Be the Cause

Letter to Manav Sadhna

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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

Little Things, Big Difference at Hope Village, Houston, TX

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Can small things make a difference? Well, that was the experiment a group of twenty of us volunteers carried out at Hope Village on Saturday, July 22nd. Hope Village is dedicated to providing superior yet affordable residential and support services to children and adults with mental disabilities. We laughed, played games and danced with the residents. We shared food and heart-felt conversations with them. At the end of the day, we realized that we definitely made a difference in our own lives. Though I can’t even fully begin to understand the impact it is having on my own life, here’s a few stories from my experience volunteering at Hope Village:

I was sitting next to Kirk, one of the residents at Hope Village, while playing bingo. I was the very first person to have a bingo, so everyone was very excited at my table and looking forward to winning prizes that we had brought for them. We cheered for each other and had a lot of fun being together. The residents delighted in posing for a picture when they won a prize. Time went by so fast and so did the prizes. Sensing Kirk’s anxiousness who was only one number away from a bingo in pretty much all directions, I suggested that he could just go get a prize. He simply said, “I don’t want to be unfair,” and went back to cheering for others. His response left me shaken. Encountering such integrity and commitment to truth has left a mark on my consciousness, and I know my life will never be the same.

Volunteers

No doubt all of us volunteers’ lives have been affected in one way or another. One thing we were all touched by, though, was the genuine care and concern the residents had for each other. When someone couldn’t hear or follow the instructions while playing bingo or other games, their neighbors took delight in helping them. When one resident fell down while dancing, there or four others rushed to help her get up and make sure she was okay. They really looked after each other, which one would expect to be natural because they live together and have known each other for years. However, when one resident noticed a band-aid on one of my fingers did I realize that their care and concern expanded well beyond their circle of friends. He just grabbed by hand and wanted to know what had happened to my finger. He started asking me when and how I had cut myself and whether or not it hurt. He felt relieved and smiled when I told him that it doesn’t hurt at all. Though the stain of blood from my finger got washed away, I’ve been tainted by love I felt among volunteers and residents at Hope Village.

See pictures from Hope Village: http://www.bethecause.org/gallery/Hope-Village

Other volunteers’ reflections:

Dushyant:

I was a bit tentative on what to expect, but barely a minute after arriving, I got my first lesson of the day – one among many, I hope, I never forget. I introduced myself and was going around the table asking everybody’s name and finally came around to Rex, who had been very silent and looked unreachable, or so I presumed, naively. But as soon as I approached him, his demeanor underwent a sudden transformation, as if a switch had been activated, and he spontaneously reached out and gave a big kiss on my cheek. Wow! It hit me like – “small talk is nice, but here’s something more personal and earnest”. It was wonderful and still makes me smile when I think about it.

Later, when it was time to leave, one of the residents thanked us for visiting. What can you say to that? These 2 incidents paraphrase what I saw at Hope-Village. Fearlessness, kindness, gratefulness. And having fun :) I feel humbled and privileged to have been a part of this beautiful learning experience.

Elham:

Today was an awesome day and it would not have been the same if it was not for the enthusiasm, energy, love, and passion of each and everyone of you [volunteers]. I have been so energetic and happy today. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed our event. Thank you so much for everything.

Sumana:

It was indeed a wonderful experience for all of us. I can’t stop sharing what I experienced yesterday with all my friends. I realized that many of us here are so engrossed in our own lives that we don’t seem to find time for others at all. And when we do take the initiative to do little things for them, it is extremely rewarding. I agree with you that the most impressive aspect of it all was the care that the residents had for each other. Also, they were so uninhibited in everything they did, be it expressing themselves or doing what they liked. Thank you so much for this opportunity. In all, I had a very nice time and would love to do it again.

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