Something remarkable has been happening over the past week.  When an earthquake hit Haiti last week, individuals rallied together to raise awareness via facebook updates and email messages to raise funds and send aid to the devastated area.  

In a similar way, the entire Sikh community came together this week to support two Sikh organizations who were competing in the $1 Million Chase Community Giving Campaign.  Emails were sent out in support, facebook and twitter updates were constantly being posted, Sikhs were reaching out to each other and also to non-Sikhs to involve them in the process.  The potential of building the first Sikh Museum in North America got the global Sikh community excited about the impact a group of committed people can have.  Imagine a building dedicated to Sikh history, a place for future generations to pay homage to the deep and meaningful history of the Sikh Qaum.  The point is, we no longer have to imagine these dreams.  The possibility is real and if we, as a community, can mobilize – there isn’t anything we can’t do.

There is still time to VOTE.  All it takes is one click on Facebook to support these initiatives and participate in one of the most notable mobilizations we’ve seen in our community.  Voting ends in 24 hours – don’t delay, vote now!

VOTE for Jakara Movement: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/674186

VOTE for Sikhcess: http://www.sikhcess.org/

Thank you to all TLH readers that voted and participated in the Chase Bank Community Giving competition.  Over 500,000 organizations competed and 2 organizations from our community find themselves with $25,000 to further the community and a chance for advancement in the next round – the Jakara Movement and Sikhcess.

So here’s the deal.  What would be your 1 million dollar dream for the community? Send some suggestions here.  A plan is on the way, but we need community feedback first.

Recent coverage on The Langar Hall led us to celebrate the victory in Surrey of the YOUTH SLATE.  Now here in the United States we have the formation of the SIKH SLATE.

8 Sikh organizations (Ensaaf, the Jakara Movement, SALDEF, Sikhcess, Sikh Research Institute, Surat Sikh Conference, The Sikh Coalition, and United Sikhs) have teamed up and are calling on all Sikhs to vote for the slate on Facebook.

Just a few clicks could gain $200,000 for our community through the Chase Bank Community Giving.

CLICK HERE to vote and for links to all the Sikh organizations.

Now enjoy the Return of Billa in Part Deux and most importantly follow his advice – VOTE NOW!

Make sure you join the SIKH SLATE Fan Page on Facebook.

Please circulate widely to your family/friends (Sikhs and non-Sikhs)!

The first week of President Barack Obama’s administration has been important in several respects, perhaps most notably because of the announcements that the Guantanamo Bay facility will close and that the United States, “without exception,” will not torture.  While these statements are vitally significant in their own right, they are, in my view, part of a broader theme that the new administration is putting forth — namely, that the United States will regain its position in the world and safeguard its security interests by demonstrating, through action and example, what the nation truly stands for.

This concept, put forth most eloquently by Joseph Nye, Jr., is called “soft power.”   It calls for a state to attract others to its causes not just by force or economic coercion, but through attraction.  The Obama administration, including newly minted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has rebranded this foreign policy strategy, generally naming it “smart power.”  (Perhaps the term “soft power” sounds weak and overly accommodating.)

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Last week’s Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company. Being a fan of Apple’s innovative products for some time, I read the article with pride. The article was very interesting and talked a great deal about Steve Jobs and his struggles to get where he is today. However, there was one thing I learned from the article that disappointed me, and that was the fact that Apple is one of the least philanthropic companies in the world. On the other hand, Bill Gates’ company Microsoft may have been 16^th on this list, but they are considered one of the most philanthropic companies globally. This article facilitated some personal thought to my own quest in giving enough back to the community, and what the importance of charity is in our Sikhi. Wand kay shako is one of the three main concepts of Sikhi, which encourages Sikhs to share their earnings with those less fortunate than ourselves. Guru ka Langar is a way in which we distribute this concept in the Gurdwaras. Dasvandh is donating a tenth of our earnings. It’s interesting that there are many religions that uphold the concept that “a tenth” of your income should be donated to charity in some form.

Although I know that other religions are strict in making sure this donation is made on an annual level, I am not sure whether we are as philanthropic? How much are you as families donating to the cause of Wand kay Shako? We are lucky to be a part of a religion that is so progressive and way ahead of the times. There is even more we can do to be more involved in the concept of “giving back”, because there are a growing number of organizations that are allowing us to contribute our “dasvandh” for a great cause – such as Sikhcess, Sikh Coalition, Sikhnet, and Sikh Giving. Many of these organizations have been started by our generation, which shows we truly are a generation of change and a generation of humanity!

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After attending a recent workshop organized by the Sikh Research Institute on The Guru: Connecting with the Divine Light, I have been pondering much of what was discussed. The focus of the workshop was becoming “Guru centered” and one of the questions that arose in the discussion was related to the discrepancy we see today between what our Guru’s teachings say and how they are actually practiced. What many of us struggle with is asking difficult questions about whether our words and actions follow those principles that have been bestowed upon us in the Guru Granth Sahib.

It’s dismaying to constantly hear about the divisions being created in our community. So, I was happy to come across a press release from Sikhcess, relaying information about a forthcoming global langar project providing an example of unity:

Today, Sikhcess, a community service organization, unveiled definitive plans to feed the homeless worldwide through its ‘Feed the Homeless’ campaign on March 1, 2008. Sikh communities throughout the globe will participate, with efforts to feed the homeless and needy in Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. [link]

I think this is what our Guru Ji intended when the revolutionary concept of langar was introduced. And to me, it is a good example of how Sikhi is working today.

Through this ideal of equality, the tradition of ‘Langar’ expresses the ethics of sharing, community, inclusiveness, and oneness of all humankind.

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