Where the heart is...

Amarjot Kaur 

What started as a spiritual movement, called Shri Ram Chandra Mission, in India in 1945 reached the US as “Heartfulness meditation” propagating a belief system that “awakens the divine consciousness and provides support on the path of human evolution”. 

Joshua Pollock, an accomplished western classical violinist, who has performed violin solos with AR Rahman in films like Ghajani, Delhi 6, Raavan, and Yuvvraaj, was introduced to Heartfulness meditation some 15 years ago. As he talks about his recently released book titled The Heartfulness Way, Joshua brings to light the Raja Yoga System of meditation, called Sehaj Marg or Natural Path that has helped him synchronise his heart’s calling with mind’s reasoning. 

The book, he says, is a compilation of conversations that transpired between his guru and him at the time when he was training to become a Heartfulness meditation trainer and practitioner. The book is authored by Kamlesh D. Patel aka Daaji, the fourth Global Guide of Heartfulness and Joshua Pollock a Heartfulness trainer and practitioner. The book was earlier launched in Delhi by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind. 

Positive transformation

“Heartfulness refocuses your external desire towards the internal. It helps you transformation in positive way. Heartfulness is the route to befriending your inner divine,” says Joshua as he struggles to define the concept of heartfulness. With over a million practitioners worldwide, “Heartfulness meditation is a set of practices for self-development that help us find inner calm and stillness in our extremely fast-paced world. Heartfulness is offered at no cost. There is no dogma. The easily adopted practices are appropriate for people from all walks of life, cultures, religious beliefs and economic status over the age of 15,” he adds.

Now based in Delhi, Joshua was first introduced to Heartfulness by a stranger at a grocery store. “I was in the mood to talk to people and was experimenting with several belief systems and meditation practices, but none seemed to appeal to me. It was then when I randomly met a woman in a grocery store who told me about Heartfulness. She had been practicing it for a long time and I thought I could possibly give it a try too,” he shares. 

It took Joshua a couple of years to write The Heartfulness Way, which has been published by Westland Publications and is available on Amazon too. “As we manoeuvre the many demands of relationships, career, property and health, we often sense a void, a feeling of alienation from our true selves. Ensconced in India’s ageless oral tradition, Daaji, the fourth guru in the Heartfulness lineage, traces a seeker’s journey as he examines the nature of spiritual search. Through a series of illuminating conversations between a teacher and a student, Daaji reveals the core principles of the Heartfulness practice to me,” says Joshua. 

Core belief

The book reflects on the essence of prayer and yogic transmission, demystifies the act of meditation through practical tips, and enables us to live beyond the filters of our sensory limitations and discover unity within ourselves. 

“To practise Heartfulness is to seek the essence beyond the form, the reality behind the ritual. It is to centre oneself at the core of one’s heart and find true meaning and contentment there,” he says. The first teacher to have been inducted in AR Rahman’s music school to teach Western Classical music, Joshua shares Heartfulness meditation has helped him discover new realms of music too. “Music itself is a very potent form of meditation, and it comes from one’s heart; however, it is important to sync it with mind too,” he signs off. 

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