Kamlesh Patel (Daaji)

Kamlesh D. Patel (Daaji)
Born
Kamlesh Desaibhai Patel

(1956-09-28) 28 September 1956 (age 68)
Kala, Gujarat, India
Organization(s)Shri Ram Chandra Mission,
Heartfulness Institute,
Heartfulness Education Trust
Notable workThe Heartfulness Way (2018), Designing Destiny (2019), The Wisdom Bridge (2022), Spiritual Anatomy: Meditation, Chakras, and the Journey to the Center (2023)
TitlePresident of Shri Ram Chandra Mission,
Global Guide of Heartfulness Institute,
Founder of Heartfulness Education Trust,
Managing Trustee of Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation
PredecessorShri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari
AwardsPadma Bhushan
WebsiteDaaji.org

Kamlesh D. Patel (born 1956) also known as Daaji among his followers, is a spiritual leader, author and the fourth in the line of Rāja yoga masters in the Sahaj Marg system of spiritual practice.[1] He has been the president of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, a non-profit organization founded in 1945 and associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information, since 2014.[2]

He regularly conducts workshops and has written four books on the topics of meditation and spirituality.

Early life

Kamlesh Patel was born in Gujarat in 1956. He trained as a pharmacist in Ahmedabad, and as a pharmacy student he started practising the Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga meditation in 1976 under the guidance of Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur.

Professional life

He moved to New York City after graduating with honours from L M College of pharmacy, Ahmedabad. He lived in the US with his wife and raised two children. He did his post graduate degree and built a pharmaceutical business in New York. Since 2003 he has mainly been working for Shri Ram Chandra Mission.

Sahaj Marg

Kamlesh Patel started practising Sahaj Marg meditation in 1976, when he was a pharmacology student, under the guidance of a trainer. He subsequently received training from Ram Chandra. After Ram Chandra’s passing in 1983, Patel was a disciple of Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (Chariji), the second president of Shri Ram Chandra Mission. In October 2011, he was nominated as Chariji's successor, and after Chariji's death in December 2014, he became the spiritual guide and the third President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission. He has conducted various workshops on spirituality in cities across India and the USA.[3]

Awards and recognition

In 2018, Kamlesh Patel was conferred an honorary doctorate from Sri Venkateswara University[4]. In 2020, he received the Ramkrishna Bajaj Memorial Global Award from the Priyadarshini Academy[5]. In 2023, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, a civilian award given for "distinguished service of a high order" in India[6] as well as the UK-India Triumph Awards from the ABPL Group[7]. In 2024, Kamlesh Patel was recognized as the Global Ambassador of Peacebuilding and Faith by the Commonwealth[8] and granted the Freedom of the City of London by the City of London Corporation[9].

Books

Patel co-authored a book called The Heartfulness Way with Joshua Pollock in 2018.[10] In February 2018, the book was among the top 10 best selling non fiction books in the Hindustan Times' Nielsen chart.[11]

His book Designing Destiny was released in February 2019.[12]

A book named The Wisdom Bridge was released in 2022.

His fourth book, Spiritual Anatomy: Meditation, Chakras, and the Journey to the Center, was released in US and Canada in October 2023.[13]

References

  1. ^ "शारीरिक-मानसिक शांति का आधार है 'ध्यान". Meerut: Hindustan. 2 January 2018.
  2. ^ "United Nations Civil Society Participation – General". esango.un.org. UN NGO. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  3. ^ "God is within you. Get in touch". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  4. ^ "'Be calm by positioning in the centre'". The Hindu. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Priyadarshni Academy 36th Anniversary Global Awards 2020 Honoured Stalwarts Including Mr. Børge Brende, President, World Economic Forum, Bollywood Actor Ms. Taapsee Pannu". www.businesswireindia.com.
  6. ^ "Full list of 2023 Padma awards". The Hindu. 25 January 2023. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Celebrating community service and philanthropy across the two nations". www.asian-voice.com. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  8. ^ Service, Express News (18 March 2024). "Spiritual Mahotsav concludes, Daaji conferred with Commonwealth title". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  9. ^ "Spiritual leader and author Daaji awarded Freedom of the City of London". Spiritual leader and author Daaji awarded Freedom of the City of London. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  10. ^ Nadadhur, Srivathsan (31 January 2018). "The Heartfulness Way: An accessible and effective journey". The Hindu.
  11. ^ "HT-Nielsen top 10: Ashwin Sanghi's Keepers of Kalachakra tops best-selling fiction list". Hindustan Times. 3 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Daaji's new book on how to design one's destiny" (Press release). theweek.in. PTI. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  13. ^ "FROM INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR KAMLESH D. PATEL THE ULTIMATE BOOK OF MEDITATION AND CHAKRAS THAT WILL HELP YOU REACH YOUR GREATEST POTENTIAL AND LEAD YOU TO YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF". Yahoo Finance. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.