It is often said that this is Kalyug going on where people’s intentions are getting more and more debased, delusional and distracted. However, the desire to break free from the ordinary is also gaining momentum. The boisterous desire to go above mundane pursuits is also on the rise nowadays, especially among the youth; it is motivating people to find peace and do anything it takes to connect with themselves. 

Despite India's rich heritage of Brahmavidya (knowledge of the Absolute), and despite the numerous saints who attained higher consciousness, a readily accessible path to their realisation has remained elusive for later generations.

On a happy note: modern India is reinventing and simplifying this path of exploring higher consciousness in different ways. There are several leaders and their organisations globally helping people to find answers to their spiritual quest. Art of Living by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Isha foundation by Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev, Sahaja Yoga founded by Shri Mataji Nirmala Srivastava, and Brahma Kumaris founded by Dada Lekhraj Kripalani (Brahma Baba) to name a few. All these organisations have been guiding people to expand their consciousness through meditation. 

Yet another spiritual organisation in the series, which is growing fast and gaining popularity around the globe is heartfulness. This article explores the core ideas of the approach and other commendable activities being done by the organisation. 

The Heartfulness meditation practice emerged in India in the early 20th century. It was started by a Yogi named Ramachandra, favourably called as Lala Ji. Lalaji's spiritual successor was also named Lalaji but was addressed as Babuji. Babuji perfected the heartfulness practice bringing it into its present form and guiding seekers around the world. Chariji, was the third guide of Heartfulness, and Kamlesh Patel, lovingly called Daaji, which means father’s younger brother in his native Gujarati, is the fourth guide in the Heartfulness lineage. He is the contemporary spiritual leader of the heartfulness mission, practiced by over 1 million meditators worldwide.

The key idea of heartfulness is that one needs to focus on one’s heart! Unless one develops the unfortunate habit of not listening to the heart, one’s heart always guides you and if you listen to those little voices, it will continue to speak louder and louder. 

Daaji's message to seekers is simple and direct: experience is greater than knowledge. Making pilgrimages, reading scriptures and listening to accomplished saints in their Satsang is a good practice but it has its limitations; mere external knowledge cannot change us or reform our inner being. 

We need to connect with ourselves through meditation; it is only through meditation that we go within and connect with something higher, and that is how we gain practical spiritual experience. Experience is what differentiates spirituality from religion and religious beliefs without experience are hollow and abstract, Daaji keeps emphasising in his interviews and public addresses.

Another interesting idea which heartfulness highlights is how a higher conscious state cannot be achieved unless subconscious thoughts are taken care of. This is because thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and habits have roots in the infinite vastness of the subconscious. Subliminal thoughts are more powerful than the thoughts we consciously entertain. Usually when we want to change ourselves, we restrict our efforts to a mental level. That is to say, we mindfully try to change ourselves. It has a limitation. We can change deliberate actions reminding the mind repetitively, but it does not help bring the change on the subconscious level.

The purpose of meditation is to transform us but how is the question. How to bring a deep-rooted change on the level of consciousness? This is our biggest hurdle.

The heartfulness answer is simple. Thinking is narrow, but feeling is broad. It is holistic. Feeling encompasses thinking, but it is beyond thinking. Through feelings, deeper truths are revealed. Divinity cannot be known directly but its presence can be felt when one focuses on how one feels. For that one needs to focus on the heart. This is the essence of heartfulness.

There are three core practices of Heartfulness that help blend foundational knowledge and practical instruction. The process of Heartfulness consists of three stages- transformation or Pranahuti in meditation, cleaning and prayer.  All three steps are equally important for any seeker. In his book, The Heartfulness Way: Heart-Based Meditations for Spiritual Transformation, Daaji has explained the process of heartfulness meditation and described how transformation, cleaning and prayer are significant parts of this approach. 

Yogic Transmission is the hallmark of the heartfulness method. It's what makes this method so powerful and different from others. With yogic transmission, the very essence of spirituality is transmitted like a flame from one heart to another; it is a sacred emanation from the original source. In Sanskrit it is called Pranahuti.

Pranahuti, through the ultimate source, offers itself to each of the preceptors (a volunteer trained in heartfulness) and infuses them with its own essence, which is passed on to the seeker who is receiving the ‘sitting’. It enables one to access levels of consciousness that could normally take years or even decades to achieve on one’s own. In other words, energy is transmitted from a guru to the seeker. 

The cleaning method is the second core practice of Heartfulness. Its purpose is Free us from their patterns of thinking, emotional reactivity and behavioural tendencies. In yogic philosophy, thought seeds that have already been planted in the subconscious are known as samskaras or impressions. A samskara is your emotional memory, explains Daaji. We may not retain the existential memory, but its emotional content certainly remains dormant in the subconscious. This must be taken care of by cleaning. 

The cleaning technique should ideally be done at the end of the day's work because during the day we acquire many impressions in the form of repetitive thoughts, emotions, inner disturbances, etc., so we need to remove them so that we clear our Inner Space. 

Finally, at bedtime, just before we sleep, we should do prayerful meditation bringing one’s attention to the light in our heart to set our intentions and always attune to our heart and be one with the highest potential that is within. People usually think the transformation comes from above as a result of having prayed, but a ring of the prayer transforms us, rather than it being a response. Transformation happens in the very moment that we pray. True prayer is its own answer. 

Chari ji used to say that prayer is the first means of the weak and the last means of the strong. If you can do nothing, then by all means pray, but if you can, then take action and do something for others. 

The Heartfulness approach seems simple, practical, and doable. Apart from the spiritual work, the organisation is doing wonderful work in India. A heartfulness retreat centre called Kanha Shanti Vanam has been established by Kamlesh Patel, Daaji on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana as the global headquarters of heartfulness organisation. Noticeably, Kanha’s massive meditation hall is the world’s largest, with a capacity for 100,000 people meditating together! It’s a nonprofit organisation supported by donations and volunteers, with free classes online and a free app that connects users to meditators and guides all over the world in real time. 

Moreover, Kanha Shanti Vanam Tropical Rainforest trees have been effortfully developed at the main centre of heartfulness. Kanha Shanti Vanam, is a remarkable initiative by the Heartfulness where volunteers have strategically planted a diverse array of trees within its recreated rainforest that includes jamun tree, coconut palms, passion fruit trees, jackfruit tree, red sanders, rudraksha and asoka tree etc. This diverse range of trees contributes to the ecological significance of Kanha Shanti Vanam, creating a rich ecosystem and supporting local biodiversity.

Heartfulness is an amazing amalgamation of mental and spiritual rejuvenation in a consciously developed ecosystem with greenery and peace. If you are still sitting on the fence, yet to choose a spiritual organisation, heartfulness may be your calling.

Image source: Heartfulness