by Sukh Chugh

Movement – Walk for Hope 2006

Movement.  It is the process in which we transition from one place to another.  It symbolizes change.

Every single person on this planet is engaged in some form of movement.  Some people move their lives in a direction towards fear, greed, or suffering.  That movement then becomes visible in the form of wars, corporate scandals, and outright unhappiness.

Our lives are temporary here.  We are like wind, arising only to pass away.  The only question that matters is which direction are our lives moving in? Are we moving towards love?

Love is not something that is taught to us.  We don’t learn it in our schools, at our jobs, at the shopping malls, or in our TV shows.  Love, which is indisputably the most important thing in life, is the one thing that we forget to cultivate in our daily routines.

We hope that the Walk for Hope serves as a reminder of the things that matter most in life; as a metaphor for the movement that we are all engaged in.

We cannot say that we know what Love is; we too have come here to learn.  We hope that we have not come here to get anything from you, but rather to offer you a piece of our own hearts… thereby teaching ourselves how to love.

By laying one foot on the ground the other follows.  Only by beginning can we move forward.

– Sukh

by Sukh Chugh

Seva on KUCI

I was asked to speak about the Walk for Hope on KUCI’s Peace by Peace radio show hosted by our good friend Sarah Pauly.  Sarah asked me what was up with Be the Cause and for the next 10 minutes I talked about the Seva Cafe.  I guess we’ll chat about the Walk for Hope on the next show 🙂

Here is a link to the interview.  (It will take a couple of minutes to download even with a high speed internet connection).
http://www.bethecause.org/about/files/Seva%20Cafe.mp3

by Sukh Chugh

Silence

We sit in silence to grasp at the unknown, to touch love, to become that which breeds life. 

There is something deep within our natures.  A guiding light if you will.  A voice that always speaks of goodness.  A voice that is always moving us towards more love, towards more life.

Can we hear it?

Sitting in silence is an attempt to become in tune with my own self, with my own voice.  Now there is nothing to distract me, no noises, no conversations, no pre-occupations, there is only silence. 

Yet, I am distracted, still there is noise.  Now it is my own ideas, my own thoughts, my own day-dreams.  Even as I sit here all alone, in the dark, with no sound to stir me, there is still noise.  The mind reflects and reverberates all that it knows.  It regurgitates all that it has recorded.  My mind sits like a tape recorder attempting to empty itself.  I watch all the taped and dreamed conversations float by.

At least now, I know what dreams my mind dreams. 

Now that my thoughts have become observable, I can see in myself.  I know what my mind is thinking.  I begin to understand its patterns, and I see how it dictates my behaviors.  Now I can see why I do the things that I do.  I see my insecurities, my desires, my aversions.  I see how they keep me from being loving.

Silence and service become inseparable.  Silence is a way of cultivating ones tendency to love, Service is a way of observing that tendency in action.

For better or for worse, I know that my mind governs me.  I see that much of who I am is just a product of thoughts and emotions that float by.  How do I discipline my mind to respond with love despite any circumstance in life?  As an exercise, I try to bring my attention to the present moment.  My breathing is present here, my heart beating is present here, my body is present here.  In this moment a feeling arises, that I am alive, that everything is okay in life.  That everything is exactly as it should be.  Meditation becomes gratitude.

Quickly, however, my mind runs away again.  And a paradox blossoms: my mind’s running away is also a reality of the new present moment.  So I accept this new reality and consciously move my mind back to my body, to my breathing, and to my heart beating.  My mind finds its way back home again.

This exercise of bringing my mind’s attention back to the present moment becomes the anti-thesis to addiction.  The last thing my mind wants to do is to observe breath coming in and out of the body.  It would rather entertain itself with ideas, conversations, and dreams.  This exercise helps create discipline, it strengthens my mind.

The more I am able to cultivate this effort, the more I am able to sit with a still mind, the more I am able to respond to life in a manner that is free from my own fears, free from my own insecurities, free from my own beliefs or ideas.  It allows me to be available for others.  To approach each moment, each task, each person with a sense of freedom, a sense of openness.

To meditate, I would observe the world around me, the world inside me.  I would pay attention to where my thoughts wander, my heart beating, my breath coming and going, my emotions coming and going, life coming and going.  Me getting older one moment at a time.  I would pay attention to the world around me coming alive, the little noises that go unheard, the sights that go unseen, the beauty in everyday things.  I would pay attention to time, to see how long a second feels when I am living present in the moment, how long does one hour feel when I have nothing to entertain me, how long a day feels when I am just by myself, consciously doing nothing all day.  How long does one lifetime feel?

I might go for a small walk, just to observe the world around me, to see what is keeping everyone else so busy, to see why the world is moving at such a chaotically fast pace, to see if all this busyness is really headed somewhere or if it is just busyness for busyness sake. 
 
I would see who I am, see if I like myself, see if I can stand myself.  Maybe I would see if I am more than myself, or more than who I always thought I was.  But most importantly, I would spend my time just being.  Watching life takes its course.  

by Sukh Chugh

Guest is God

Brain Surgery!  Doctor, Doctor, can you help me?  There is a hole in my mind.  I once knew how to function logically, now I seem to have lost all perspective, in short, I’ve lost a grip on my reality.  As if my existence has turned to rose pedals and they float and extend in every direction.  What was once up, now I find beneath my feet.  What was once inside, now travels outside. 

My assumptions on life, my judgments of others don’t help me anymore.  In fact, they only get in the way.  They once dictated my behaviors, now they paralyze me.  They keep me from moving, from reaching, from flying.  Rose pedals grow wings, become birds, and reach the sky.

I wake up on Saturday mornings with a smile, knowing that I will have to work harder today than any other day of the week.  … and I smile.  Doctor, Doctor, there is something wrong with me.

I look forward to expanding the ever growing hole in my mind.  I look forward to slipping into it, to falling down in it, to losing all sense of direction in it.  In it, there is only movement.  No conscious choice of direction, just random movements.  Yet, it seems orchestrated.  I feel as if something is dictating my motions, I seem to have lost control, and it feels so very beautiful.  To give in, to let go, to let loose, to submit, to bow, to fall into, this is what dreams must be made of.  I keep falling, yet it feels as if I am actually floating upward. 

Four Saturday’s together.  It started then.  Maybe it was the rendition of a loud Led Zeppelin song, but something tore into me that night.  I haven’t felt quite myself since, Doctor, Doctor, can you help me, I think there is something right with me. 

2 weeks ago, a friend of mine washed dishes for five hours straight.  The plumbing pipes were clogged so he even had to manually transport filthy water from one room to another.  After five hours of this laborious work, he said he would be back every Saturday for more.  Then it hits me again!  Every dish we wash, every sandwich we make, is an opportunity for us to grow in our hearts.  Every guest gives us an opportunity to reach down inside, and to pull a piece of ourselves outside.  To bring our hearts out in the open.  Even hearts can grow wings.

The best thing I can do with my life is to put my heart in my hands and offer it to you as a genuine gift. 

Four weeks ago.  The hole started.  I began to serve.  The room went black and white.  Only a single envelope was in vivid color.  All of my senses, awareness and focus was directed to this colorful object.  I turned to my guest but he blended into the black and whiteness of the room.  I knew then, that I wasn’t fit for love.  Every restaurant that I had ever walked into was built as a function of profit.  Concerned with how much revenue they would earn, I was a financial transaction.  Although we are humans, we are also numbers.  I see this aspect of society in my own brain.  I need a hole.  If my mind is concerned with how much money will be left in the envelope after my guest’s meal, then I cannot serve with love.  Greed and Love cannot co-exist.  So the envelope must become a periphery aspect of my relationship with my guest.  At the core, is my heart, connected with his heart.  Even envelopes can grow wings.

At the end of the night, I find an envelope with $250.  The guest had ordered one sandwich, one soup, and one drink. 

The money comes in.  Now I’m concerned.  Now I know there is something wrong in my brain.  Now, all of a sudden, I don’t want the success of this project to be measured by how much money it pulls in.  Maybe the more money it pulls in, maybe the easier it gets to forget that true success is measured in the intangibles.  The fact that we came together, that love existed in our actions.  Now I hope that the money doesn’t overshadow what this is really about.  Are we learning to see love in every dish, in every sandwich, in every guest, and in every envelope?  Are we learning to serve with genuine love in our hearts… now that is success.

2 weeks later.  A homeless man leaves 93 cents, everything he had on him, to pay for a future guest’s meal.  Maybe he needs a doctor too.

Life is a surprise.  Week 1, five folks from the Bay Area drove down, two of them were a surprise.  Week 4, four folks drove down from the Bay Area, all of them were a surprise.  While they were here they washed dishes, bussed tables, made sandwiches, took orders, and smiled.  The woke up before the sun came up, drove 6 hours, 500 kilometers, to work all day.  The next day, they woke up, drove 6 hours, 500 kilometers, and went to work the next day.  I wonder if there is a conspiracy, and if many others have holes in their brains.  Maybe this degradation of logic and sensibility seems to be spreading across the planet.  Alert the Center for Disease Control, I think we have an epidemic on our hands crazier than the bird flu!  I think it is air born, is transmitted through emails and blog entries.  Through dirty dishes and portabella mushrooms.  Through smile cards, hand shakes and warm hugs.  Through someone opening a door for someone else, through a child, holding the hands of a complete stranger.  I feel infected.  Symptoms include staying up late sending emails, listening to music, crying for no reason, falling in love with everything, with everyone, with every moment.  Bowing for no reason, feeling gratitude for no reason.  Loss of appetite, loss of worry, loss of concern.  An over expansion of the heart.  A desire to do something for someone else.  I wonder if there is a fix to this fix.  I’m jonesing for another hit, and it’s only Wednesday.

Guest is God.  That’s what they say.  To treat every guest as if they are divinity.  But we don’t buy that here.  In constant debate over what God is, we don’t risk treating our guests with our confusion :).  So we find our own way.  Sudi washes dishes for five hours.  Srikanth works non-stop.  Shweta’s ready to give it all.  Raju takes over.  Manuri equilibrates.  Rajeev commands.  Gianna funkdefies.  Marcella smiles.  Elizabeth is in control.  Watch out, here comes Carolina.  Nirali, presence.  Dustin, that’s my boy.  Peter walks through.  Laura, one heart, at a time.  Britanny, all eyes.  Bharti, the anti-mom.  Lisa, Mom.  Alicia and Buddy … enough said.  Who’s left?  You.  Me.

Do it, week in and week out.  Then we realize that to be able to pump in the kitchen, or to serve the guests is an amazing opportunity.  We get to grow in our hearts.  Then we get to see that this opportunity exists only because of the guest that has walked into the room.  Every door opening, is a door opening within us, to somewhere new.  Every door opening, is an opportunity walking through.  Then there is gratitude.  The hole gets bigger.  The envelopes don’t matter anymore.  We are no longer giving anything to the guest, now they are giving us something.  An opportunity.  To grow wings.

Then the hole widens.  Gratitude spills over.  Now its not just the guests anymore.  Even the other volunteers are creating an environment that allows us to serve.  Now its every person in the room.  There is gratitude.  Slowly, Guest becomes God, the person washing the dishes becomes God, the person next to you making sandwiches becomes God, the sandwich becomes God, the Sun-Dried Tomatoes become God.  The air we breath, the music from the speakers, the sandwich toaster.  Everything becomes slow motion.  Niyati wipes down the tables at the end of the night, and I see God in every stroke of her hands.

11:15pm.  Bones are tired.  We are standing outside and Biba’s words start to come true.  The whole world does seem like a Seva Café.

I slip into the hole.  I’m glad.  My life seems to be moving in a direction towards love.  In a day when many brothers and sisters are moving their lives in a direction towards violence, towards hatred, toward anger, towards greed, towards ego.  My life seems to be floating in a different direction.  The hole in my brain seems to be serving me well. 

Doctor, Doctor, I think I’ve got it figured out.  Forget about me, lets worry about you.  I think your mind needs surgery.  Come, wash dishes.  The soap on your hands is strong, it’ll burn through your brain cells.  

What was once up, now I find beneath my feet.  Heaven.  What was once inside, now travels outside.  Heart.

by Sukh Chugh

Seva Cafe Week 3

Today was by far the most emotional Seva Cafes that I have experienced. I can’t begin to explain why, all I know that is that every time I engaged in a new activity, a new emotion flooded into my being.

It started with the orientation. After all the volunteers introduced themselves, I for some reason was compelled to share the story of Biba’s Aunt. Biba is one of those people who is always kind and gentle to everyone she meets. Recently her Aunt passed away. Despite not knowing her Aunt, I somehow felt that I need to be a part of the ceremonies. Thoughts of death, bring up many thoughts on life. A realization sets in that this “living” is very temporary, and very short. It is almost as if our entire lives are like wind, arising only to pass away. Somehow, the passing of Biba’s Aunt brought me back to the concept of the Seva Cafe. In the short time that we are here on this planet, the question that urges us, is what direction are we moving in? Even in this moment, some of our brothers and sisters are headed to wage war onto each other, that is the direction they are taking their lives. Some people are acting out their greed, their fears, their hatred, or their egos. … and for some reason, in my own life, I have a small opportunity to move my life into a completely different direction. In this temporary life, I hope that we are not being busy for the sake of being busy, that we are actually taking the time to reflect on what is most important.

Somehow, in that orientation, Biba’s aunt was with us.

The entire day was packed with emotion. I recalled walking outside for a moment, when I returned, I looked around and noticed that every person in the room was wearing a smile. What an amazing place I thought, this is love.

At one point, I recognized a homeless man sitting on one of the tables outside. I remembered him from the launch two weeks ago and recalled how he had left immediately after finishing his meal without waiting for the server to bring him his envelope. For some reason, this time I felt compelled to sit with him. He looked like he was in his late 50s, old enough to be my father. I knew that my own father would want me to treat him with respect, so I sat down, as if I was literally his son. I held his hand for a few moments and asked him how he was doing. He was counting his change hoping to find enough money for a beef sandwich… he had apparantly forgotton that every Saturday evening there are no prices, and more importantly that all the meals are vegetarian 🙂 .

I wanted to give my new friend an opportunity, an opportunity to see the world differently from how he always sees it. I told him that there is a lot of pain and suffering in the world and that the Seva Cafe simply gives us an opportunity to spread some love. That’s all I needed to say. He immediately had tears in his eyes. He told me that he knew about pain and suffering too well. Maybe what he really needed most in that moment was someone to remind him that there is hope in life. I told him that we would bring out a meal for him, and that the food he was about to eat had been paid for by someone he will never meet… and that everyone in the kitchen was preparing that one meal for him with one intention: to serve him with love. I also wanted him to know that he is part of the hope for this world, and that he too would have the opportunity to help pay for a future guest’s meal, as a gift to someone who he will never meet.

When he walked away after his meal, I knew we had nourished something in that man well beyond his stomach. He left 93 cents behind, as a gift, to help pay for someone else’s meal.

Towards the end of the night, my friend Biba and some of her relatives dropped by. They had spent the entire day at the funeral and decided to be with us in the evening. At the end of their meal, I wanted to honor their aunt in a special way. I grabbed our Share the Love Box and placed it right in the center of their dining table. I opened it and showed them the money that sat inside. The Share the Love Box is a profound experiement in Trust. It sits by the door and anyone can take money from it. We leave a note by the box to remind people that they can take money, or leave money, for the purpose of conducting acts of kindness. So far, we have had plenty of people leaving money in the box, but very few folks that are actually willing to take money out. Taking money from that box brings a strong sense of responsibility. You become tied to the intentions of the person who left the money in the first place. I felt that this was an opportunity to do something special for Biba’s Aunt. I asked everyone on the table to reach into the box, to take a few dollars and then within the next week to put those funds to good use. I happened to pull a $5 bill out myself. Maybe I’ll buy a random person a sandwich and tell him that is a gift, from a woman that I’ve never met, whose journey here has come to an end, and who has somehow become a part of the very air we breath.

Sukh

by Sukh Chugh

Letter to Manav Sadhna

Hello Manav Sadhna Family,

Through your well wishes, the Seva Café is doing well. Many people are having life enhancing experiences here. During the launch of the Seva Café, one woman was actually in tears after we brought her a meal. Last night was the third Seva Café that we have conducted. There are many more stories that I can possibly share. Every time I looked around the room, all I saw was smiles, I thought to myself that this is a place where Love resides. Last night I saw a homeless man sitting on one of the tables outside. I went up to him to see how he was doing. I explained the concept of the Seva Café and he was literally moved to tears. He said he knew all about pain and suffering because of living on the streets. We brought him his meal. Afterwards, he left 93 cents on the table to pay for a future guest’s meal, it was all the money he had on him.

Many more stories to reflect on. One of our friend’s aunt passed away last week. The funeral was yesterday, after the funeral the family decided to come and join us at the Seva Café. I placed the Share the Love box on their table and we as a group all decided to take money out of the box and do something meaningful with it in the coming days.

I can’t even begin to share how the volunteers themselves are doing. Recently a friend of ours, Sudi, washed dishes for 5 hours straight, he even had to carry dirty water from one room to another because the plumbing pipes were clogged. He must have gained something through that experience because he agreed to come and serve every single Saturday. Another friend drove 1 hour to be with us yesterday, after sitting for four minutes he decided that he was going to wash dishes for the rest of the night. Another friend of ours came by during the first week just to say hello. He kept saying that he needed to leave the entire night but ended up staying with us past midnight. You couldn’t get him away from the dish washing sink. I spoke to him afterwards and he mentioned the hard time he was having at another non-profit he works at. He was literally feeling burned-out and had decided to take a break from his non-profit work… he said that being at the Seva Café rejuvenated his spirit and he felt a new force of inspiration to do good in the world. He too has come back every single Saturday. Its hard to put into words what happens here. Watching Niyati wipe the tables down at the end of evening was one of the most peaceful experiences I had. As if somehow the universe itself was guiding every single stroke of her hands.

Thank you for providing us with the inspiration to get this started. It is already beginning to affect people in a very positive way. We know that with everything we do here, we are tied to everything you do there. Many of the local folks that have visited the Seva Café in Ahmadabad have been supporting this effort here. Please let us know how the Seva Café is doing there in Ahmedabad andzif there is anything we can do to help from here.

Some stories of the Seva Café are here and some comments from guests will be added here as well:
http://www.bethecause.org/wordpress/index.php?cat=45

With as much love as we are capable of,
Sukh

by Sukh Chugh

First Day back from Los Angeles

A note from Tarlok Chugh (my father) after visiting Los Angeles for 10 days.

My first day back from Los Angeles;

What has happened to me, what is happening to me, I am numb or I am intoxicated by memories or feelings of my Eleven Days in Los Angeles. I started writing about my stay starting day one. Every individual I met and tried to know them more. Knowing more about them is like knowing more about God, knowing more about qualities of God. Everyone is giving. Giving unconditionally.. like God gives HIS love unconditionally.

An airplane picked me up from Los Angeles and dropped me in Calgary. Have I come back, Yes. Physically. I have left my Heart and Soul behind…. to move forward.

I am cooking food, I am washing clothes, but these chores are unrelated to me, to my thoughts. I got engrossed in writing my feelings, my journey to Los Angeles….
I smell something burning in the kitchen. There is smoke and the vegetable I was cooking is burnt. I feel happy, there is an instant smile on my face. I am enjoying the mistakes I make while lost in the thoughts of my beloved one, BeTheCause Family.

Am I still, relaxed, calm, feel like crying, happy or sad?. I do not know. I do not want to watch TV or listen to radio. I want to feel the presence of silence or I want to hear the words, discussions…….

Seva Cafe……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. What a concept … to sow seeds of service (Seva) in the hearts of every soul entering “Seva Cafe’. When they leave cafe after delicious food, they take with them concept of seva with them as ‘food for thought’.

WOW.. What an atmosphere at Seva Cafe. It looked like people are coming to attend a birthday or wedding party. People are ordering food from the menu with ZERO price value. They are greeted by volunteers of BeTheCause with a smile on their faces and divine light in their eyes. This is unique party. Here everybody is feeling at home. They are talking, discussing and sharing their views about God, Love, Compassion, Kindness, Meditation, Cause & Effects and Service(Seva). People want to know and learn the concept of Seva Cafe.

Godly discussions at Manuri’s place after grand success of Seva Cafe……………………………
Selfless and full of divine energy volunteers gathered at Manuri’s place around midnight to discuss the event. Was this event, with all the efforts of all the volunteers, able to touch one soul to turn to seva?. Were we able to convey the concept to the customers?. Yes. It was grand success from these measurements. All of a sudden I see wings on all the volunteers sitting in the room. They are the Angels sent by God to perform these acts of kindness and spread His message of love in the universe. My “namaskar” to all of you.

Divine discussion at the Beach Party in honor of Nirali………………………………………………
Feelings came us before the words. Words are only trying to express or match our feelings.
Nirali: You are a wonderful person and a sweet soul. You have touched every soul you met. You are brave… you survived surprise beach party… looked like ocean turned into tears. And Nirali says to all,” You have no clue how much I love You”.
“ We won’t miss you, You live in our hearts”.
Nirali: When you were standing on the beach that night, I saw all the water in the ocean came running in the form of waves to touch and wash your feet. Feet that walked all over in the ‘seva’ of humanity.

I was full with so much love and respect I received during my stay that I did not want to talk to any body on the last day of my trip for fear of bursting into tears. But Laura, The Sweetness, was there to take us to the airport. I knew a won’t be able to handle this. We were drowned in our tears. Travel from Sukh Ashram to the airport turned out to be a unique experience. It is amazing that BeTheCause volunteers from different parts of the world with diverse cultures have come together for a common cause of service to humanity. Laura, my Darling Daughter, thank you so much for Candy Garlands made with love, love which is down to the depth of the sea. And a little look of ALOHA, spirit of Healing. I need healing because I have been injured by the Arrow of Love, which came from the Bow of Kindness.
But then who wants to be healed……I wish this wound stays with me for ever ……………..

by Sukh Chugh

Man’s Last Performance

I had the opportunity to interview Maushmi regarding their latest Community Service Project in Houston. Below is a write-up on “Healing Sounds at the Houston Hospice”.

Shini

Every now and then we get the opportunity to bring comfort to others. On May 20th, a few friends got together at the Houston Hospice to play various musical instruments for the terminally ill patients.

This idea started many months ago. Maushmi, who coordinates this project on a monthly basis, was speaking to a nurse and they decided that they wanted to do something nice for the patients. Some of the patients are very sick, some are heavily sedated, and some are even in comas. Engaging in any physical activity was out of the question.

Maushmi discovered some research that mentioned how music can be a therapeutic enhancement to the healing process, soothing and comforting terminally ill patients. She decided to put this theory into action. She contacted a few friends and some co-workers and asked them to put their musical talents to use. Some brought instruments, some just their singing voices, and some only brought their hearts. It seems the love is still the most audible form of music known to exist.

The projects have become meaningful not only for the patients but also for the volunteers. Maushmi, and the rest of the gang in Houston, visit the Houston Hospice now on a monthly basis.

She recalls a story of the very first time they performed at the Hospice. They would go into the rooms of the patients on both floors of the building. Shimi, another volunteer, played the violin for a patient who it turns out did not have long to live. After Shimi’s performance they all proceeded downstairs to play for the residents on the first floor. As they entered the room of the next patient, a nurse approached them. She told the group that the person they had just performed for had just passed away. The man departed literally minutes after hearing the violin performance.

The relatives of the patient happened to be at the Hospice at that time. The daughter/niece of the man that passed away said that the violin performance was the most beautiful gift he could have received before his passing. Maushmi recalls that in that moment, she knew that what they were doing was the right thing.

The more you give, the more you receive. Maushmi who jokes that she has no musical talents gets to coordinate the activities instead. She says that she gets to go to different rooms and asks the patients if they would like to have a volunteer come and play music for them. One time Maushmi recalls that a patient actually asked to have her nails painted. Maushmi obliged. Maushmi mentioned that she feels so much peace from spending time with the patients. “Patients may be asleep but I just sit with them quietly”, says Maushmi.

The visits to the Houston Hospice are always a lot of fun! Sometimes they are also emotional and sad. This time, Maushmi had the opportunity to interact with a very healthy 103 year old patient.

“The nurse told me that she was refusing to eat and drink because she was ready to die. I was kind of sad. I usually never talk to patients about death, but this time I started the conversation by telling her that I was afraid of dying. She just laughed, she said there is nothing to be afraid of and I could tell that she really meant what she was saying.

I think about death a lot. I think I would be okay if I was dying, but wouldn’t know how to handle the death of others, say my family or friends. Volunteering at the hospice gives me a perspective on dying and on how to deal with the death of others.”

Maushmi coordinates community service projects on a regular basis in Houston. If you want to contact her, please email maushmi@bethecause.org.

Sukh

by Sukh Chugh

Mission Statements

He wanted to know the mission of Be the Cause.  Once again I was stumped.  I looked over at Angela to rescue me.  With a shrug, we both knew that Be the Cause had no mission.  It’s been four and half years and we still haven’t quite figured out what we do.

We fumbled with our response, dropped some buzz-words like “service”, “compassion”, and “grass-roots”, but we knew that our words were not capturing the essence of it.  Ultimately, words will never be enough.  I just hoped that he understood in the way that I shook his hand.  With love.

Outside, both Angela and I felt comfortable in not knowing, and also in knowing that the secret was hidden somewhere in our hearts.  That the mission of Be the Cause was no different than the mission of our lives: to love. For four and half years we have been missionless, directionless, and objectiveless.  Somehow, it still seems to work.I think of the volunteer who stopped slitting her wrists because she found joy in serving others.  I think of Maushmi and her gang of volunteers in Houston as they played the violin for a man who died minutes later.  I think back to last year’s walk for hope as 30 cars were lined up on the side of the road at 4:30AM ready to spend the day serving others.

I think about all the Compassion Cells that Jeska has coordinated.  All the Evenings of Awareness that Michele, Mahsa and Raquel have helped create.  The Service Vacation trips that Bharti and Karuna have worked on.  The Sacred Site visits that Jason helps coordinate.  Where would we be without our website in place through the efforts of Alfred, Anshul, Stacey, Manveer, Baldeep, and Supun.  … and the foundation of Be the Cause itself, laid by folks like Muna, Barbara, Eleanor, Alex, Rebecca, Cheryl, and Shaheda.  The Change of Heart weekend coming together because of Ann.  The handling of our finances by Albert.  All the amazing graphic design work done by Nirali.  Our Google Adwords campaign by Sonali.  The online calendar being kept up-to-date without fail by Gianna and Manuri.  Melisa working on our media press releases.  And previous Walk for Hopes coordinated by many people including Thu-Trang, Ben, Kristeen, Mike, Divya, Harpal, Simoina, Larry, Brenda, Ganesh.  The list goes on and on.  The Evening in India organized by the travelers including Lanie, Carolina, Marcella, Angel, Laura.  Our mail being collected by Srini.  Srikanth and Elizabeth stepping in to take charge of the upcoming Seva Cafe.  … and there’s more. 

Where would we be without Bill and his mother Barbara biking into the Walk for Hope on accident, and immediately becoming life-long friends.  Without Aena, Hamood and her 1 year old son Mikail taking the train all the way from Ventura to spend one evening with us.  Without Thoi who drove all night from the Bay area to spend one day with us, and then drove right back in the evening.  Without Prerna threatening to move us all to Hong Kong to start a chapter there.  Without our friends at Charity Focus, Manav Sadhna, Tias Arms, ARO, Power of Love, LifeNets, and many others.

Somehow without a mission, without any structure, without any incentive plans, without stock options, without work-life balance, without hierarchy, without office spaces overlooking the ocean, without any titles, and without any clues as to where we are heading, somehow it works. 

It all came together last week when a friend left a check for $1000 without being asked.  The next day I called her to Thank her and she just said it was a gift from the universe… to the universe.  Enough said!

I guess Be the Cause is quite simply just that: a gift from the universe.  Our mission: to love.

Sukh

by Sukh Chugh

I bow to the paint on my walls

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
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