Revered Daaji’s visit to Amreli was followed by a trip to Jamnagar, an erstwhile princely state renowned as a seat of oriental studies with a rich legacy in Ayurvedic tradition. Daaji was invited as a speaker by the Dept. of Swasthavritta at the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) for an evening themed "Human Excellence through Indian Heritage." ITRA is the first Institute of National Importance under the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy).

After many introductions and felicitations, the highlight of the event finally arrived—Daaji’s address. His speech (in Gujarati) delved into the deeper aspects of Yoga and Consciousness in the context of Heartfulness practices. Here are some translated excerpts.

• Nowadays, there is significant discourse surrounding the topic of Yoga. World Yoga Day on 21st June highlights many of its physical practices like asana (poses) and pranayama (breath work). But the fundamental basis of yoga, as taught by Patanjali, starts with yama and niyama—what not to do and what to do, respectively. Unfortunately, our minds rarely focus on that. Who wants to follow rules like "do this, don’t do that," right? It’s like when your wife says, "Don’t do this—do that," and you respond angrily, "Be quiet!" The same happens with our heart. It tells us what’s right and wrong, especially what not to do. But when we ignore the heart, it gets heavy, skips beats, or makes us sweat—that’s its way of guiding us. Still, we often ignore these signals, and in doing so, we miss the divine help that comes through it.
• In the Sahaj Marg method, emphasis is placed on dhyana (meditation) to refine and regulate the mind. This naturally develops discrimination—what to do and what not to do—automatically establishing yama and niyama. Meditation creates awareness before we act, guiding us on what should or shouldn’t be done and its potential outcomes. A sensitized heart can only be cultivated through meditation.
• There are many more yogic chakras than those traditionally charted in yoga shastras (yoga treatises). Most yogis have only progressed up to the Sahasra Dal Kamal (SDK) chakra. They did not move beyond it because the spiritual condition of sat-chit-anand (truth, consciousness, bliss) at SDK is so beautiful and blissful, that they became captivated by it. So, this bliss can become a trap. It is akin to a worm relishing cow dung and enjoying its flavor. The practitioner becomes addicted to this particular condition of the consciousness and gets trapped there. You have to get out of that trap.
• Each yogic chakra presents a unique spiritual condition, and getting stuck in any one of them leads to horizontal expansion of consciousness—an infinite expansion, because each chakra has infinite possibilities. This is what is called the avdhoot state, where the practitioner loses awareness of what’s happening. Hence, the guidance of a living guru is essential—the guru can discern the practitioner's position and chart the path for their continued progress.
• Comparative studies of philosophies and religions have been conducted extensively so far. However, India and the world would greatly benefit if similar studies were undertaken to explore and compare various methods of meditation. Do a study on how quickly one can reach the delta wave state, which corresponds to the fourth level of consciousness also called the turiya state in our yoga shastras. There are four states of consciousness:

1. Wakeful state
2. Dream state
3. Sleep state
4. Deep sleep-like state but with full awareness or turiya state

So compare various methods of meditation through a blind study and publish the results to provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of different practices. When supported by scientific evidence, these results will help protect people from blind superstition.        

After the speech, Daaji conducted meditation. This was followed by a Q&A session, where he addressed questions previously collected from the audience. Here is a translated excerpt.

 Q: You spoke about joyful obedience. Why is it that obedient and committed people often face the most challenges, while mean and manipulative people seem to enjoy life?

Daaji: Obedience, especially joyful obedience, is not always easy. For instance, when a teacher says, “No talking, no phones, pay attention,” some students may follow the rules outwardly but remain distracted, their minds elsewhere. However, joyful obedience means being fully present and engaged—it transforms study, sports, meditation, and even eating into acts of worship. Togetherness with family should also be joyful, a time to connect.

Sadly, today’s family interactions put the “three monkeys” of Gandhiji* to shame. Nowadays, it’s a case of—“I see not, I hear not, I speak to no one”—all because people’s attention is always on their smartphones. The joyfulness has gone, the interconnectedness has gone:  those who are our near and dear ones, who are around us, we ignore. And the ones who are distant and who are not really our dear ones, we give them attention calls and messages. So, ask your mind, what is right and what is not?

The sadhana chatushtaya and shatsampat** mention this: “The first emergence of success in yoga, is the development of discrimination or discernment (vivek buddhi).” We have to become “yama”—killers of our negative tendencies. And its exact opposite is “niyama”—embracing good qualities and imbibing them in us. 

 *The three monkeys of Mahatma Gandhi are a visual representation of the proverb "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil".

**[Four pillars of practice (sadhana chatushtaya), which include six virtues (shatsampat), are cultivated on the path of Self-Realization by the school of Vedanta or Jnana Yoga.]