Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh,
Twenty-five years ago today, the events of September 11, 2001, changed our world.
Today, we remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost, the families who carried that loss forward, the survivors and first responders, and all those whose lives were forever changed.
For the Sikh community, the days that followed brought another painful reality. Fear and misunderstanding led to hatred and violence against Sikhs, Muslims, and others who were perceived to be different. Just four days after the attacks, Balbir Singh Sodhi was murdered in Mesa, Arizona, simply because of how he looked and what someone assumed he represented.
Yet even in those painful days, we saw something else.
We saw people of different faiths and backgrounds stand together. We saw Sangat reach out in Seva. We saw communities choose compassion over fear and understanding over division.
Twenty-five years later, that choice remains ours.
The Sikh principle of Ik Oankar reminds us that beneath all the labels we place upon one another, there is One Creator and one human family. Our differences do not need to divide us.
So today, let us remember.
Let us remember those whose lives were taken on September 11. Let us remember Balbir Singh Sodhi and all those who suffered from the hatred that followed. And let us honor them not only with our words, but through how we choose to live.
May we choose compassion over fear.
Understanding over prejudice.
Seva over self-interest.
And Oneness over division.
Twenty-five years later, may remembrance inspire us to build a world in which we truly see the Divine light in one another.
In remembrance, in Seva, and in Chardi Kalaa.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh,