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Vedanta
Ravi Shankar, commonly known as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, was born on 13 May 1956 in Tamil Nadu, India. He is also frequently referred to simply as "Sri Sri" (honorific) or as Guruji or Gurudev.[6] He is a spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation created in 1981, which aims to relieve individual stress, societal problems, and violence.[7] In 1997, he established a Geneva-based charity, the International Association for Human Values, an NGO that engages in relief work and rural development and aims to foster shared global values.[8][9]
Ravi Shankar was born in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu to Visalakshi Ratnam and R. S. Venkat Ratnam. He was named "Ravi" (a common Indian name meaning "sun") because his birth was on a Sunday, and "Shankar" after the eighth-century Hindu saint, Adi Shankara, because it was also Shankara's birthday.[10] By age 4, he is said to have been able to recite verses from the Bhagavad Gita.[10][11] Ravi Shankar's first teacher was Sudhakar Chaturvedi, an Indian Vedic Scholar and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi.[11][12] He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Bangalore University[13] (St. Joseph's College[14]). After graduation, Shankar travelled with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi[15] giving talks and arranging conferences on Vedic science, and setting up meditation and Ayurveda centres.[16][17]
In the 1980s, Shankar initiated a series of practical and experiential courses in spirituality around the globe. He says that his rhythmic breathing practice, Sudarshan Kriya, came to him in 1982, "like a poem, an inspiration," after a ten-day period of silence on the banks of the Bhadra River in Shimoga, in the state of Karnataka, adding, "I learned it and started teaching it".[18]
Shankar says that every emotion has a corresponding rhythm in the breath and that regulating the breath can help elevate the individual and help relieve personal suffering.[19]
In 1983, Shankar held the first Art of Living course in Europe, in Switzerland. In 1986, he travelled to Apple Valley, California in the US to conduct the first course to be held in North America.[20][21]
Shankar teaches that spirituality is that which enhances human values such as love, compassion and enthusiasm. It is not limited to any one religion or culture. Hence it is open to all people. He feels the spiritual bond we share as part of the human family is more prominent than nationality, gender, religion, profession, or other identities that separate us.[22]
In Shankar's view, "Violence-free society, disease-free body, quiver-free breath, confusion-free mind, inhibition-free intellect, trauma-free memory, and sorrow-free soul is the birthright of every human being."[23]
According to him, science and spirituality are linked and compatible, both springing from the urge to know. The question, "Who am I?" leads to spirituality; the question, "What is this?" leads to science. Emphasizing that joy is only available in the present moment, his stated vision is to create a world free of stress and violence. His programs are said to offer practical tools to help accomplish this. He sees breath as the link between body and mind, and a tool to relax the mind, emphasising the importance of both meditation/spiritual practice and service to others. In his view, "Truth is spherical rather than linear; so it has to be contradictory."[24]
Sudarshan Kriya (Sanskrit: सुदर्शन क्रिया sudarśana-kriyā) is a breathing-based technique[25] that is a core component of the Art of Living courses and "the cornerstone of . . . Art of Living Foundation's trauma relief programs".[25] It involves Ujjayi breathing and bhastrika in vajrasana followed by rhythmic breathing in sukhasana.[26]
A number of medical studies on its preparatory practices have been published in international peer-reviewed journals.[27] A range of mental and physical benefits are reported in these studies, including reduced levels of stress (reduced cortisol—the "stress" hormone), improved immune system, relief from anxiety and depression (mild, moderate, and severe),[28] increased antioxidant protection, and enhanced brain function (increased mental focus, calmness and recovery from stressful stimuli), among other findings.[29]
In the 1990s, Shankar initiated a number of humanitarian projects, which continue to this date under the auspices of the
Ravi Shankar has authored the following books:
In 2012, Ravi Shankar, while attending a function in [80][81]
In 2009, Shankar was named by Forbes Magazine as the fifth most powerful leader in India.[79]
He was involved in the movement demanding a strong lokpal bill[58] and was also one of the founders of the "India Against Corruption" movement.[59]
NONVIO was launched as a nationwide movement by Shankar's foundation in March 2013 with the aim of eliminating violence. It encourages individuals to pledge one act of non-violence through different social and online media[56] and adopt nonviolent principles in government, public health, and media.[57]
Inspired by its founder, the Art of Living along with UN Agencies, NGOs and civil society, launched Volunteer For a Better India (VFABI) on 5 December 2012. "Give one hour to the nation. The country has problems because good people are apathetic. Youth must take charge and Volunteer for a Better India", Shankar appealed.[50] VFABI is involved in many activities, including protest against the 2012 Delhi gang rape case,[51] free health camps,[52] and voter awareness and registrations in India.[53][54][55]
Ravi Shankar "brokered" the peace deal between the Colombian government and the guerrilla movement FARC during his visit to Cuba in June 2015. The FARC agreed to follow Gandhian principle of non-violence to attain its political objectives & social justice.[48][49]
In 1992, he started a prison program[45] to rehabilitate prison inmates and help them reintegrate into the mainstream.[46] His volunteers assisted the 2004 tsunami victims, Hurricane Katrina victims, in Haiti, and many other regions of conflict and natural disaster.[47]
In 2003, he initiated the Ethics in Business - Corporate Culture & Spirituality dialogue with an aim of strengthening human values and ethics in business. This evolved later on in the formation of the World Forum for Ethics in Business which convenes international conferences on ethics.[42][43][44] World Summit on Ethics in Sports, a one-day event held in September 2014 at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, focused on "morality and openness" in sports.[44]
Ravi Shankar is involved in interfaith dialogue and currently sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.[39] Through interfaith summits in 2008 and 2010, he has been engaging faith-based leaders for collective action against HIV.[40] In July 2013 at a meeting in UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, issues including HIV prevention, gender based violence, stigma and discrimination were discussed.[41]
During his visits to Iraq (at the invitation of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki) in 2007[35] and again in 2008,[36] he met with political and religious leaders to promote global peace. In November 2014, Ravi Shankar traveled to the relief camps in Erbil, Iraq. He also hosted a conference to address the dire condition of Yazidis and other non-Muslims in the region.[37][38]
He visited Pakistan in 2004 on a "goodwill mission"[31] and again in 2012 when he inaugurated Art of Living centers in Islamabad and Karachi.[32] The Islamabad center was burned down by armed men in March 2014.[33][34]
[30]
Chennai, Madurai, Kerala, Coimbatore, India
Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Tantra, Hatha yoga
Hinduism, Yoga, Upanishads, Hindu philosophy, Bhagavad Gita
Yoga, Hinduism, Advaita Vedanta, Upanishads, Hindu philosophy
Yoga, Mahabharata, Buddhism, Upanishads, Ramayana
David Lynch, The Beatles, Transcendental Meditation, Fairfield, Iowa, Problem of evil
Chennai, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur district, India
Yoga, Hinduism, Dvaita, Religion, Epistemology
Norah Jones, Stevie Wonder, Satyajit Ray, The Beatles, Bob Dylan
Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, Sri, Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader), Sri Sri (writer)