Biography: About Shri Kamlesh Patel

“If you want to have infinite happiness, infinite bliss, then minimise your desires, from more and more to less and less and finally to zero! Make peace with yourself.” – Shri Kamlesh D Patel

Shri Kamlesh D Patel was born in Gujarat, India and is now the President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM) and the fourth Spiritual Master of the Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga meditation.

From an early age, Kamlesh Patel was interested in spirituality and meditation, and eventually came to the feet of his Guru, Babuji Maharaj in 1976 while still a student. Over the decades, Kamlesh Patel has assisted his guide, Chariji, in the management of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission, which offers the Heartfulness approach to the practice of Sahaj Marg in most countries of the world free of charge.

Kamlesh Patel is married with two sons, and is a role model for students of spirituality who seek that perfect blend of Eastern heart and Western mind. He travels extensively and is at home with people from all backgrounds and walks of life, giving special attention to the youth of today.  

Sahaj Marg: Proving science behind spirituality - The Hindu

Talk by Shri. Kamlesh D. Patel, President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission (www.srcm.org), first published in The Hindu at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/proving-science-behind-spirituality/article8174560.ece

If spirituality is science, is it not necessary for it to be proved beyond doubt to be believed and accepted?

Giving a scientific spin to spirituality, Sri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM) president Kamlesh D. Patel has said ‘Sahaja Yoga’ was truly scientific and appealed to people to practise it to believe it.

Citing a Harvard study, he said an electroencephalogram test conducted on some Buddhist monks, who have meditated for more than 20,000 hours, had entered the ‘delta’ stage (fourth level) of consciousness. “Sahaja Yoga aims at attaining this stage much earlier.

Let belief be based on experience,” he said. Mr. Patel also likened the present level of consciousness among humans to a thin film of water, indicating the presence of an ocean of super-consciousness above and another ocean of sub-consciousness beneath it.

Speaking to The Hindu on his visit to the Tirupati centre of SRCM on Friday, Mr. Patel (‘Kamlesh Bhai’, as he is referred to by members of the order) said SRCM firmly believed in imparting lessons in meditation free of cost, as spirituality, he maintained, could never be treated as a commodity for sale. “If God can be bought, at what cost?” he asked. “The experience cannot be marketed but only experienced, believed and appreciated when practised with due seriousness, but certainly not [when taken up] as a flippant exercise,” he said.

A Call to the Youth – Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

So the message I have to give is nothing very important, nothing very earth shaking, you know, nothing very profound, nothing very philosophical. It is the same call in the Vedas you see, “Uttishtatha, jaagratha, praapyavaraan nibodhata.” [Awake, Arise, having approached the Chosen One, realise your goal.] Youth must awake. Youth must realise that it is the root of society – roots – and that unless each root is nourished properly, one part of the tree will go; and that tree is our life – total life, including all of creation. Therefore the Gita also speaks of “urdhvamoolam madashaakham ashvattham praahuravyayam” – our tree is an inverted ashvattha holy fig tree. Roots are there above and the branches are here below. No use watering this. The nourishment must come from above. What is above and what is below? Above means the higher world, the higher thoughts, teachings which we have lost, forgotten, deliberately set aside. Go back to that.

(Talk given by Chariji Maharaj: Youth: A Time of Promise and for Effort, ‘Throwing off the Shackles of the Past’, Volume II, p. 243)

Chariji Maharaj, the Master of Sahaj Marg, has quoted this call of the Vedas many times. Even Swami Vivekananda has used this famous quotation, which originally is from the Kathopanishad text. This call is not just for the youth but it is for all of us. In order for one to pursue anything in life, it is necessary to be both arisen and also awake. Having said that, what is the next thing to do? It is to “Rest not, Stop not, till the goal is achieved”.

Now, what is the goal? The goal is nothing but self-perfection, inner excellence, manifesting the self within, there are so many ways of looking at the one and the same goal. The current president of Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM) Shri Kamlesh D Patel has demystified the various definitions of goal by saying that the very purpose of existence is to simply excel in whatever one does. And then he said that this excellence of perfection is oriented towards the inner self, inner perfection. It is for us to listen to these clarion calls and act accordingly. 

Food – through the Sahaj Marg Lens: Dr. Kannan

Many people are not serious about the consequences of eating at random. It not only affects the body but also the psychological, intellectual and spiritual progress of a person.  That is why Vedas, Upanishads,  Bhagavad Gita and many texts on Yoga, especially Hatha Yoga and also Ayurveda emphasise the need for proper diet.

The CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD, for example says that purity of food is essential for one's conduct and also good memory. The TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD mentions about the importance of food.

In Bhagavad Gita,  Lord Krishna categorises Food into three varieties,  viz. SATTVA, RAJAS and TAMAS and names some food varieties under each category.

The SATTVIK food gives happiness, it is pleasing, lighter, makes one’s mind calm and nourishes the body and gives long life.

The RAJASIK food gives vigour, virility and induces one to indulge in action and promotes desire.

The TAMASIK food is generally not recommended as it makes one dull, lazy and sluggish.

The text on HATHA YOGA gives the list of food, vegetables, fruits etc., which have to be partaken and those to be avoided. It applies to people of different strata.

Apart from the quality of food, the quantity is also important.  The proper moderate diet is: one should fill half the stomach with SATTVIK food, one quarter with water and leave the rest quarter empty for the movement of air. This is known as Mitaahaara.

Lord Krishna says that one should have moderation in food, sleep and activities. I asked Rev. Chariji Maharaj about the importance of food.  He told me that it is important as one progresses in spirituality. He gave the wonderful example of using Petrol for the bikes and cars, but the same cannot be used for aeroplane.

Rev. Babuji Maharaj says in the 8th Maxim that the food should be earned with honest means and should be taken in the remembrance of God. In the book, EFFICACY OF RAJA YOGA IN THE LIGHT OF SAHAJ MARG, he says that if the food is prepared in divine consciousness or in the remembrance of God and partaken in the same condition,  it would remove spiritual diseases.

Rev. Lalaji Maharaj summarises entire mode of life in just two words, which include Food also: Balance and Moderation.

It is really wonderful to see Rev. Master, Shri Kamlesh D Patel, President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission also gives importance to this aspect of Food in spirituality. He has talked about how different types of food affects the consciousness. In one of Kamleshji's recent talks, he has quoted this, "Someone asked Babuji if they could eat non-vegetarian food. Babuji said, ‘I allow you to eat it until you can stop it by yourself.’ What a profound answer you see!" And then, Shri Kamlesh D Patel went on to explain further that it is a matter of the subtle bodies. Anything that can harm and hurt creates vibrations and when we consume such food, such vibrations will have an impact on our consciousness.