I am 69 years old, and have been studying Rajyoga with the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University for over 47 years. On 11 September 2001, I was working on the 64th floor of The World Trade Center, in the north tower. The north tower was the first to be hit by the terrorist attack.
We started to move down the building using the staircase. As we were moving down slowly, the second plane hit the second tower and then we realised we were under attack. After some time, the other tower collapsed. The debris from the collapsed tower blocked our stairs and we needed to change the staircase we were using. After some time, water started gushing down these stairs with great force. We were told to change our staircase again, as this one was broken and impassable further down. We had to go into a pitch-dark corridor with falling water and dangling electrical wires. It was like a scene from a horror movie. We finally reached the ground and within five minutes the tower began to collapse, and we had to run from the area to escape the falling debris.
I have been asked many times about how afraid I was. I tried to recall but could not remember any moment of fear. When I wondered about this, I tried to work out why that was so. I do think that my practice of meditation over many years helped me focus on my inner ability to think clearly, but there were other factors. The smoke was not affecting me for some reason, while it was affecting others. I had a severe knee problem as I was recovering from surgery. None of this bothered me because, and I think this is the key, I began helping others. When I heard screams of fear from ladies on the way down, I stepped back to reassure them, and let them pass in front of me. They called me an angel, which I found made me smile; all I had done was go back a few steps, and that earned me the accolade of being an angel!
If I had died that day, some of those people would have remembered me as an angel. But I would have been a dead angel! I lost 10 co-workers in our division. This made me question the fact that I had survived. After a long period of reflection, I made a silent promise to myself. I would consider that I had in fact died that day. The life I have now is a new life given to me by a higher being. So, this life is not for myself, it is a life of service of the world. I could become a real, tiny, living angel. Angels appear in times of crisis, help, and then disappear before anyone notices. I would do something to make a difference.
In 2012, with the help of young people, I started a global initiative called ‘7 Billion Acts of Goodness’. The initiative is to create a global environment of care, compassion and generosity by inspiring people to collectively perform seven billion acts of goodness, one each for the seven billion people on Earth. To further the aims of the initiative I have travelled to more than 700 cities in 20 countries and delivered more than 2,500 presentations, mainly in schools and colleges.
When faced with extreme situations like the 9/11 terrorist attacks, you are completely on your own. It makes no difference whether you are rich or poor, the boss or an employee. You are the sum total of what you have been up until that moment. You have no time to analyse or use logic, your destiny turns on a moment. Stay where I am? Go down the staircase? Destiny!
I believe that real healing comes from forgiveness. The cycle of revenge and counter revenge has to stop somewhere. Forgiveness brings freedom and acceptance. Forgiveness starts within my own self. Forget the negative, replace it with positive—positive thoughts, wishes, words and actions. Learning how to see the self in all its wonder is something that can be done through meditation. Can we together build a world of goodness and happiness? Yes, we can!
Ram Singal is a civil engineer and owns a consulting firm in New York, USA. He is also the founder and international director of a worldwide initiative called ‘7 Billion Acts of Goodness’.