A curious banner that reads "Kindness Kitchen" hangs over the doorway at the Maharani Restaurant on Post Street, wedged beside the gritty Tenderloin and busy, bustling Van Ness Avenue. And stepping through the threshold on a stormy, Sunday afternoon is like entering into another dimension.

Warm air and lighting pour out from the dining room as an earnest, smiling face stands just inside the foyer, waiting to greet every guest and show each to a seat in the beautiful dining room, where hand-painted murals and decorative hearts cover the walls, and fresh pink and red roses sit in delicate glass vases on each table.

There are at least four traditional vegetarian and vegan Indian dining choices for each course, ranging from appetizers to deserts, but no prices are listed on the menu.

That is no mistake.

The meals are free of charge.

This is not a joke. There are no strings attached. No guilt-trip speeches to sit through, or collection plates passed. The all-volunteer wait staff comes around every few minutes, not to solicit donations, but to make sure you have enough fresh, sweetly tart pomegranate lemonade in your cup to wash down the perfectly seasoned spinach and tofu, or enough just-out-of-the-oven crisp, warm naan to soak up the sauce around your spicy mixed vegetable curry. It's a fine dining experience in a restaurant that has a dress code and candlelit ambiance during the rest of the week, but on Sunday's from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the end of your meal, an unmarked envelope is set on the table, and you are free to leave as much or as little as you can afford. Once placed in the collection box to the side of the exit door, no one is any the wiser to what you have, or have not given.

That is because positive energy is the currency at the Kindness Kitchen.

Run on the traditional belief in karma and "paying it forward," every Sunday volunteers work, serve, and feast with the public.

Owner Joy Kapur, a published poet, a self-taught painter, restaurateur by profession, and a life-long student of spirituality, has long been aware of the Karma Kitchen, a similar concept in goodwill dining, and felt compelled to create his own version. Opening up his restaurant for these free meals is just another way to open up his heart and spread that energy.

"I have everything I need in my life now, so I thought if not me, who? If not now, when?" he says.

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e importance of education and spirituality in India, Kapur was beckoned by his brother to come to America, and settled in the Bay Area in 1967 with a thirst for knowledge, a drive to succeed, and little more than the shirt on his back.

Disregarding the conventions of organized religion, Kapur views the universe as an interconnected thread, with every individual having infinite possibilities and each heart, when open and receptive, acting as the antenna to tap into the cosmic consciousness.

In a world where war is often the answer for conflict, and conflict is often the result of misunderstanding and ignorance, Kapur's Kindness Kitchen is his way of making an effort to reverse the cycle of negativity and inject positive energy into the universe, one patron at a time.

His motto, taken from the words of Mahatma Gandhi, states, "Be the change you want to bring to this world." He genuinely believes that if you want to change the conditions in your life or around the planet, you first have to change the way you think, feel, and act.

When he first conceived the project and proposed it to his two grown sons, Kapur says they were hesitant to get on board. Concerned about the financial drain of giving out free food and worried about becoming a neighborhood soup kitchen to the nearby homeless community, Kapur says they cautioned him against taking on this new endeavor. But as each week goes by and the crowds grow, only good has come, and with that, Kapur says, his sons have begun to come around.

Maybe it's the delicious food and the sincerely gracious service, but it's hard not to get swept up by Kapur's infectiously optimistic philosophies, and leave feeling full in both stomach and soul from a Sunday lunch at Maharani.

As plans for opening the Kindness Kitchen evolved in mid-2008, Kapur contacted Doctor Nilima Sabharwal, the executive director of Home of Hope Inc, a charity that raises money for disadvantaged and orphaned children around the world. Moved by Sabharwal's devotion to her cause, he offered to donate ten percent of the Kindness Kitchen's monthly donation earnings to Hope of Hope. Soon after, on December 7, 2008, the two joined forces and opened the doors for the inaugural Kindness Kitchen event.

"It's about spreading kindness," the generous pair repeats from table to table.

"You eat your meal, and at the end the bill is zero dollars; you can leave what you want or what you can, but really it's the positive energy you leave behind knowing that the person who came before you has already paid, as long as you leave feeling positive too," says Sabharwal.

While Kapur is a subtle, omniscient presence in the room sitting in a table near the kitchen, which he calls his "office," Sabharwal is a petite, radiant woman, whose presence is felt throughout the restaurant. She has the aura of Glinda The Good Witch. She floats from table to table, genuinely happy to greet you and meet you and treat you to fill your stomach and heart.

When speaking for her cause, she beams with a burst of energy. The Home of Hope Inc. first began informally in 1997, upon Sabharwal's return from a trip to India where she was inspired by a small group of women she met there. Sure that if she could harness some of that same sense of prosperity and generosity back in the states, she too could make a difference in the lives of neglected and underprivileged children.

"We leave it to our esteemed guests to pay it forward in the best way they can, in kindness, generosity, and in the spirit of give and take, in whatever way they wish. Our Patrons won't need to fight who pays for the checks at the end of a great meal. They won't receive one with any amount on it. Instead they will receive a large-size card with a note: "In the spirit of kindness and generosity, someone who dined before you made a gift of your meal. You are free to leave whatever you like when you are done. All of us are working here as volunteers and are providing this in the spirit of service. We wish and hope you will continue the cycle of generosity in your own way," says Kapur.

Contact: jjarding@sfsu.edu | Jackie Arding reads, writes, and
doodles her way through life while drinking quadshot soy lattes and listening to Cat Power.