Celebrating the journey of 14 years, 14 days and 14 hours of Seva Cafe with a gratitude circle with 50+ volunteers in person and holding hundreds in intentions! Circle begin with gratitude towards an old couple, who didn't have much for themselves, yet offered all they had to Jayesh bhai and Anar didi for their lunch. The spirit of love and compassion touched their hearts deeply. Recalling the experience, Anar didi shared that, that moment triggered a thought - did we ever host anyone w... read full story

Our Kanchan dada would have his last journey in his physical body today evening. Firmly believe that his soul will rest in peace and will keep on blessing our noble intentions. We visited Kanchan dada on 1st Oct, in his village Bhanpur going through health issues. It was an experience to witness his pious smile and blessing. As he saw Jayesh bhai, didi and ESI family members, his joy expanded and extended. While his body is suffering severely, his soul blessed everyone. Feel grace that we hav... read full story

How many ex-Microsoft employees are needed to light-bulb the change? The answer: Two. The catch? The two must be brothers! This is a story of two brothers, their family and friends and a bold experiment that people like Mahatma Gandhi and Margaret Mead would have been happy about. Abid Ali and Shabbar Hussain grew up in a middle class Indian family. Like many smart kids they became software engineers, became star performers at Microsoft, got married, had kids, built homes, nurtured f... read full story

Dear family, I am humbled before His Grace and was moved to share my gratitude with all you. When Mother Teresa left her mortal body, somehow, I desperately rued the fact that though I made umpteen rounds of various temples, I had made no effort whatsoever to meet her, to take blessings of such a living Saint. The idea of being a mother , beyond our two sons, took birth then. I am still trying and it is a lifelong practice and learning to be a mother. As I started reading noble books,... read full story

In case you haven't seen it yet, here's a podcast Interview with Nimo ... What does it truly mean to serve and where do we start? In this episode Amisha meets musician and humanitarian Nimesh ‘Nimo’ Patel. Nimo tells the story of his early life, growing up in privilege and enjoying material success. After the horror of 9/11, he began to rethink his direction in life. A call from an old school friend planted a potent seed, which later led him to a brand new adventure. ... read full story

Our connection with Dada Vaswani's ecosystem continues as their elders reach out to us for various events ... most recently, we spoke following this inspiring video talk by Dada V on service: ... read full story

A few months ago, I started working at a government home with children between the ages of 0-7 years. These children are here because they were abandoned just after birth or later due to multiple reasons. I was always interested in working with this age group because, as per psychology, there are significant milestones in this phase that affect a person’s later stages. Of course, I was worried when I first stepped in as I had never worked with this age group, but as I started knowing them ... read full story

Next MBL laddership circle begins in a few days, and the volunteers are having a great time (read tough time) absorbing the applications - the diversity and richness of the applicant’s work and their commitment to inner practices. Take for instance, Shreenabh Agrawal. His work spans across science, social service and literature. In this course, he has received 10 international awards, numerous national awards and published two books, authored over 65 articles. He has a keen eye to obser... read full story

"Shreenabh, a young boy from Nagpur, was moved to re-kindle the bond between the elderly and the young. A chance encounter of seeing his friend's grandfather spend time with the kids gave him an idea that led to the 'Oldy Goldy Club'. Shreenabh shared the ongoing journey of the club in an essay which won the GOI Peace Foundation's Award last year. He recently shared his essay with us. Sharing the inspiration with everyone!" When I see old people around me looking ... read full story

"Sister Lucy recently shared this letter with a few of us. It is a beautiful gratitude letter written to her by Sister Manju. The letter not only shows her affection for Sister Lucy but is also a subtle embodiment of her values. We are ever so grateful to be inspired by Sister Lucy!" Dearest Lucy I can’t say “thank you” enough to express how grateful I am as A Carmelite Missionary, for your coming into my life. You have made such a huge impact on my life. I ... read full story

40 of us from 20+ development organizations from across the spectrum came together in the spirit of cultivating harmony. Sanchi opened the circle quoting Sheela Didi from BrahmaVidya Mandir that when five sticks come together, it’s difficult to break them. When there is strength in togetherness in lifeless sticks, imagine five conscious beings with their full conscience coming together! Remembering Ishwar dada and the broom- symbol of internal and external sanitation, another volunteer... read full story

We share gratitude on behalf of many in America, who are grateful for Arun Dada's visit -- just after his first circle. :) Last Wednesday, Arun Dada spoke at our Awakin Circle, as Professor Pandya elegantly translated! He opened with a Kabir song, with a translation -- and by the time he closed with a song, none of us even needed to know the meaning. Moved by Love. So many touching transformations. He has a growing list of invites, to build on his already overflowing itinerary. Jiggy h... read full story

What a joy to receive Arun Dada and Jignasha in America today! See some photos here. He arrived with first-class karma (courtesy of Jiggy insisting on him using a wheelchair :)). Audrey raced up to go touch his feet (later, at dinner, he gave a new name to Audrey -- "OldTree"). Bradley offered him a hand-made heart pin! We all hugged, bowed, laughed, and felt so grateful. Ari came by with his own version of a pin for Arun Dada and Jignasha that read: Love is the Answer. We did a par... read full story

Parikshit (18 years), saw a video of Seva Café and Udai bhai on history channel and was moved by the idea of "gift it forward". He decided to offer tuition to students from needy background without any fixed fee – whatever one can offer, he would accept with grace. Initially people made fun of him, a year later one of his student got first rank in one of the toughest entrance exam in the district. Ever since watching the video, he wished to visit Seva Café and mee... read full story

Last Saturday we had our first anniversary of hosting Awakin circle for kids. In the last 12 months we have been hosting Awakin circle for kids, once every month. So far it has been a very organic and creative process and through a topsy-turvy ride, a community of 20 to 25 parents and kids have emerged :) The process of hosting the circle is very simple and quite aligned with Awakin circles. We sit in silence for 30 minutes and then have an activity of 15 mins like storytelling, gratitude... read full story

[This note was originally written to Rev. Heng Sure.] Dear Service Space monks and pilgrims, Every single day we think of you, your pilgrimage, your songs and your photography :-). Today only we were thinking of how the path that we are walking has been a pilgrimage path from hundreds of years. There is a strong context here which makes our journey easier. We feel Rev. Heng Sure, Nipun bhai, Guri di and many others made a unique path by "walking it yourself" as the title of th... read full story

[Recently I had the opportunity to volunteer alongside an incredible crew of love warriors for the first ever one day Kids Retreat in Surat. What started off as a seed from a 10 year old's curiosity to come together along with other kids to practice small acts of kindness - unfurled into an incredible day of learnings, aha-moments and smiles of gratitude. Deeply grateful to Meera Ben (the mother of this 10 year old), and many other visible and invisible volunteers who made this intention a r... read full story

[On September 2nd a group of enthusiastic parents, kids and local volunteers birthed a small idea of a Kids retreat in Surat. What started off as an experiment to learn and do small acts of kindness with kids & through kids has now culminated into an ongoing series of explorations, experiments and deepening of values. Below is a summary of the experience that Meera Ben and Manish Bhai penned down and spearheaded along with many love warriors of the local Surat community - on October 2nd, to ... read full story

"Whatever is held and listened to will show us where it lives in the world and in us" -- Mark Nepo. When I was in fourth grade, I learnt this Hindi song in music class that went like this: “Ä€o, nayā samāj banāyen, is dhartÄ« ko swarg banāyen…is dhartÄ« ke har mānav ka, mānavta se nātā joden, nātā joden, nātā joden.” (Translation: Come, one and all, let us build a new society, one that is heaven on earth; Let us build bon... read full story

[Every Head Hand Heart retreat is a warehouse of experience and an opportunity to build my kindness/gratitude muscles. Every time I hear of a moving experience - either from a participant or a fellow volunteer, I’m reminded of the beauty and grace of small! Below is such an example - Rohit shared how a simple experience of a silent dinner led into an introspective moment and an experiment that became an instrument to deepen his practice of inner cleansing. Deeply grateful to him for sharin... read full story