Teacher Feature

Neelam Taneja

Primordial Sound Meditation instructor
London, England

My meditation journey started at birth as I was born in a yogic family in India. We lived in a town that is famous for its annual Sufi music and poetry festival, and one of my earliest memories is reciting the Gyatri mantra when I was four years old. I learned Sanskrit at school and was able to read the yogic texts in their original language from an early age.

My mother was my first teacher as my father had passed away when I was nine. She taught me how to keep the light shining bright in this journey. “Life is a series of awakenings. Be open to receiving, sharing, and learning,” she said. This is how it continues to be.

At age 15 I thought I had a reasonable understanding of the Upanishads and the Vedic teachings that all human experiences are perceptions or constructs of the mind and that the “real” reality could not be known . . . that beyond the varied images and experiences of the mind there was a single, undifferentiated whole – what Deepak Chopra refers to as the “field of pure potentiality.”

At school, though, I’d begun my training in the natural sciences, and I found it difficult to reconcile my Vedic understanding with my newly acquired knowledge of science, which was didn’t really recognize the role of consciousness. So in my 20s, when I was living in England and doing my doctoral studies in science and philosophy, I was excited to come across the work of Immanuel Kant and Arthur Schopenhauer, two German philosophers whose perspective coincided with the Vedic view of the world.

Entering the World of Meditation

My formal meditation training came in two parts, both in Europe in the mid-1980s. Part one was with Maharishi Mahesh, learning and experiencing the beauty of mantra meditation. Part two was with the Chopra Center, learning to become a Primordial Sound Meditation instructor. The bridge between the two parts was Deepak Chopra’s book Quantum Healing. For me, this book brought together many of the pieces of the enigma of consciousness and the universe.

Every time I teach someone the practice of Primordial Sound Meditation, it feels like sharing eternity. Each time, without exception, it is a new awakening into higher states of consciousness for the student and for me. Most students tell me that Deepak’s books make more sense to them after learning meditation than before. His words suddenly become more experiential.

In addition to one-on-one instruction, I teach meditation and yoga to group classes at a school in Hertfordshire and at the Special Yoga Centre in London. I also offer one-day workshops that combine the principles of yoga, Ayurveda, and nutrition. All of my programs include tastes of innovative, delicious food!

I’ve been interested in Ayurvedic nutrition and food as medicine for a long time. I used to be the CEO of a food business based on Ayurvedic principles. My wife, who passed away in 2004, shared my love of good food and was a cookery writer. I have two daughters who have grown up to be loving, wonderful women. To celebrate the marriage of my elder daughter in 2007, I edited and published a collection of poems called Without You.

Neelam Taneja
Primordial Sound Meditation instructor
London, England

Email: neelam.pm@googlemail.com
Website: aumeditationyoga.com