Mahatma Gandhi once said that “happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony”. While many of us constantly struggle to conduct all three actions in parallel, thirty-one year-old Sukh Chugh seems to have figured it out. Regardless of where he may be today, Sukh is quick to point out that his path to self-fulfillment and genuinely was crossed by the allure of corporate world perks. Having previously high-powered professional positions at various consulting and financial companies, Sukh didn’t have to pay for his car, gas, apartment, or even food. As Sukh puts it, he “had it made”. Yet it soon dawned upon him that he was studying the wrong numbers. Having always prided himself upon an extensive knowledge of stock prices and NBA standing, Sukh suddenly realized that he had no idea as to how many people were starving and suffering each year. After reevaluating the direction in his corporate and community-driven professional career, Sukh immediately quit his job and founded Be The Cause non-profit organization. And he has never looked back. Be The Cause is a network of individuals who would like to see more love in the world and in their own lives. Despite having no paid staff and no office space, Be The Cause has established seven chapters around the globe and have conducted more than 100 community service projects. While it is easy to get caught up amidst the fast-paced lifestyle that many of us young professionals tend to live, we’d like to encourage you to slow down and take a few minutes to read about the inspiring insights and heart-felt lessons that Sukh offers us in this week’s Non-Profit Spotlight.
About the non-profit
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.
Be the Cause, at best, is 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 take anything, but rather to offer the world a piece of our own hearts… thereby teaching ourselves how to love.
As a fully volunteer-run network, we have no paid staff and no office space. We are comprised of individuals who believe that what we do, what we say, and what we think starts a profound cause and effect chain reaction in the world we live in. With chapters in several cities we coordinate projects like the Walk for Hope, the Compassion Cells, Service Vacations, the Seva Cafe, and many more. We also provide services to other non-profits such as a calendar of events, listings of volunteer opportunities, and an online directory of organizations. The most important question during all of our activities however is whether we are genuinely moving to a place of greater good, a place of greater love.
By laying one foot on the ground the other follows. Only by beginning can we move forward.
Most notable milestones
- Several chapters around the globe
- Over 100 community service projects conducted worldwide
- Tangible support provided to numerous non-profit organizations
- There’s more but this story might put everything into perspective. A female volunteer that had been involved for several years came up to me one day to share with me some personal news. She told me that before she started volunteering she had came home one day and had found her daughter in the bathtub with her wrists slit open. Fortunately she survived. Days later, with nothing to look forward to, and no effective advice from the counselors they decided to volunteer at one of our events. That one day changed everything. By realizing that serving others actually give us something to live for, they took one step towards true happiness. Month after month, it was now the daughter that was enthusiastic about attending our events.
What’s the niche?
Focus isn’t on how much we can accomplish but rather on how deeply we are living our lives. If the joy is in the journey, then the focus has to stay on the process and not necessarily on the outcome. We live in a world that is over consumed by outcomes, this contributes to the acceleration of the speed at which we interact, and at how meaningless these interactions can become. Our focus is to keep things simple, slow and meaningful.
What’s the biggest challenge?
The system. An all volunteer run network has only one currency to offer our members: sacrifice. When volunteers show up and want to get involved there are no fat paychecks, no recognition awards, no offices overlooking the ocean, only sacrifice. The purer the sacrifice, the greater the gain. It’s true. However, we live in a system that is based entirely on an external reward system. Getting people to see that the internal rewards far outweigh the external can be challenging, but that challenge itself is just another opportunity of service waiting to be cultivated.
What’s in store for the future?
More genuine sacrifice.
Who would you like to be contacted by?
Anyone interested in being a part of the change that is naturally occurring in all of our hearts.
