Indian health: An center aims to set a Guinness record by organizing a meditation session with one million participants
Indian health: Around one million participants from across the world are planning to join a meditation session on December 21, organised by the Heartfulness Institute, an initiative that promotes peace and harmony through collective meditation, and is expected to set a new Guinness World Record.
James Joseph, a senior Heartfulness Meditation teacher and Executive Vice President of HTC Global Services, told IANS that the event would take place on World Meditation Day and include a live, facilitated session.
“On December 21, we are having a world meditation day, and there will be a live meditation at 9:30 a.m. in the US,” Joseph said. “We are expecting about a million people from around the world to participate in this event.”
In the midst of increased tensions throughout the world, he added, the goal of the group effort is to create a moment of quiet. “The main purpose of this event is to bring up a level of peace and harmony in the entire world through 1 million people meditating,” Joseph said to IANS.
The seminar is being organized by the Heartfulness Institute, an international meditation organization with Indian origins. The organization’s worldwide guide, Daaji, who is located in India, will lead the session, according to Joseph.
“This is being organised by the Heartfulness Institute, which is headed by Daji, who currently resides in India,” he said. “He is the global guide for Heartfulness meditation, and he’ll be the one who will be presiding over this meditation.”
According to Joseph, Daaji is now the head of a meditation tradition that combines traditional methods with contemporary accessibility. “Daaji is currently the representative for what we call the heartfulness, tradition, or the … which is an ancient form of Raji yoga,” he said, adding that “a modernised version is today known as Heartfulness.”
He pointed out that the movement now has a substantial worldwide presence. Daaji, according to Joseph, oversees “this organisation of about 10 million meditators across the world who have either experience or who are practising meditation.”
It is anticipated that people from several continents would join the meditation on December 21. “There are about 160 countries, people from 160 countries are going to enthusiastically participate in this meditation,” added Joseph.
Everyone is welcome to attend the event for free, he said, and those who are interested may register by scanning the QR code that the organizers have supplied.
“There are no costs associated with it. It’s free of charge,” he said.
Reflecting on the broader significance of the initiative, Joseph underscored India’s role in shaping global wellness traditions. “The greatest contribution that India has made is in the field of yoga and meditation,” he added, describing the event on December 21 as “a great opportunity for us to contribute and be part of that movement.”
He said that meditation provides a way to improve society as a whole. Joseph told IANS that “one million souls, one million hearts meditating together” will be joining him. “Meditation is the best way to transform minds, transform hearts to bring peace to humanity,” Joseph said.
World Meditation Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly and is observed annually on December 21, aligning with the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, a time traditionally associated with reflection and inner calm.
Heartfulness is rooted in the Shri Ram Chandra Mission, a global spiritual organisation headquartered in India, and has expanded worldwide through meditation centres, trained practitioners and digital platforms, with its leadership and guiding philosophy continuing to be anchored in India.