An Open Letter to my GoDharmic family with Deep Respect and Faith.

Dear GoDharmic Family,

Firstly, let me express profound gratitude for the beautiful work we do at GoDharmic and the motto we live by:

Love All. Feed All. Serve All.

These words embody the highest ideals of Seva, selfless service rooted in universal compassion. Our Bhajan Jam event on Friday brought joy, community, and spiritual nourishment to the Luton South Asian community. This work is sacred, and I honor it deeply.

It is precisely because I hold our mission in such high regard that I write with a gentle suggestion, offered in the spirit of Dharma. Let’s consider adding a fourth pillar to our motto—”Heal All.”

Love All. Feed All. Serve All. Heal All.

Please allow me to explain why this addition is not just appropriate, but urgent.

The Missing Pillar: Healing

Our current three pillars are beautiful and interconnected. We love all, which inspires us to feed them, which is a profound expression of service. This is the chain of compassion in action.

But here’s what I observe from my vantage point at Climate Healers: To truly Love All, Feed All, Serve All, we must also Heal All. And healing begins with what we put on our plates.

At our recent Bhajan Jam in Luton, fried and non-vegan foods were served. This troubles me because I see the disconnect between our spiritual intentions and the health consequences of these choices, particularly for the South Asian community attending the event.

The South Asian Health Crisis

Let me share some heartbreaking facts about our South Asian community.

South Asians have the highest rates of type 2 diabetes of any ethnic group globally. In the UK, South Asians are six times more likely to develop diabetes than the general population. They develop it earlier, often in their 30s and 40s rather than 50s and 60s. The disease progresses more aggressively and causes more severe complications.

Heart disease strikes South Asians a decade earlier than white Europeans. A South Asian man in his 40s has the cardiovascular risk profile of a 60-year-old from other ethnic backgrounds. Heart attacks in the 30s are tragically common.

Obesity rates in South Asian communities are rising precipitously, particularly among children growing up in the UK. The devastating part is that South Asians develop metabolic disease at lower BMIs than other populations. This means even “normal weight” individuals face elevated risk.

The facts are stark and heartbreaking. And the food we serve at community gatherings is directly implicated.

What We Feed Is How We Love

Here’s the painful paradox. In trying to show love through traditional foods, we may be accelerating the very diseases devastating our community.

Fried foods such as vadas, samosas, and bhajias are staples of celebration and community gathering. They’re delicious. They’re culturally meaningful. They’re also vehicles for oils that promote inflammation, obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease.

When we deep-fry foods and serve them to a community already at six-fold elevated diabetes risk, are we truly loving them? Or are we, unknowingly, participating in their harm?

Dairy foods compound the problem. Dairy items including paneer, ghee, and yogurt-based dishes, are often considered essential to Indian cuisine and spiritual offerings. Yet South Asians have particularly high rates of lactose intolerance, 60-80% in some studies. Beyond digestive distress, dairy consumption is associated with increased diabetes risk, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers.

The irony is profound. In a tradition that gave the world Ahimsa, non-violence toward all beings, we serve foods that harm both the animals they come from and the humans consuming them.

The Dharmic Contradiction

GoDharmic’s work is unapologetically spiritual. Bhajan Jams celebrate devotion to the divine through sacred music. The very name invokes Dharma.

But Dharma builds on Ahimsa. And Ahimsa extends beyond refraining from direct violence. It includes not causing harm through our actions, even when those actions appear benign or traditional.

When we serve dairy products, we participate in an industry that:

– Separates calves from mothers within hours of birth, causing documented distress to both;
– Keeps cows in perpetual cycles of artificial insemination and pregnancy;
– Sends male calves to slaughter since they don’t produce milk; and
– Slaughters dairy cows at 4-6 years old, at a fraction of their normal lifespan, when their productivity declines.

This is the reality behind every dollop of ghee, and every cup of chai. And when these same foods contribute to diabetes, heart disease, and obesity in the very community we love and serve, when we participate in their suffering even as we sing bhajans celebrating divine compassion, have we not strayed from our Dharma?

What “Heal All” Could Mean

Adding “Heal All” to our motto wouldn’t just be symbolic. It would fundamentally transform how GoDharmic approaches food service, aligning actions with stated values.

Heal All would mean:

• Serving whole-foods, plant-based Vegan meals that actively promote health rather than undermine it. Lentil dal, chana masala, rajma masala, vegetable curries, whole grain rotis, brown rice, date ladoos and fresh fruit aren’t deprivation, but the very foundation of traditional Indian cuisine before it was corrupted by modern processing and animal product emphasis.
• Minimizing fried foods and instead showcasing roasted, steamed, and sautéed preparations.  Indian cuisine has thousands of years of sophisticated plant-based cooking techniques that don’t require deep-frying anything.
• Educating the community about the health crisis they face and how food choices directly impact it. Part of loving and serving is honest communication about threats to well-being, even when that honesty challenges tradition.
• Demonstrating that plant-based, minimally processed food can be delicious, satisfying, and culturally authentic. This breaks the false narrative that “healthy food is bland” or “plant-based means giving up culture.”
• Modeling Ahimsa comprehensively. We show compassion toward animals, toward human health, toward the environment, toward future generations who will inherit the consequences of our food systems.

Imagine a Bhajan Jam where:

– Every dish served actively promotes health rather than disease;
– No animals were harmed in the creation of the food;
– No single-use plastics were used;
– Attendees leave not just spiritually nourished but physically strengthened;
– Parents can feed their children without worry about contributing to metabolic disease; and
– The community learns that Indian culture and plant-based living are not just compatible but deeply aligned.

This is what “Heal All” looks like in practice.

The Gentle Awakening

It’s likely GoDharmic’s current approach stems from our habits. It’s what we’ve always done, serve traditional foods at community gatherings, including the fried and dairy-based options that people expect and enjoy.

But habit isn’t justification when that habit causes harm. And tradition isn’t sacred when tradition perpetuates suffering.

The South Asian community in Luton and everyone we serve deserve better. They deserve a GoDharmic that loves them enough to challenge food habits killing them. They deserve a GoDharmic that feeds them in ways that heal, not harm. They deserve a GoDharmic that serves their genuine long-term well-being, not just their conditioned taste preferences.

This isn’t about being judgmental or puritanical. It’s about coherence. If we love all, truly love, then feed them food that heals. If we serve all, truly serve, then serve their health as well as their hunger.

The Practical Path Forward

I’m not suggesting GoDharmic transform overnight or impose rigid rules that alienate the community we serve. Dharma is skillful means, wisdom applied with compassion and cultural sensitivity.

Here’s what a gentle transition might look like:

Phase 1: Education and Awareness

• Host discussions about South Asian health crisis, the ecological crisis and food’s role;
• Invite nutritionists specializing in whole-foods, plant-based South Asian cuisine;
• Share resources on diabetes prevention and reversal through diet; and
• Frame this not as restriction but as reclaiming authentic health traditions.

Phase 2: Menu Evolution

• Introduce plant-based, minimally fried options alongside traditional offerings;
• Showcase how delicious these alternatives can be.

Phase 3: Full Alignment

• Commit to 100% Vegan menus at all GoDharmic events;
• Minimize or eliminate deep-fried options;
• Focus on whole food, nutrient-dense preparations; and
• Celebrate this alignment with “Love All. Feed All. Serve All. Heal All.“

Throughout this transition, communicate clearly: This isn’t about guilt or deprivation. This is about taking the Seva we already practice and making it truly serve our community’s deepest needs.

The Spiritual Dimension

Let’s return to the spiritual heart of GoDharmic’s work. Bhajan Jams celebrate divine love through music, devotion, and community. They create space for something transcendent amid the hustle and bustle of modern life.

The spiritual dimension of food is not separate from its physical dimension. They’re one reality.

“Heal All” completes the spiritual circle. It signifies that we honor the divine in all beings, human and animal, by ensuring our service causes no harm. We recognize that true love manifests in actions that promote flourishing, not just momentary pleasure. We understand that feeding is not just filling stomachs but nourishing bodies, preventing disease, extending health span, and honoring the sacred trust people place in us when they eat what we serve.

I am inviting GoDharmic to become even more fully itself. Our motto is beautiful. Our work is needed. Our community gatherings create joy and connection. I honor all of this completely. What I’m suggesting is that we already have 75% of what’s needed. Love All, yes. Feed All, yes. Serve All, yes. Now let’s complete the circle with Heal All.

Let’s make the fourth pillar explicit. Let it guide decisions about what foods to serve. Let it inspire education about health and nutrition. Let it deepen the alignment between our spiritual intentions and practical actions. Let it be the fourth leg that ensures more stability than 3 legged entities.

The South Asian community is suffering. Diabetes, heart disease, and obesity aren’t abstract statistics. They’re aunties, uncles, and cousins with amputated limbs, young men with heart attacks, children developing adult diseases, families watching loved ones decline prematurely.

GoDharmic has a platform. We have trust. We have community. We have the spiritual authority to challenge harmful norms and model better ways.

Let’s use that power. Add “Heal All” not just to our motto but to our mission. Transform Bhajan Jams from events that unknowingly contribute to community health crisis into gatherings that actively heal.

This is the completion of our Seva. This is love, feeding, and service taken to their logical conclusion.

True love requires wisdom. It requires willingness to challenge even cherished traditions when those traditions cause suffering. It requires courage to hold standards that serve long-term well-being over short-term gains.

The South Asian community and the humanity we serve deserve this. The animals whose lives hang in the balance deserve this. The planet groaning under the weight of animal agriculture deserves this. The children who will grow up healthier or sicker based on food cultures we model deserve this.

And GoDharmic deserves this coherence of living fully aligned with the Dharma our name invokes.

• Let’s heal the people we serve by feeding them food that nourishes rather than harms.
• Let’s heal the animals by choosing compassion over exploitation.
• Let’s heal the planet by supporting food systems that regenerate rather than destroy.
• Let’s heal the culture by modeling that Indian cuisine, cultural traditions, and optimal health are not contradictory but beautifully aligned.

The fourth pillar is waiting. We need only raise it.

With deep respect for all the work we do, profound gratitude for our Seva, and sincere hope that this message lands as intended, not as criticism but as loving invitation to become even more fully what we aspire to be, I rest in total faith regarding our continued evolution.

May GoDharmic shine as a complete beacon: “Love All. Feed All. Serve All. Heal All.”

In service to all beings,