Nimo is a child at heart. He loves animals, finds heaven in nature, expresses himself through the performing arts, loves food while enjoying a health-conscious lifestyle, and finds deep joy in seeing others in joy, good health and peace. His journey has led him on a path of service and love. A world-renowned musician, he’s a simple dude who likes to laugh and share his heart with all beings.

Nimo-patel.jpg

Nimo Patel

Service, simplicity, and songwriting - part 2

<hr class="vertical-space1" />
<h4>
 With an Ivy league education, this MTV rap/hip hop star was living the
 American dream and working on Wall Street when the events of 9/11 unfolded
 in front of his eyes. Giving up the corporate world,
 NIMO PATEL decided to pursue his
 passion for music in LA, but a chronic health issue led him to seek
 Ayurvedic treatment in India. He stayed back for 6 months to volunteer at
 the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad, and continues to this day working with the
 slum children of the city when he’s now working for his own non-profit
 organization, Empty Hands Music.
 VANESSA PATEL caught up with him in
 June to learn more about his mantra, “Service, Simplicity &amp;
 Songwriting.”
</h4>
<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 Q: Hello, Nimo, so happy to have this opportunity to chat with you. How
 are you doing during this lockdown?


 NP: Wonderful! Breathing, and deep
 breathing, doing good. You know, it’s a time of reflection and
 introspection, to reflect on the way we live, how we interact with each
 other, with humanity. It’s really a blessing. There’s so much suffering
 going on, so this is a gift of transformation. Obviously, we will get
 through this suffering, but hopefully, we can use it for the betterment of
 humanity. So, collectively and individually, this is a gift in many ways,
 although in the short term it’s tough to digest.
 


 How are you doing?


 Q: Doing well. As you said, using this time to reflect. And one of the
 things I realize is that we don’t need a lot of the stuff we’ve
 accumulated in our lives. You already started this process several years
 ago when you took up a life dedicated to service. So, when you did a
 U-turn from your previous lifestyle and did a ‘material’ cleanse, would
 you say this was a spiritual shift?


 NP: For me, the spiritual journey is
 such a gradual process, so even the word ‘U-turn’ feels a bit abrupt, as
 though I saw the sign right away and it fixed everything. Instead, I would
 say, my journey has been ongoing – from the seeds that were planted when I
 was young, from memories of going to the temple, to being exposed to such
 a diverse group of friends and community in elementary school, high
 school, then college. Just the diversity around me was a spiritual
 teacher, in a sense, to accept and embrace all faiths. Whether I’m in an
 honors class with people with a certain mindset, or on the sports team
 playing basketball with people of a different mindset, that for me laid
 the foundation. It’s hard to capture, and I feel so honored and blessed to
 have grown up in that diverse community outside Los Angeles, and later on
 going through college.
 

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <img
 class="w-100 lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/service2_068f4ad2dc.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T07:31:04.057Z"
 alt="service2"
 />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 I feel one of the major triggers for me happened when I was working on
 Wall Street and 9/11 happened before my eyes; seeing that happen and then
 embracing things, the ongoing process of healing and reflection. That was
 literally the biggest trigger. I was one and a half years out of college,
 and it hit hard: “What are you actually doing with your life?” You never
 know, you could have literally been gone today. You don’t know when this
 is going to end, when this magical journey you’re blessed with on planet
 Earth is going to end. So, that triggered me to say, “I don’t think I’m
 having a purpose at this company at a deeper level.” I needed to follow my
 passion and it pushed me to leave New York to pursue music, media and
 entertainment.
 


 And then, another thing triggered me along the way, which was my health
 journey. I got this chronic illness in my hand, called carpel tunnel
 syndrome or repetitive stress injury, which gradually got worse. I was
 doing a lot of computer work at that time in 2002, as my friends and I had
 just started an online comic strip that turned into a media company and
 animation studio. And through that, by 2005 the problem started
 increasing, and by 2006 it was unbearable. By 2007, it was so bad I
 couldn’t even brush my teeth or hold a bag.
 

<hr class="vertical-space1" />
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: center">
 “What are you actually doing with your life?” 
 You never know, you could have literally been gone today. 
 You don’t know when this is going to end, 
 when this magical journey you’re blessed with 
 on planet Earth is going to end.
</h4>
<hr />
<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 It was then that my dad suggested getting Ayurvedic treatment, and my
 parents knew a healer in India. I had tried everything in the allopathic
 world and alternative medicines, and I had nothing to lose, because it
 wasn’t getting better.
 


 In 2004, because of this suffering, which was both physical and mental –
 we create it in our mind because of what’s going on – it led me to pursue
 meditation at a deeper level. My roommate in NY had once told me about
 Vipassana and it was the perfect time to try it. It became a big part of
 my life. Being in a deeper connection with my mind and body was one
 benefit. I stopped drinking alcohol; I thought if I really want to heal,
 then I need to purify my mind and body. I became more health conscious
 than before, took a deeper stand.


 When I came to India, another seed was planted. I arrived in Ahmedabad
 and stayed with my cousin and his wife (whose house I’m at now). I
 volunteered for 6 months at Manav Sadna, the NGO that I have been
 volunteering with for 10 years. The seed planted in my heart back then was
 working with children; we recorded a music album called Let Them Sing. It
 was an album of their voices, their stories. When I went back to the US
 the journey continued. There was funding to open an animation studio and I
 got into that. Again, a trigger came up, “What are you doing?”.
 


 You know, Vanessa, when I graduated from high school my dream was to
 become the CEO of Warner Bros. I always had a passion for media and
 entertainment. I chose Wharton Business School because I wanted to bridge
 business and entertainment; that was my vision. So, this animation studio
 was a dream for me. I’m not even mentioning the music stuff, which I loved
 – that was definitely my passion. But this career dream was as a
 businessman blended with entertainment, so, having the studio gave me that
 space and all the partners I was working with were amazing. It was in that
 space that I realized I wasn’t happy. I had worked so far in my life for
 this career goal, and I was finally in the space that resembled it, and
 still I was suffering in my heart. I was not feeling any sense of
 fulfillment or purpose. So either I could go with what the mind said,
 which was “You’re successful, you’re on a successful path”, or I could
 follow this soft, quaint voice which was not really able to reveal itself
 because the mind and the ego were more deceiving. But I’m so happy that,
 somehow, the suffering in whatever form it was, was calling out to say,
 “Please listen.” It was saying, “You need to start again.”
 


 I said to myself, “These last 10 years of your career have been amazing.
 You’ve been able to experience the world in such an amazing way.” I mean,
 we were touring as a music group, and the media and entertainment
 opportunities were really exciting, but there was something missing. And
 to listen to that voice was the key thing for me. I didn’t know what that
 meant, to be honest, and that was the scary part of it. The vulnerability
 that came with the change – from a mindset of set a goal and reach the
 goal to the mindset of surrender, but you don’t know where it’s going to
 lead you – was scary, but I felt that that was the only way I was going to
 realign myself at a stage in my life where I could still do it. I think we
 can do that at any stage, but I felt that at 30 I still had the capacity
 to follow my heart instead of going with what seems to be right in
 everybody’s mind or in the outside world, or from a material point of
 view.
 


 There’s a quote from Mahatma Gandhi that I always like to share, and it
 helped me at that time: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself
 in the service of others.”

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <img
 class="w-100 lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/service3_6c384719d1.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T07:32:21.973Z"
 alt="service3"
 />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 I had felt lost in my own way, because my heart was not connecting with
 the external. So, basically, the next phase of the journey of my life
 became: What does it mean to serve? Not merely because I want to help
 others, but because I really need to understand myself. If service is the
 best medium to find myself, then what a win-win!


 After I moved to Ahmedabad, although I had external goals, for the next
 two years I was really focused on, “How am I purifying my own mind and
 heart in being a part of others’ journeys?” And that then became the
 formula.


 Q: You said that you didn’t want service to be ego-based, to have as
 little attachment to it as possible. So, you went out there with the idea
 to serve and actually felt yourself being served. That must have been a
 very humbling experience. Were there people in your life, your peers,
 perhaps, who questioned your new way of life?


 NP: Yes, there are all types of
 resistance when you’re going against the external grain, and also going
 against the internal wiring of your own conditioning. So, for sure, the
 journey with mom and dad, with friends and family, and with college mates
 especially, because they are all successful in different ways – for them
 to see me living this new life, a lot of questions kept coming up. But,
 the most important thing was to keep digging and trying to understand
 myself – why I was doing what I was doing. In the beginning phase it was
 an experiment! I remember thinking, “I can do this for a year, why not?
 And then start something else, or get a nice paying job, whatever it is,
 I’m fine, I have enough savings.”
 


 That’s how it started, and I said to myself, “I need to commit at least
 one year, and I need to go all in.” I remember one of my mentors, someone
 I’m close to here in Ahmedabad, said something that had such an effect on
 me: “Beta, you should live life like a flashlight. In the dark, you have a
 light and you see 6 feet in front of you. You don’t need to see more than
 that, actually, because with every step you take you’ll still have 6 feet
 of light in front of you. So, what’s the need to look back and stumble?”
 That really clicked with me, because it had always been, “What’s your 5,
 10, 15-year plan, your retirement plan?” So, this became an experiment to
 learn, to grow, and to rewire myself, because I realized that my wiring
 was not the way it should be. Why? Because I was suffering.


 I truly felt, and still feel, that we have the full capacity to minimize,
 if not eradicate, our suffering, but there are so many layers on us. So,
 it was really an opportunity to find out what’s creating the suffering
 and, in the process of service, how I was going to touch upon these
 layers, one at a time. We’re not going to clear everything in one go; it’s
 a lifelong journey.
 


 In that first year, my parents gave me the benefit of the doubt: “He was
 doing good, now he wants to do this, okay.” And in the second or third
 year, my dad specifically said, “You realize that if you want to live this
 type of life, you have to be passionate about it, and you’re going to have
 to simplify your life. Are you okay with not having so much and not doing
 all these things?” And after the third year, he was like, “Is this really
 what you want to do? Are you sure?” Then, little by little, they embraced
 the work I was doing, they were exposed to it, they started taking part in
 it. They started understanding, and being around me, with me. I think they
 started seeing the value in it, the purpose and joy in it, and the meaning
 in it.


 Q: And the fact that it was making you happy.


 NP: Absolutely! That was the impact
 on them. They were thinking not only of my own joy, but also what is it
 doing for the world, and they started seeing value in it. And when I
 reconnected with my music, in the third year after I moved to Ahmedabad, I
 started sharing that with the world as a gift. I didn’t want to charge for
 it. I wanted it to be pure, from a space of offering and not from me as an
 artist. A lot of people started questioning me then, too. And my dad and
 my uncle started wondering what I was doing.
 


 At one point, I was in Denver with my family and I remember asking my
 father, “Dad, when somebody is working for a company, he’s adding value to
 the company, and for that he’s getting compensated with a cheque every two
 weeks. So, that’s the materialistic business world we’re talking about.
 So, don’t you think that when, from my heart of hearts, I try my best to
 do my small part for the world, whatever that might be, God is going to
 support me, just as the boss supports his employee?” And I think it
 clicked for my dad at that point, and it was a nice turning point for him,
 as well, to realize that it’s much beyond the numbers game.

<hr class="vertical-space1" />
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: center">
 We have the full capacity to minimize,&nbsp;if not eradicate, 
 our suffering, but there are so many layers on us. 
 So, it was really an opportunity to find out 
 what’s creating the suffering and, in the process of service, 
 how I was going to touch upon these layers, one at a time.
</h4>
<hr />
<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 It has been amazing, Vanessa, this journey of surrendering. As a human
 being and as a being full of ego, there are a lot of things that come up
 and it happens in phases. I’m much more grounded and connected to the
 Source during certain phases, and then I get karmically oriented, and I
 start doing projects and get caught up in the doing – even though it might
 be service, you’re still in this mindset of trying to account for
 something. Then I lose that stillness in me, which is the most important
 thing to me, the whole process. But I go back to “I’m not doing this to
 accomplish something, I’m doing this to purify my heart,” &nbsp;then it
 comes back.
 


 I’m on this journey with noble friends and family, who are walking this
 path together, not only to serve externally, but also purify internally.
 To me, that’s been the blessing on this path, and I couldn’t care less
 what I accomplish. If I die today, it would be feeling so humbled and
 blessed, crying tears of joy, and thanking God and all those people around
 for this journey that has unfolded.
 


 To be continued


 <a href="https://manavsadhna.org/">https://manavsadhna.org/</a> 
 <a href="https://www.emptyhandsmusic.org/"
 >https://www.emptyhandsmusic.org/</a
 > 
 <a href="https://gandhiashramsabarmati.org/"
 >https://gandhiashramsabarmati.org/</a
 >

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <img
 class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Simplicity_Colors_fe5a4b5f32.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T07:33:24.316Z"
 alt="Simplicity_Colors"
 />

<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: center">
 Interview by
 VANESSA PATEL 
 Photographs courtesy of NIMO PATEL
</h4>
<hr />