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Art of Living and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
By Gautam Vig
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a multifaceted social activist whose initiatives include conflict resolution, disaster and trauma relief, poverty alleviation, empowerment of women, prisoner rehabilitation, education for all and campaigns against female foeticide and child labour.
In India, 100,000 inmates, including terrorists, in over 100 jails have been provided an opportunity for serious rehabilitation. To provide a more holistic rehabilitative intervention, Sri Sri has also initiated recreational opportunities such as theatre.
Sri Sri Ravishankar has brought to the masses ancient practices which were traditionally kept exclusive, and has designed many self-development techniques which can easily be integrated into daily life to calm the mind and instil confidence and enthusiasm. These techniques have helped thousands overcome depression and violent and suicidal tendencies. One of Sri Sri?s most unique offerings to the world is the Sudarshan Kriya, a powerful breathing technique that facilitates physical, mental, emotional and social well-being.
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a universally revered spiritual and humanitarian leader. His vision of a violence-free, stress-free society through the reawakening of human values has inspired millions to broaden their spheres of responsibility and work towards the betterment of the world.
Sri Sri is a multi-faceted social activist whose initiatives include conflict resolution, disaster and trauma relief, poverty alleviation, empowerment of women, prisoner rehabilitation, education for all and campaigns against female foeticide and child labour. He is engaged in peace negotiations and counselling in conflict zones around the world. His expertise in bringing opposing parties to the negotiating table in areas such as Sri Lanka, Iraq, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Kashmir and Bihar is widely acknowledged.
In 1981, Sri Sri established the Art of Living, an educational and humanitarian Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that works in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. Present in over 140 countries, it formulates and implements lasting solutions to conflicts and issues faced by individuals, communities and nations. In 1997, Sri Sri founded the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) to foster human values and lead sustainable development projects.
Sri Sri has reached out to an estimated 300 million people worldwide through personal interactions, public events, teachings, Art of Living workshops and humanitarian initiatives. Not since Mahatma Gandhi has one person united people of different traditions and faiths into a spiritual communion across the length and breadth of India.
Numerous honours have been bestowed upon Sri Sri, including the Order of the Pole Star (the highest state honour in Mongolia), the Peter the Great Award (Russian Federation), the Sant Shri Dyaneshwara World Peace Prize (India) and the Global Humanitarian Award (USA). Sri Sri has addressed several international forums, including the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit (2000), the World Economic Forum (2001, 2003) and several parliaments across the globe.
Sri Sri travels to nearly 40 countries every year, exemplifying his call to globalise wisdom. His universal and simple message is that love and wisdom can prevail over hatred and distress.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (One World Family)
Sri Sri is engaged in bridging religious, social, ideological and economic divides in society by enlivening the ancient Indian ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (One World Family). He reminds us that diverse traditions and cultures have their roots in the same basic human values of peace, compassion, truth, belongingness and non-violence. The Art of Living serves society with a non-denominational, secular and holistic approach.
In February 2006, at the Art of Living Foundation?s 25th anniversary celebrations in Bangalore, India, an estimated 2.5 million people from 110 countries gathered to celebrate the spirit of service and togetherness. The historic gathering included 1,000 leaders from ten main religious traditions of the world and 750 key political figures from various countries. It was the largest recorded meditation for world peace in history.
In March 2007, the Universal Declaration of Human Values, authored by Sri Sri, was unveiled at the John F Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts in Washington DC. This document, in the form of a proposed resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations, represents Sri Sri?s vision for a fresh approach to fostering understanding and harmonious coexistence between different peoples and cultures.
In January 2005, Sri Sri gave the keynote address at the First World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace held in Brussels.
Sri Sri has hosted and facilitated several dialogues and reconciliation events between different caste groups in various parts of India. In 2002, he hosted a three-day conference at the Art of Living International Centre in Bangalore to showcase the contribution of Dalits to the rich heritage of India.
Jammu and Kashmir
Sri Sri?s peace initiatives in Jammu & Kashmir focus on: healing the trauma of decades of militancy; facilitating dialogue between people from different ideological groups; improving the inhumane conditions in migrant camps; reforming prison inmates; de-stressing army and police personnel; channelling misguided youth toward constructive activities.
Sri Sri has visited the state three times in as many years to open up avenues for dialogue and negotiation. His visit in 2006 culminated in a rare dialogue between leaders of several Kashmiri groups, including both factions of the All Party Hurriyat Conference and representatives of the Kashmiri Pandits. Inspired by Sri Sri, thousands of youth who had been trained in terrorist camps, have shunned the path of violence.
In 2005, IAHV established a child care centre to provide education and a safe haven for children affected by militancy and the 2005 earthquake.
Class conflict in India
Sri Sri?s teachings and initiatives have transformed many villages in the Naxalite-infested areas of central Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. During his visit to Bihar in 2002, more than 100,000 youth from warring factions such as Ranvir Sena, CPI-ML, People?s War Group and Maoist Communist Centre vowed to spread the message of non-violence.
As a result of Sri Sri?s timely intervention, there was no retaliatory massacre in the aftermath of the 2006 Jehanabad killings. Instead, warring groups came together soon after the incident for a community gathering organised by the Art of Living in Ekwari, the nerve centre of Naxal violence in Bihar, which avoided further escalation of violence.
Disaster management and trauma relief
Sri Sri leads a worldwide network of volunteers to bring immediate relief and long-term rehabilitation to people affected by disasters. The Art of Living has implemented disaster management and trauma relief initiatives for affected people in the aftermath of almost every major disaster in the world, including most recently: Sichuan Earthquake, China (May, 2008); Bihar and Assam floods, India (September 2007); Virginia Tech Campus shootings, USA (April 2007); Vidarbha farmer suicides, India (2007); Surat floods, India (August 2006); Lebanon war (July 2006); Mumbai train blast, India (July 2006); Kashmir & Pakistan earthquake (October 2005); Hurricane Katrina, USA (August 2005); Mumbai floods, India (July 2005); London subway blast, United Kingdom (July 2005); Gujarat floods, India (June 2005); Indian Ocean tsunami, India/Sri Lanka (December 2004); Beslan school hostage crisis, Russia (September 2004) and many more.
Empowering communities
Through grassroots initiatives, the Art of Living has empowered rural communities to become partners in the process of sustainable development.
5th Programme
Sri Sri started the 5H Programme (Homes, Hygiene, Health, Harmony in Diversity and Human Values) in 1997 to engineer a socio-economic transformation that will eradicate poverty, misery and disease and ensure peace and harmony among communities. The 5H programme is implemented by rural youth trained under the Art of Living?s Youth Leadership Training Programme. In India, 56,146 trained youth leaders are working in 32,000 villages. The 5H projects are operating in villages and slums across Africa, Asia and South America.
Education for the marginalised
86 schools have been set up providing free education to 7,500 children every year in the tribal, rural and semi-urban belts of India, where child-labour and poverty are widespread.
Addressing farmer suicides
The Art of Living is pursuing a comprehensive programme in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, where farmers have become suicidal due to successive crop failures and mounting debts. Earlier statistics suggested that one farmer was committing suicide every eight hours. In the 308 villages where the Art of Living volunteers have worked so far, there has not been a single reported instance of suicide. Encouraged by the results, the Government of Maharashtra has requested Sri Sri to take up the work in all affected districts.
The Vidarbha programme focuses on:
- Building community support systems
- Instilling confidence and enthusiasm in farmers
- Promoting alternative farming techniques such as organic farming and zero-budget farming, to improve the yield of crops in the long run
- Rainwater harvesting
- Implementing the 5H programme for overall self-sufficiency in villages.
Women?s empowerment
Sri Sri has inspired numerous initiatives to uplift and create opportunities for women, especially in rural areas. He has initiated mass campaigns against female foeticide. With female literacy rates abysmally low in some parts of the world, the Art of Living rural schools encourage parents to send girl children to school. At one such school on the outskirts of Bangalore city, 46 per cent of the children are girls, with the numbers rising every year.
Women are given vocational training to reduce economic dependencies, and are given free homes registered in their names. Health education for women covers nutrition, hygiene and disease prevention, while self-development courses help to instil inner confidence.
Empowering Individuals
?A disease-free body, a stress-free mind and a violence-free society are the birth right of every individual,? says Sri Sri. He has designed a myriad of self-development programmes to release stress, create a sense of well-being, restore human values and encourage people from all walks of life to come together in a spirit of service and celebration.
Sudarshan Kriya
The Sudarshan Kriya, a powerful breathing technique cognised by Sri Sri forms the cornerstone of a diverse range of self-development programmes catering to all sections of society. Customised courses are available for executives, youth, military, children and villagers. Special programmes have been designed for prisoners, as well as individuals with drug and alcohol dependencies.
Independent medical research from reputed institutions such as NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) and AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) have documented the benefits of the Sudarshan Kriya, including:
- alleviation of depression
- heightened awareness and enhanced brain activity
- reduced cortisol levels (stress hormone)
- improvements in the blood cholesterol profile, with significant drops in total cholesterol and LDL (harmful) cholesterol, and increases in HDL (beneficial) cholesterol
- strengthened immune system.
(The writer can be contacted at The Art of Living, International Centre, 21st Km Stone, Udayapura, Kanakapura Road, Bangalore (South), Karnataka-560 062.)
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