Sahaj Marg or Heartfulness Meditation is a set of meditative practices first developed at the turn of the twentieth century and formalized into teaching through
Shri Ram Chandra Mission in 1945. It is a form of
Raja Yoga meditation system. Use of pranahuti or yogic transmission and the cleaning of impressions (called
samskaras) are claimed to be unique to this method.[1][2]
The Heartfulness Movement's headquarters is located in Kanha Shanti Vanam near Hyderabad in Telangana, India. The current global guide of the organization is
Kamlesh Patel (Daaji).[3]
The organizational body
Shri Ram Chandra Mission was formally registered in 1945 by
Ram Chandra (1899-1983). As part of the Sahaj Marg spiritual practice, Ram Chandra adopted a technique called pranahuti as taught by his spiritual master bearing the same name
Ram Chandra of
Fatehgarh in India (popularly called "Lalaji" by his followers).[4]
Practice
The system involves daily and weekly practices including solitary and group meditation.[5] Heartfulness practices include relaxation, meditation, cleaning (or rejuvenation) and prayer.[6][7]
Meditation focuses on the practitioner's heart. A subtle
yogic transmission, also called pranahuti, is a part of the system, and so is "cleaning" or "rejuvenation", which involves suggestions and positive affirmations. The practitioner performs a prayer before going to bed at night.