Imtiaz Sooliman – Gift of the Givers founder

When what I'm going to say, we will learn the principles and

values of life. This Chancellor's Medal is not because of me. It's

because of the teams that work with me. It's because of my family

sacrifice, and it's because of a great teacher. It was the sixth of

August, 1992

I was in Turkey in Istanbul. I met a spiritual teacher, a Sufi

master, in a Muslim holy place. What was amazing about that holy

place is that what there were people of all cultures, all

religions, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims and even people

who said, We don't believe but they were not judged. They were

welcomed with open arms, and everyone was shown love and

compassion. It was something very amazing. I fell in love with the

teacher the moment I saw him. It was a spiritual connection that

same night, at 10pm

after a religious ceremony in the Sufi tradition, we called it Zikr.

Zikr is the recitation of God's names in a certain combination. We

have the names in Arabic, but in English, you would say the

eternal, Absolute One and only preserve a loving, kind,

compassion, merciful, or God's names mentioned in the Arabic, in

Arabic in a certain combination.

After that ceremony, the teacher looks across the room at me whilst

he's connecting with my eyes and my soul, he's connecting upwards

also. So I can see that. Why is it? Look at me. He's somewhere

else. At the same time,

he tells me in FLUENT Turkish, and I don't understand a word of

Turkish, but I understood every single word that he said, and

he said, My son,

I'm not asking you,

I'm instructing you to form an organization in Arabic. The name

will be walkful Waka fin translated, it means gift of the

givers. You will serve all people of all races, of all religions, of

all colors, of all cultures, of all classes, of any geographical

location and of any political affiliation. But you will serve

them unconditionally. You will not expect anything in return, not

even a thank you. In fact, in what you're going to be doing for the

rest of your life, expect to get a kick up your back. If you don't

get a kick up your back, regard that as a bonus. You said self

people got love, kindness, compassion, mercy, and remember

the dignity of men is foremost. So if someone is down in the ground,

don't push him down further. Hold him and lift him up. Wipe the tear

of a grieving child. Say words of good counsel to a widow or caress

the head of an orphan. It's free. It doesn't cost anything. Provide

food to the hungry and water to the thirsty,

and in everything that you do be the best at what you do, not

because of ego, but because you're dealing with human life, human

suffering and human emotions. How would you like somebody to respond

to you if you on the other side, in that position, if you can

honestly answer that question, then you would know how to serve

people. He went on to say, hyrunas May and for unas, translated

meaning, best among people are those who benefit mankind. And He

repeated it three times. He said, My emphasis is on the word

mankind, not Muslim, not Arab, not Indian. You serve all of creation

unconditionally. And then he went on to say, my son, remember the

most important thing in all this. Remember that whatever you do is

done through you and not by you.

And everything in life you achieve is only by the grace of God

Almighty, and not by our sheer genius. Because even that is given

by him, we cannot manufacture that. That's the most important

lesson you need to learn in life, brothers and sisters. And then he

went on to say, now go back to your country. This is an

instruction for you for the rest of your life, and that's how it

started.