Hyderabad: Shri Kamlesh Patel commonly known as Daaji has been conferred with the third highest civilian honour of the country – Padma Bhushan by the Central Government of India on the eve of the 74th Republic Day.

A renowned meditation guide and a best-selling author, Daaji - the Founder of Heartfulness and the current President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission is being honoured for his distinguished service of high order in Spirituality and is one of the two to receive the award from the state of Telangana, the other being spiritual leader – Swami Chinna Jeeyar.

On being awarded with the Padma Bhushan, Daaji said “I am honoured to receive Padma Bhushan from the Government of India. This is not a personal achievement but instead is an acknowledgement of the thousands of Heartfulness and Shri Ram Chandra Mission’s volunteers and millions of practitioners worldwide who made it their life’s purpose to serve the society tirelessly, seeking nothing in return. I am grateful to everyone who shares a vision of peace and selfless service.”

A trained pharmacist, he turned to meditation and spirituality at a young age and now through the Heartfulness makes the meditation practice easily accessible to millions of seekers worldwide. Through the Heartfulness movement, he has enabled free access to meditation in over 160 countries and has developed value-based development programs for students and faculty in over 5,000 schools, universities, and educational institutions.

From stress-management to self-realisation, his wisdom, workshops and personal and group contact programs have helped innumerable people around the globe attain a practical, easy to follow lifestyle to streamline their health and well-being. Having authored best-sellers including The Heartfulness Way, Designing Destiny and the Wisdom Bridge, he continues to serve as a spiritual catalyst to a global community that celebrates the Indian way of life.

He heads the 76 year old non-profit organisation Shri Ram Chandra Mission as its President and has established Kanha Shanti Vanam, as the global headquarters and spiritual ground for practitioners of Heartfulness. Kanha Shanti Vanam, located in Hyderabad, hosts the world’s largest meditation centre and millions of practitioners gather from within India and abroad to learn, practice and serve the community – the heartfulness way. Under his leadership, the 1,400-acre land that was previously rocky, dry and drought prone was transformed into a green oasis with a half-million trees – part of the ‘Green Kanha’ initiative to build a completely self-sufficient and sustainable ecosystem.

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