Elvis Presley spent much of his life searching for enlightenment. While he had achieved unprecedented success in his career, he felt unfulfilled. Elvis turned to various spiritual and religious texts and seemed to want to cultivate this part of his life.
When he met with one religious leader, though, he didn’t appear to be all that willing to put the work in. He asked her if there was a shortcut he could take to enlightenment. Elvis Presley sought enlightenment, but he didn’t want to work too hard for it On the recommendation of a monk, Elvis met with Daya Mata, the president of the Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India.
He came across as shy and polite to her, and he expressed his interest in spiritual fulfillment. While his interest seemed genuine, Daya Mata said Elvis was impatient for results. He asked her for a “shortcut” to the enlightenment of Kriya Yoga.
“Oh, well that I didn’t give him,” she said in the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. “I wouldn’t do that. I’ve had that come to me from so many people, and I just said, ‘Well, that’s — just set back a little.
Just because someone has a name, that doesn’t impress me. I’m not interested in that side of your nature. I’m interested in your soul.
’” She believed that while Elvis was genuinely interested in that moment, his dedication would wane. “There was one point where he wanted to wholeheartedly [join the movement], he wante.
