Paris and London 16th May 2024

Daaji woke up early and went up to the 15th-floor restaurant of the hotel to have breakfast with many abhyasis who joined him there. It was a picturesque view of Paris that lay before all as everyone looked upon the Seine River, the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame church being reconstructed, the ungainly Montparnasse Tower, and several landmarks that make it such an enchanting city. The sun broke over the scene just as he finished his breakfast. After speaking to a few abhyasis during breakfast, Daaji went back to his room to prepare for his departure from France.

Many of them were gathered at the hotel’s entrance to see him off. Daaji went gently from one person to the other, speaking to them while still looking as if he needed some more rest than what he had been able to garner the previous night.

He left Paris from the Gare du Nord by Eurostar at 10:12 am for London and arrived there in time to be received by eager abhyasis at the St. Pancras International Station in London.

Nearly 300 abhyasis from the United Kingdom made their way to King’s Cross Station in London with flowers, signs, gifts, and eager anticipation as they queued up in a long line outside the international arrivals to welcome Daaji to London. Daaji was traveling via Eurostar from Paris, where He had just spent two days engaging with Parisian abhyasis and meeting with Paris-based ministers and dignitaries.

After exiting the platform, Daaji went down the line of abhyasis welcoming him, shaking hands, accepting gifts, and patting babies, clearly surprised by the number of people who were awaiting his arrival at the station. Daaji left King’s Cross and was escorted into a car outside of the station, quickly blessing Prasad with a variety of nuts handed to him by six-year-old Kashyap Lakshman before setting off to the InterContinental London—the O2, his residence for the duration of his stay in London.

While taking some time to relax from his journey and to enjoy lunch, Daaji was introduced to several local London leaders and businessmen, including Mahesh Liloriya from ABLP and Gujarat Samachar, the first British-Asian publication in the United Kingdom, on behalf of C.B. Patel, its Editor-in-Chief and Chair. In 2023, C.B. Patel honored Daaji with the U.K.-India Triumph Award.

As guests started to visit with Daaji, he was keen on sharing his thoughts on the importance of practically experiencing meditation.

Daaji also talked about the importance of retaining knowledge of India’s ancient traditions and culture.

Few Quotes:

“Don’t wait for instructions. If the heart says, Just do it; then do it.”

“Right action leads to right results. Wrong actions lead to wrong results.”

After taking some rest, Daaji was joined for dinner by four of his former classmates from pharmacy school, all of whom live in London. It was a delightful and warm evening filled with old memories, shared stories, and much laughter. Daaji was asked by his friends to share his journey through meditation.

After dinner with his friends, Daaji turned in for the evening to get some much-needed rest.