuable.

Ik Onkar. Satnam.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa.
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

“There is no such thing as a Hindu or a Muslim, there is only one religion: Humanity” – Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

There have been many spiritual teachers that each have prescribed a path of unity to us all. Each teaching us that there is no reason to divide us as humans. To live as one, to live as truth, to live as love.

So why do my Sikh leaders always ask me why I trim my beard, or why I don’t wear a turban. Why do they state that I have to become a Sikh because of what Islamic extremists did to “our” people hundreds of years ago? Don’t they understand that my people are all people. Don’t they understand that my soul has no religion, that my soul knows no history. Before I was born, I was not a Sikh concerned about the welfare of the religion, before I was born I was with God, who knows no Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jew, or Hindu religions. My history is God. If my goal is to be as close to God as possible, then my religion is meditation and community service, my religion is kindness, love and unity. And understand this my Sikh brethren, Guru Nanak Dev Ji had no religion. He was at one with God. Do not become a member of the Sikh religion but rather become a Student of the 11 Great Gurus, hence become a Sikh, a Philomath.

Understanding the Gurus requires an understanding of what was irrational with the world at the time of their existence and an understanding of what they did to change that irrational behavior. The question to ponder now is not whether we are Sikhs or not, but whether we are still on the same path that the Gurus were on. Do we still look at the world and try to correct the injustices, the inconsistencies, the inequalities that plague this world of ours? What would Nanak do if he were alive today… and would we follow him?

The beauty of Nanak, and all of the 10 living Guru’s, was not the religion that we started in their name, but the purpose of their existence. They questioned everything and attacked the real issues and problems that infested the societies they lived in. Great Students of Nanak, ask yourself this: if Nanak existed today would he care whether his followers sat on floors during the free langar (lunch), or would he be more concerned with women’s continuous plight for equality, the rights of the poverty stricken, and the rights of all people to worship as they please? Would he be more concerned about people trimming their beards or the fact that 1/5th of the earth’s population doesn’t have access to clean drinking water, the fact that every year thousands of young Asian girls are unwillingly forced into a life of prostitution, or the fact that world peace is not considered a realistic possibility? The fact that after 500 years of his teachings on love his so-called followers kill each other because of disagreements on where to eat lunch, the fact that after speaking out against the caste system in the Hindu religion his Sikh followers have created one of their own. Great Students of Nanak, what would Nanak be concerned about today, and what do you find yourself concerned about.

If Guru Gobind Singh Ji were alive today, what would he be concerned with. I gather that he would take up sword against the rich corrupt tyrants that keep the poor in their current status. He would fight the system that keeps things the way they are. He would fight the hate that exists in all of our hearts. What do you concern yourself with? What do you take up arms against? Chughzy’s Beard.

A Sikh is someone who is constantly learning, constantly meditating, and constantly doing community service. Wearing a turban does not mean that you are no longer inflicted by the five deadly sins our scriptures speak of. Wearing a turban does not mean that you can hide behind your uniform and sneak your way into God’s arms. Watch for the ego that comes with wearing turbans, the automatic assumption that you are closer to God as a result of your headdress. You have created an all new caste system, with the Sikhs again divided, the turban wearers at a higher class than the cuttsurdhs.

Great followers of Nanak, question everything. Ask yourself why hair is to be kept uncut. Hair is a God given gift so one should not trim God’s gift. But what about your Liver? Is your liver provided by the devil thus making it acceptable to drink oneself into a state of retardation? And your digestive system, your heart, your bones, all provided by the devil, so is it okay to neglect your health? Work 12 hour days, neglect your wife and your kids… because they are not God’s gifts… and when you ulcer acts up because you are too greedy, remember, do not trim your beard. Wearing a turban does not mean that you have given into all of your Guru’s wishes. Your Guru’s wishes go beyond just uniform.

Hair is a God given gift, as is everything else. Treat everything and everyone with respect. Treat your hair with respect, clean it, don’t cut it, but don’t turn it into a commercialized commodity either. Do it because you believe in the philosophy and follow the philosophy. Know that the uniform you wear is a uniform of sainthood. Know that it is essential to be a saint on the inside before you gavintly display your affections of the almighty to the public. All uniforms from all societies are granted, they are a privilege to wear. Police officers have to graduate from their academy before they are put into their costumes. Judges have to first become veteran lawyers before they can wear their robes to court. Similarly, in order to obtain the divine grant to wear the Sikh uniform you must have an understanding of what a Sikh is, what she believes in, and what she stands for. Most non-Sikhs don’t understand why you wear turbans.. they need to be educated. Most Sikhs themselves don’t understand why they wear turbans, they shouldn’t.

Ask yourself why you do the things you do. If your response is that it was written; If your entire purpose of doing something is that it was written some hundreds of years ago; If it is because your parents implore you; If it is because it is the way it is, or because of your culture or society: Then know that you are not a Sikh/Learner/Student, you are a Follower.

Keep your hair because you believe that God can create a more beautiful face for you than you can for yourself. Believe that you wear your turban out of respect.

The Gurus didn’t teach us how to wear turbans, they taught us how to recognize injustices and how to fight for a unified world focused on God’s glorious energy.

Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.
Victory will belong to God.

— Chughzy

I too, along with most of my friends, wondered why this Ramadan, I had decided to fast. There is nothing in fasting or sacred baths (states Gurbani), only meditation on the name of God matters. So why do millions forego the sacred right to eat during the day for an entire month? What is so spiritual about denying yourself your human needs?

This Ramadan, as asteroid dust drew up the sky like fireworks, I fasted. To discover what it means to be Muslim; To deny myself the food that so many go without; To attain a higher level of consciousness.

To attain global peace we need global understanding. We have to invoke that vision of ourselves that is compassionate to one another’s needs, thoughts and behaviors. I attempted to be one step closer to understanding my Muslim brethren.

But as 4:57pm rolled along and my appetite grew exhausted, it was no longer about religion. Eating after the days fasting made me realize that I still had more to eat that most people on the planet. Why is it that I had plenty of food and water after only 13 hours of fasting while most go days without the same bare necessities? The hunger I felt at 5pm is a hunger that most live with their entire lives. And here I was, gorging on dates, bread, rice, washing down the entire 13 hours spent earlier. I wondered what it would be like to live without food or water for an entire week. I did feel fortunate for the food I had, but also felt far removed from the average human being.

Ramadan also brought me closer to self realization. As each moment of hunger passed I felt invincible, impregnable. Nothing could effect me. I felt a calm I had never experienced before. In the past, hunger had always irritated me, now it comforted me. I felt as if I could give up anything in the name of God, even life. A friend of mine once stated that you find energy in everything you do when doing God’s work. Truth is, I don’t really know if God wanted me to fast, it doesn’t matter, I felt closer to her for my own sake, closer to my fellow Muslims.

This Ramadan, I cleansed myself internally, eternally. This Ramadan I attempted to rid myself of sins committed years ago, lives ago.

This month I found myself breaking fast with strangers. We came from different countries, spoke different languages, the moment of kindness was the common bond between us. This month I fasted, I honored my Muslim brothers and sisters in their age-old tradition. This Ramadan I felt closer to God.

In the name of Nanak, I am Muslim. Eid Mubarak.

— Chughzy

Keep your head down. Keep your focus, you got a job to do. 10 hours a day. Refilling your empty life with even more emptiness. Moving data from one application to another… meaningful. Improving business processes or better yet, creating shareholder wealth. huh. Your life is dedicated to helping those that least need it. Contributing to a society where the rich continue to wallow in their own filth and misery, and continue to distance themselves from the rest of humanity. The shareholders, embarrassed by the beggars that reach out for survival. Fellow human beings, separated by greed.

I know I depress you, I’m sorry. Go back to work, keep your blinders on. Me, I’d rather be dead than turn my head away.

Your silence says it all. Your conformity to the system changes tomorrow into today. I know, its too big a step for one man to make. Your efforts can change nothing. Stay effortless.

After all, how much difference can one man make?

You get by, by calling yourself a realist. I have no respect for your kind. No respect for people who say that things can’t change, that we need war, that the nice guys finish last, that money is what makes the world work, that the world can’t change. But I’m John Lennon. Imagine, for even a moment. Imagine a world where everyone was an idealist. Imagine if all of us did pray together. If all 6 Billion of us came together with common goals in mind. Can you imagine the possibilities? It wouldn’t be the same world we live in. Only love would matter.

I am a realist… just not pessimistic. Maybe tomorrow, you will make a difference.

— Chughzy

New York, September 15 – 18, 2001

New York was transformed this weekend. Never again should it be known as the center of financial strength but rather, and more importantly, as the center of spiritual growth. As I walked through the streets of Manhattan this weekend I was offered food, hugs, love, God, and beauty. It was truly beautiful. Picture the financial district still smoldering from the hell that burns in angry men, transcended by the light that flickers from millions of candles offering vigil to loved ones that have finally found peace. Picture all of us, led in a rendition of Amazing Grace by two beautiful African American women. Picture a New York City where the rich and the poor, the Muslims and the Jews, the cops and the loiterers are all hugging each other, feeding each other, holding hands and praying with (for) each other. Picture an American Muslim man calling to prayer in front of a crowd of weeping Jews that only a moment ago wanted nothing more than vengeance. No-one else understands Arabic, no-one else needs to. Love is the only language that is spoken. This weekend I cried.. not for the memory of ones left behind but for a nation… a world, where we all hold hands and pray together. This weekend everybody cried. I saw love in His eyes.

My fellow people, pray now to the east not only for Mecca or Jerusalem but for our very own spiritual center on this nation.. New York, New York.

As I walked through the various vigils of the city I couldn’t help but notice all the love that floated in the air, stronger than the dust of the world trade center rubble that continues to plagues the news reports. At each site I visited there were sheets of white paper that blanketed most pathways. People were scrawled over floors to capture their thoughts on these flags of peace. I walked by and was touched by the pouring of emotion on these notes. Writing has been an emotional release to so many people during this time, afraid that these biblical writings were going to be locked away forever or worse.. destroyed, I tried to capture some of the thoughts that stood out for me. The following are limited clips of notes I came across.

This we know;
The earth doesn’t belong to man
Man belongs to the earth.
This we know;
All things are connected like
The blood which unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth
Befalls the sons of the earth.
Man did not weave the web of life;
He is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web,
He does to himself.

Dear neighbor. Please interpret this tragedy as a wake-up call – There is no such thing as “nation,” ours or theirs. We are human beings living on planet earth. We share the air with the person who lives next door as well as the person who lives across the globe; we share the oceans to drink and cleanse; we share the earth as a source of good. Destroying any part of our planet leads to the destruction of the whole. Please understand that retaliation in any form of violence contributes directly to our demise as a species, and to the extinction of all living things. Please speak out against hatred and violence when and wherever you can. We must pull together to save the planet. Do whatever you can to help our brothers and sisters understand: the smallest violent act is too large yet no act of compassionate awareness is too small.

When I came here tonight I wanted war, revenge. But now no more. It would better stop here!

It is life that we have
It is life that love that we desire
It is peace that we deserve
It is us that are….

All eyes have been opened
God has not forsaken us.

Just like Marvin Gaye said, God is love. Save the Children. In strength, there is unity. In unity there is peace. Peace, Faith and Soul.

We come from God and we return to God. Let us create bridges of understanding among all people.

Peace and Love.
Peace and Love.

This tragedy that shouldn’t even happen brought us together all over the world.

Humans are inherently good.

The died together
Lets live…
…. together.

Your old life was a frantic running from silence…
die, and be quiet
tear down the prison wall,
escape become the sky…
The speechless full moon comes out now.

Positive Energy Activates Constant Elevation

I usually don’t pray, these days I do.

Love will overcome all of this
We need to unite as 1.

Thou shalt not kill
Peace among all.

Don’t bomb the middle east.

For the peace of all mankind
For the grace in our mind
For leaving the worst behind
with prayers of love and compassion

What a beautiful thing to consider…
that none of us need wait another moment
before making the world a better place.

You wasn’t just a dad for me
You was my life, my love, my friend
I’ll always love you dady
Your son – Drest
I miss you hard.

Patriarchy put us in this position
only wisdom can get us out.

Wait for the lord I say and he will direct your path. WAIT.

You can only defeat terror by embracing terror. Think before you act for the law of unintended consequences will reign.

New Yorkers,
“Be still and know that I am God (PSALM 46:10”
Love one another and in all things – SEEK HIM. He will in turn hold you in his palm and his hand will embrace you. I love you all.

They will survive
They will be found alive
Through Trust.

Trust in the Lord will all thy heart. Rely not on our limited fearful understanding.

Do good today
Love one another.

We have had two world wars already. Don’t let this be another one. At the dawn of a new century, please make peace or live in it.

Our father who art in heaven….
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

It’s more than a peace fantasy.

May something positive come from this tragedy
Somehow, someway, may happiness and peace prevail.

Our worlds have changed
Be thankful for what you have and treat each other well. Never forget.

Union Square Park
has been transformed into a sacred place. A place I came to mourn and be comforted by the creativity that we human beings are capable of in the face of such hopeless destructive acts – our spirit never dies…. Thank you New York… the courage to meet the worst with the best.

Lead us from the unreal to reality, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.
Om peace, peace, peace
May all beings in this world be happy.
Om peace, peace, peace

Dear Friends,

It has been over a month since I finished my 575 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles and I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your help and support. This was one of the most incredible experiences that I have ever had and I am glad that I am able to share it with all of you.

The ride was just as challenging as it was rewarding. During the first two days my knees and legs were in really bad shape. I began to question why I was doing the ride at all and why it was even important to me. However, as the days rolled by, it would seem like I wasn’t the one peddling at all.. I had a lot of help from the guy/gal upstairs. It is amazing how much strength one can draw from a simple prayer.

After the closing ceremonies on the seventh day I finally realized why I had been taken on such an incredible journey. I realized that it wasn’t about the bike ride, nor the effort against AIDS… it was about being part of a society where people help people for the sole purpose of helping. I truly realized that together we can all achieve what we think is impossible. I know we can cure AIDS, cure cancer, abolish poverty, abolish wars and live in a society where nothing but kindness matters. I know it sounds corny but in those seven days I realized that all we need is love.

I met some incredible people on this ride that helped me maintain positive energy throughout the ride. I met HIV positive riders that have had the most excruciating experiences imaginable. I rode for them. I met volunteer crew-members who worked day and night just to make sure that all the riders were safe and healthy. I rode for them. I met people who had lost loved ones to AIDS. I rode for them. I met people along the side of the street who felt something magical as we would pass them by. I rode for them. Throughout the seven days, I met people who just wanted to help one another. I rode for them all.

Thank you all again for the support over the last several months. It has renewed my faith in this planet.

— Chughzy