Art of Living Foundation

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The Art Of Living Foundation

"We care for the World, Care for You"[1]
Motto "Serve Society and Strengthen the Individual"[2]
Headquarters Kanakapura, Bangalore
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Website http://www.artofliving.org

The Art of Living Foundation, is a non-profit, volunteer based organization founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Contents

[edit] Organization

Art of Living Foundation (AOLF) has its international headquarters in Bangalore, India at Veda Vignan Manahvidyapeeth or VVM campus (usually referred to as the Bangalore Ashram)and has regional centers in more than 140 countries. The foundation was founded by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

AOLF has been a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization in the U.S. since 1989. Accredited as a United Nations Non-Governmental organization in 1996, it is now one of the UN's largest volunteer-based NGOs. It works in special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council, participating in a variety of committees and activities relating to health, education, sustainable development, conflict resolution, and disaster relief.

The Foundation operates as a social business and its main activity is to organize Art of Living courses,[3] yoga and meditation workshops,[4] and education and trauma relief in areas of trauma and disaster.[5]. The majority of the officers of the organization, along with most of its teachers and staff, are volunteers. All humanitarian programs, disaster relief efforts and training programs are conducted through, or in conjunction with its sister organization, the International Association for Human Values (IAHV). Some of the key worldwide chapters include the Art of Living Foundation (U.S.A.), Vyakti Vikas Kendra (India), Die Kunst des Lebens (Germany), Art of Living Center (Canada), Art of Living South Africa, Art of Living Israel, Art of Living Brazil, and Art of Living Argentina.

AoL representatives declared: [6]

"You can't do charity out of an empty bowl. We do programs, we earn money and we spend it on charity".

According to the tax return filed by the American chapter, AOL Foundation had total revenues of $5.5M (mainly 3.5M from course fees and 1.7M from public support ) and expenditure of $3.6M from July 2006 to June 2007. Net assets at the beginning of July 2007 amounted to $7.7M. Although AOLF is said to work in partnership with its sister organization the International Association for Human Values which implements humanitarian programs, no direct reference in this tax return is made to humanitarian relief and training programs conducted directly or through IAHV. However, cash allocations including foreign grants of 0.95M are included in the above reported expenses.[7] The financials of the Indian chapter is not known.

The term Sudarshan Kriya is registered as a trademark to Art of Living Foundation.

[edit] Professional affiliations and memberships

AOLF is an international Non-Governmental Organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, with accredited representatives at the United Nations in New York, Geneva, and Vienna. AOLF has also worked in formal consultation with the World Health Organization (WHO): "Development of a Global Health Policy for the 21st Century". AOLF is also affiliated with the International Association for Human Values.[8]

AOLF is a member to the following international associations:[8]

  • CONGO (Conference of NGO's in consultative status with ECOSOC of the United Nations), Geneva and New York
  • United Nations NGO Committees: Health, Mental Health, Committee on Aging, New York
  • United Nations NGO Values Caucus, New York and Geneva
  • International Union for Health Promotion and Education, Paris
  • NGO Forum for Health, Geneva
  • National Association of Women's Organizations, Uganda

[edit] Silver jubilee celebration

The Art of Living's Silver Jubilee was celebrated on 17-19 February, 2006, at the 243-acre (0.98 km2) Jakkur Airfield. Attendees from more than 100 countries participated in the celebrations.[9] Among those attending were A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India; Ruud Lubbers, a former prime minister of the Netherlands; Filip De Winter, Belgian politician of the extreme-right party Vlaams Belang[1] Otumfuo Osei Tutu II , the chief of the Akan tribe of Ghana; and people of many faiths and walks of life.[10] The highlight of the third day (19 Feb) , was a public mass meditation, "Maha Sudharshan Kriya".[11]

[edit] Criticism

 This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present a neutral point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in those sections into the article as a whole. (June 2009)

There are not many empirical studies on the Art of Living techniques. However, the few studies on Sudarshan Kriya that were undertaken show positive results for stress, well-being, anxiety, trauma, and depression. Some of these studies have been highlighted by Harvard Medical School's Health Publication[2].

However, the meditation research field overall has suffered from poor methodology in the past, as highlighted by the following review: A study prepared for the US Department of Health and Human Services, reviewed the quality of research in meditation practices, and said, "Overall, we found the methodological quality of meditation research to be poor, with significant threats to validity in every major category of quality measured, regardless of study design."[12] The report concluded:

Scientific research on meditation practices does not appear to have a common theoretical perspective and is characterized by poor methodological quality. Firm conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence.

– Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality study[12]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Art of Living Foundation
  2. ^ FAQ
  3. ^ Art of Living Course Overview
  4. ^ Advanced Programs
  5. ^ Service Projects
  6. ^ Indian New Age guru busts stress with breathing – AFP (reprinted in the Taipei Times), NEW DELHI, INDIA, Aug. 04 2007
  7. ^ Art of Living Foundation, Fairfield, IA - Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, IRS 2006
  8. ^ a b About The Art of Living Foundation USA
  9. ^ "'Art of Living' celebrates silver jubilee". The Times of India. 2006-02-18. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1419379.cms. Retrieved 2007-07-03. 
  10. ^ "Art of Living silver jubilee celebrations". The Art of Living. http://www.silverjubilee.org/. Retrieved 2007-06-21. 
  11. ^ Vasuki, K.G. (2006-02-20). "Art of Living silver jubilee celebrations end in Bangalore". Yahoo India news. http://in.news.yahoo.com/060220/139/62lvc.html. Retrieved 2007-07-03. 
  12. ^ a b Ospina MB, Bond TK, Karkhaneh M, Tjosvold L, Vandermeer B, Liang Y, Bialy L, Hooton N, Buscemi N, Dryden DM, Klassen TP. Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 155. (Prepared by the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-02-0023.) AHRQ Publication No. 07-E010. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. June 2007.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_of_Living_Foundation"