We could feel the power of the caring consciousness that vibrant Vedic speaker and everyday philosopher, Saloni, talks on, even during our conversation. Introducing calm and perspective through her wise and beautifully articulated belief, Saloni shows how Vedic practice – evolved from the oldest Sanskrit and Hindu literature – is as much about self-belief and grounded thinking as the higher karmic energy that can come of such emotional investment. “The whole world is built of vibrations and forces, and surrounding yourself with certain people, environments and the outcomes of particular choices can lower your lifestyle. That is when you get negativity, cancers and bad luck.” Saloni had restoratively applied this to her first business, which she started with her brother, Karma Free Pizza, the first enterprise in the UK to use Ahimsa cheese promoting the non-violent treatment of cows as well as a wider spiritual awareness in the process: “cows are treated appallingly in the industry, and we wanted to combat this together with providing people healthier, vegetarian options. We saw that there plenty of Indian choices for a green diet in the UK but not so many western alternatives. We were serving halloumi burgers and sweet potato wedge alternatives, for example. It’s the little actions that make a difference. If everyone turned vegetarian, it would be better for the planet and karma. It would be the marker of a world without war – if you cannot hurt an animal, how could you ever harm a human being?”
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Being a more wholesome and proactive discipline rather than ascetic, such choices also conjure a sense of lightness and fun: “we had an open restaurant, run with love and passion. This resulted in creativity. I designed the whole menu, keeping in mind the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals in each vegetable. We were the revolutionaries, championing greener eating before it became trendy! We had incredible lean and experimental toppings on the pizzas, including artichokes, leeks and pine kernels. If you take care of the fundamental component, your body, the rest will take care of itself. I always say: it’s not the bank balance or education that’s made you big, it’s what you’ve put inside you!” Karma Free Pizza Company reached the number one spot on TripAdvisor, and was classed in top three London Restaurants in 2012. But there is yet more to Saloni’s propagation of interpersonal ethics than just through business. Being an excellent orator, she has organically risen and talks in the wider space of public speaking. She has already spoken at British Parliament, Oxford University and appeared on Zee Companion Insights. “Politics and current affairs touch upon all the areas of ethics, religion, society, lifestyle and green agendas so they can be tied together. One of my favourite talks in Parliament has been on the Shree Suktam, which centres on the mantra for Goddess Lakshmi. It’s interesting that such mantras are as old as time and yet people seem to turn to modern refrains such as The Secret and the Laws of Attraction.” As Saloni elaborated, the latter are more superficial because they tend to be mired in the materialistic. Vedic mantras, however, are “far more powerful” as they speak directly to the soul, written to “the benefit of all, considering the whole cosmos. This old wisdom is just waiting to be tapped into. Lots of people have lost their home and the connection to their older roots, but this knowledge is from time immemorial. We can resurrect it to help us in our daily, modern lives. Vedic theology is ultimate truth. Science has discovered facts we have known for Millenia. Galileo and The West only discovered the Sun was a certain distance away fairly recently. But this was written millions of years ago in Vedic astrology: they saw the 27 constellations; we have modern tech now, thinking it’s more advanced, but the Nazis would look at the old scriptures to advance their scientific knowledge. It was perhaps in corrupt hands.” Indeed, another reason Saloni has brought her spiritual observations to the political fore is to symbolically remake it: “I became very spiritual after I lost my dad in 2010. It’s one of those inevitable life events which force you to confront questions on the soul and afterlife, and there I gained a really close connection to Lord Krishna, and felt that connection with a super soul, becoming more religious. Religions such as Hinduism and Judaism are very old and so they’re generally under threat in contemporary times. I investigated how Hinduism spread to the Far East and further south in Russia, which then led me to see how it dissolved. The teachings have been politically suppressed ethnically through the reign of the Mogul and British empires.” Thus, Saloni does her part to return an inner balance to the world, valuing the intangible and long term to surmount life’s challenges: “whatever you do in life, you have to do it with a passion and it will naturally reaches its own heights. There is no point chasing money and status for a reason outside of yourself. This is not happiness. If you live holistically, passionately, the universe pulls you forwards.”
What’s another Vedic topic you speak on?A favourite speech of mine is one I gave on cow protection and the benefits of not killing a cow. There is so much spiritual and economic value in preserving life. There are medicinal benefits of cow urine and the manure can be used to generate energy. Milk production carries on naturally for many years too. However, cows are generally slaughtered at age 4 or 5. They could generate more income to the farmers if they can live to fifteen years. Eating red meat can also give you cancer and burdens medical care.
Have you interwoven Vedic philosophy into every aspect of your life?
Absolutely. I’m always talking on vegetarianism and Linda McCartney! Even in my current role as a high-end beauty therapist. I’ll make sure my clients know that a green diet is responsible for youthful looks. I always promote the macro, and am not too worried about micro details.
How have you combined spirituality and good business ethic?
Well it’s naturally intertwined and now I have made so many connections and met such wonderful souls. One man came in and told me my aura was bright pink! I could only ever earn money ethically. I’ll never endorse blood money.
Finally, what else has grabbed you about Vedic Theology?
I was able to meet Modi doing what I love. Let me tell you, he has such a protective, glowing energy. It felt like force was coming down from the sky around him. Krishna is my centre and I welcome all he arranges. I’m not a social climber, but I love helping people better their lives. I want to leave the world a better place for my children. I believe we all have depth, and do not need to be distracted by surface promises. There is a lot of self-love to be discovered. Children, for example, naturally love animals. They are empathetic. If you have them next to a rabbit and an apple, they’ll want to play with the former and nourish themselves with the latter.
