Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (श्री श्री रवि शंकर) is a spiritual teacher and founder of the Art of Living movement to spread the knowledge of breathing, living and spirituality worldwide.

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Early Life and Current Activity

He was born on May 13, 1956 in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu, India. Stories say that at the age of 4, Sri Sri (pronounced Shree-Shree) could recite the whole Bhagavad Gita without having read it, and showed a gift for study of the ancient Hindu scriptures, the Vedas. At an early age his father, R. S. V. Ratnam ("Pitaji"), sought out a worthy spiritual master for his son, and entrusted him to the care of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, among other teachers. Maharishi's first instruction was that Ravi (as Maharishi called him) should finish his education, leading to his entering a science college in Bangalore. He studied both modern science and Vedic studies, subsequently joining Maharishi's entourage and spent much time teaching Vedic pundits at Maharishi's charity in Delhi, Rishikesh, and elsewhere, and organizing yagyas. According to some, Maharishi would often not start a meeting without Sri Sri being present, and in the eyes of many, elevated him to the level of "favourite," however, there has been virtually no activity related to the TM movement for 25 years. He opened his own school for training Vedic Pundits after leaving Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. There were originally 200 boys in his school in Bangalore.

In 1982, he went into 10 days of silence. Some have said that he would fast for days, accepting only a little milk from time to time. It is believed that he became an enlightened master around this time and cognised the Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique. Sri Sri then set up the Art of Living (AOL) Foundation to spread the Sudarshan Kriya and other related knowledge. The Sudarshan Kriya has acclaimed mental and physical health benefits (as documented in several peer-review scientific journals and on the AofL homepage - see links below), including significant relief from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and increase in the body's Natural Killer cells (cancer fighting cells), among many other findings. It has been taught in over 140 countries. The Art of Living Foundation has grown tremendously in recent years, and is now one of the United Nations' largest volunteer-based Non-Governmental Organizations, in special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council. Sri Sri and his instructors also conduct Hollow and Empty and Sahaj Samadhi Meditation programs that help create an awareness of inner silence and well-being. His foundation was the first on the scene after the tsunami and provided trauma relief after Kosovo, the Gujarat earthquake, Iran and Pakistan earthquakes, for New York after 9/11, for Katrina survivors, and in many other disaster situations. Corporate programs have been held for NASA, the World Bank, the military, and other mainstream companies, and Breath Water Sound programs have offered in rural and challenged urban areas.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, as he is officially referred to, has authored books and given discourses on a wide variety of topics, from spirituality and relationships to the practical challenges of life and interpretations of traditional Vedic texts. He also conducts satsangs (Literally, "company of good people/truth"), where people gather and sing and share wisdom. Though born in a Hindu family, he has followers from all religions, cultures, and traditions. One of his main messages is that one of the basic problems in the world is that of identity: people are first human beings and part of the divinity or universal spirit, while identities of race, gender, religion, nationality, or politics are secondary.

In India, his programs have been taken by presidents, supreme court justices, heads of state security, celebrities, prisoners, and many youth. His organization is actively involved in service projects on six continents, and his programs have reached more than 20 million people to date.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar holds the distinction of being the only non-Western member of the Advisory Council of the Divinity School at Yale University in the United States. He was a guest speaker at the Millennium World Peace Summit during the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in New York. He is co-founder of the IAHV (International Association for Human Values), an international nonprofit organization, and an NGO also in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The IAHV's humanitarian service wing, 5H, focuses on providing health, homes, hygiene, human values, and harmony in diversity to needy communities and has trained thousands of youth leaders and others who have helped transform more than 25,000 villages, even bringing actual peace to areas of decades-long violence and conflict, such as the class violence in Central Bihar in India. IAHV, 5H and the AofL Foundation have collaborated with several UN bodies in many humanitarian and social service projects around the world.

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25 YEARS OF SERVICE TO HUMANITY

The Art of Living Foundation’s three-day 25th anniversary celebration brought together people from all walks of life from around the world. The gathering couldn’t have been more diverse, but the unity of purpose to build a One World Family was incredibly explicit. The more than 250,000, according to an original Deccan Herald Online article, which stated "Silver Jubilee falls far short of goal of 25 lakhs, instead bringing 2.5 lakhs..." (since replaced by another article for unknown reasons)who turned up to join the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Art of Living came from different parts of the world and spoke different languages, but communicated only in one language – the language of love enunciated by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The 265-acre Jakkur Airfield reverberated with love, joy and peace, breaking all the barriers of caste, creed, colour, nationality, race and religion.

This mind boggling number of people came from all continents and was as varied as village folks from different parts of India to heads of state to renowned musicians to survivor of the South Asian tsunami and a hundred-member peace brigade from Pakistan.

Kings, prime ministers, presidents, government leaders, business executives, engineers, students, housewives, rural villagers, and celebrities joined together for these memorable days.

Americans, Indians and Pakistanis, Chinese and Taiwanese, Bosnians and Serbians, Iranians and Iraqis were among the three million people from over 110 countries who stood side-by-side in the 243-acre Jakkur Airfield and celebrated humanity - the common thread that binds people into Sri Sri's calls a One World Family.

An orchestra, comprised of 3,800 Indian classical musicians who had never played or rehearsed together, spontaneously performed a musical symphony each night. They played 100 Ghatams, 360 Mrudangams (percussion), 60 Tamburas, 770 Veenas, 782 Violins, 150 Guitars, 750 Flutes, and many other instruments. Performances by renowned Indian and international musicians reiterated the theme of unity among different peoples and cultures of the world.

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