Kaelash Neels, 40, German of Herdecke, at the age of five already knew that Baba lived within him, he was born in an anandamargii family and experienced at very young age the philosophy of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti.
“Values, priorities and perspectives of life were based on the philosophy of Baba,” remembers Kaelash, who grew up knowing that besides the lessons of Ananda Marga, he was also committed in maintaining a sattvic body and mind.
As a teenager, Kaelash did not stop being a vegetarian, but ate rajasic and tamasic food for a while. He described to us that once he was with friends eating pizza and a casual debate began: “We were discussing whether it was better to eat meat or not and the vegetarians lost. I felt bad because in my heart I knew I should not eat animals and I asked my mother why I was a vegetarian. She did not say much, but then she gave me a book: ‘Leichenschmaus’, literally ‘Banquet of Corpses’. “After reading it, Kaelash decided to be vegan since he realized how badly animals were being treated by the dairy industry. He soon also experienced the benefits of the vegan diet since his health was better and he felt more energized.
So why did he become a raw foodist? Kaelash explains, “I loved the idea of eating everything in the natural state, the way God created it.” He has been on a raw food diet since 1995, even though his family is lactovegetarian.
In addition to working with living foods, Kaelash is a yoga teacher, yogatherapist and a graduate in the Feldenkrais method. He works at the Kripalu Yoga and Health Center – https://kripalu.org, Massachussets, USA, and at the Ann Wigmore Institute for Natural Health – www.annwigmore.org, in Puerto Rico, USA, where he lives.
His daily routine consists of waking up around 4 o’clock in the morning to have time to practice asanas, sing kiirtans, complete his sadhana and then go out to teach, pick up his six-year-old son Chaetanya (Ian Neels Damaceno) at school, take him to play, and return home in time to meditate again, dinner and sleep.
Kaelash had the opportunity to be in Baba’s presence three times. In the most impressionable occasion, he was 12 when he went to India with his father: “We were informed Baba was sick and we probably could not see him. We were accommodated in front of the house where Baba lived. One day the acaryas informed us that Baba would pass by the garden in a wheelchair. I waited by the garden wall for about two hours. Many people arrived and it was not easy to keep my place. But when Baba appeared it was like a wave of love that washed over me, and I entered into a state of bliss for a few minutes.”
Kaelash’s life is so mixed with Ananda Marga’s philosophy that after telling us about his work with yoga, his sattvic eating, his life devoted to Baba, his dedication, he could not say whether his activities are a tool for pracar or not. He just said he’d like to think so. Yes Kaelash, it seems it naturally is.
Anti-inflammatory 
super food
Ingredients
. 2 tablespoons of chia seeds
. Diece size piece of ginger
. 1 cup of coconut water
. 1 stalk of celery
. ½ carrot (purple carrots would preferrable)
. 7 black raisins
. ½ deep red apple
. ¼ deep rich red beets
. small piece of turmeric
. small block of frozen açai (without any additives)
. pinch of black pepper
. coconut meat to create desired thickness
. 1 leaf of bok choy, since it is a very important anti-inflammatory (optional)
. blueberries as desired, could be frozen (optional)
Soak the chia seeds in twice as much water for 4 hours (if outside the refrigerator) or 8 hours (inside the fridge, if overnight, for example). Blend all ingredients and enjoy!
Blending tip: blend the ingredients until super smooth without overheating.
Learn more about Kaelash, his work and more recipes:
http://www.kaelash.com (websites in English and Portuguese)
By Laksmii (Luciana Lima Lopes)
