Ministry Of Heartful Happiness

Meditation for health and well-being matters to the UAE government

- Diva Mathew/Dubai

 

On a warm May morning, as my taxi pulls up at the entrance of an elegant office building in Dubai’s Jumeirah Lake Towers business district, I know I’m at the right place. Small groups of Indians have just arrived and are greeting each other as they enter the building. Instead of rummaging through my handbag to find the address, I simply follow them into the elevator. I’m sure we are all heading to the same place. The elevator stops at the first floor and I follow them out, down a short corridor, and into a large hall. Within minutes, the cacophony of 300 people exchanging pleasantries dies down and everyone is seated with their eyes closed; the lights are switched off and the hall descends into pin-drop silence. This is how members of the Heartfulness Meditation Centre at the Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation begin each morning; with an hour-long meditation session.

Founded in 1945, by the Shri Ram Chandra Mission in Shahjahanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, the Sahaj Marg method of meditation—also known as Heartfulness—is based on the ancient system of Raja Yoga. Its goal is union with God or self. The organisation is led by meditation teacher Kamlesh D. Patel, who lives in Hyderabad.

As the session commences, I’m ushered into an adjacent room that serves as an office. A handful of children are sitting on the floor entertaining themselves with drawing and colouring while their parents sit next door for a hour of peace and quiet.