| Kamlesh D. Patel (Daaji) | |
| Birth Name: | Kamlesh Desaibhai Patel |
| Birth Date: | 28 September 1956 |
| Birth Place: | Kala, Gujarat, India |
| Spouse: | Pratima Patel |
| President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, Global Guide of Heartfulness Institute, Founder of Heartfulness Education Trust, Managing Trustee of Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation | |
| Predecessor: | Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari |
| Organization: | Shri Ram Chandra Mission, Heartfulness Institute, Heartfulness Education Trust |
| Notable Works: | The Heartfulness Way (2018), Designing Destiny (2019), The Wisdom Bridge (2022), Spiritual Anatomy: Meditation, Chakras, and the Journey to the Center (2023) |
| Awards: | Padma Bhushan |
| Website: | Daaji.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 two books on the topics of meditation and spirituality.
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.[3]
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 sons. 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 without holding any positions of profit.[4] [5]
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 worked with Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (Chariji), the second president of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, holding a number of responsibilities in the organization. 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.[6]
| Year of award or honour | Name of award or honour | Awarding organisation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Honorary doctorate | Sri Venkateswara University[7] | |
| 2020 | Ramkrishna Bajaj Memorial Global Award | Priyadarshini Academy[8] | |
| 2023 | Government of India[9] | ||
| 2023 | The UK-India Triumph Awards | ABPL Group[10] | |
| 2023 | Prakrati Prerak Award | ISGBRD, Agra | |
| 2024 | Global Ambassador of Peacebuilding and Faith | Commonwealth[11] | |
| 2024 | Freedom of the City of London | The City of London Corporation[12] |
Patel co-authored a book called The Heartfulness Way with Joshua Pollock in 2018.[13] In February 2018, the book was among the top 10 best selling non fiction books in the Hindustan Times Nielsen chart.[14]
His book Designing Destiny was released in February 2019.[15]
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.[16]