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Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader)

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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Born (1956-05-13) May 13, 1956 (age 68)
Papanasam, Tamil Nadu, India
NationalityIndian
Websitewww.srisri.org
This article is about the spiritual leader. For the Sitar player, see Ravi Shankar.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Hindi: श्रीश्री रविशङ्कर}{lang-kn, romanized: ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀ ರವಿಶಂಕರ್), born Ravi Shankar Ratnam on May 13, 1956 in Tamil Nadu, India, is an exponent of Advaita Vedanta and the spiritual leader of the Art of Living Foundation (founded 1982), which aims to relieve both individual stress and societal disease and violence, and which has UNESCO consultative status. Referred to by followers with the double-honorific "Sri Sri", Guruji or Gurudeva,[1] he also established in 1997 a Geneva-based charity, the International Association for Human Values, an NGO aimed at fostering shared global values.

Life

Born to Venkat Ratnam, a businessman in the automobile industry, and his wife Vishalakshi,[2][3] he was given the name Ravi because he was born on a Sunday (Ravi, a common name, means sun) and Shankar after the 8th century CE Hindu saint, Adi Shankara, whose birthday he shares.[1] According to his biographies, at the age of four he could recite the Bhagavad Gita[4] and received a baccalaureate in science at 17 from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore University.[5][6]

A disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi,[7] Shankar joined Maharishi's entourage after graduation, being taught by Vedic pundits at Maharishi's charities. He was earlier addressed as "Pandit Ravi Shankar" (or "Punditji"), but in the early 1990s changed his name to "Sri Sri Ravi Shankar" after the renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar objected that the guru was using the name he'd made famous.[1]

Shankar claims that his rhythmic breathing exercise सुदर्शन क्रिया (sudarśana-kriyā) 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 Karnataka, India, adding: "I learned it and started teaching it."[2][8] Shankar says that every emotion has a corresponding rhythm in the breath and that regulating breath could help relieve personal suffering.[9]

Philosophy, Peace & Relief Work

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (center of the photo)

Shankar emphasizes breath as the link between body and mind and, therefore, as a tool to relax the mind, emphasizing both meditation and service to others. According to him, science and spirituality are linked and consistent. His stated vision is to create a world free of stress and violence, and his programs claim to offer practical tools to accomplish wisdom. In his view, "Truth is spherical rather than linear; so it has to be contradictory." "Anything that is spherical is always contradictory."[10]

After the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Art of Living Foundation offered free courses in stress reduction to New Yorkers.[9] The group also ran a relief program in Kosovo for the war-ravaged population and for public health, university and UN personnel. The organization also started an operation in occupied Iraq in 2003 aimed at relieving the stress of the Iraqi population, particularly the rising population of traumatized widows.[11] A similar program was implemented in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2006 teaching war victims as well as UN and NGO personnel. In 2007, Shankar visited Iraq at the invitation of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and also met with Sunni, Shia and Kurdish leaders.[12] He visited Pakistan in 2004 and met with some political and religious leaders there as a part of his efforts to promote global peace.[13] Many volunteers have assisted the 2004 tsunami victims and Hurricane Katrina victims. There is a prison stress management and rehabilitation techniques program, known as SMART, which assists many prisoners and prison staffs worldwide.

Sudarshan Kriya

Sudarshan Kriya is a breath-oriented process, and a core component of the Art of Living courses. Persons enrolling for the courses sign a non-disclosure agreement promising to keep the course content and techniques confidential. [14]. In some of his talks Sri Sri has described Sudarshan Kriya as a rhythmic breathing exercise that cleanses and harmonizes the physical, mental, and emotional levels [15].

Organizations

Following are the Institutes and Organizations founded by Sri Sri Ravishankar


  • Art of Living Foundation
  • International Association for Human Values
  • Ved Vignan Mahavidyapeeth
  • Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir
  • Sri Sri Center for Media Studies
  • Sri Sri College for Ayurvedic Science and Research
  • Sri Sri Ayurveda
  • Sri Sri Mobile Agricultural Initiatives
  • Sri Sri Pre-University College
  • The Sri Sri Institute of Management Studies
  • The Sri Sri School for Performing Arts and Fine Arts
  • Sri Sri Rural Development Trust

Awards and honors

Below are some of the awards honoring Sri Sri Ravishankar[16][17][18]:

1986: Title of Yoga Shiromani (Supreme Jewel of Yoga)

1997: Guru Mahatmya Award[19]

2002: Phoenix Award, Atlanta, USA[20]

2004: Bharat Shiromani Award (New Delhi, India), The Illustrious Visitors Award (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Honorary Doctorate of Literature (Kuvempu University, Karnataka, India)

2005: Dara Shikoh National Award for Harmony (New Delhi), Mahavir-Mahatma Award for Contribution to Peace (Times Foundation, India), Global Humanitarian Award (Illinois, USA), Membership of Martin Luther Collegium of Scholars

2006: Sant Shri Dnyaneshwara World Peace Prize, Order of the Pole Star (highest state honor by the President of Mongolia).

Fervent Global Love of Life (Cultural and Education Foundation of Human Life, Taiwan), Mongolian Prime Minister's Award, Peter the Great - First Grade Award (Russian Federation), Doctor of Philosophy - Holistic Medicine (Open International University for Complementary Medicine, Sri Lanka)

2007: Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa (Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India), National Veterans Foundation Award (USA)

Honorary Doctorate of Science (Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India)

Varshada Kannadiga (Kannadiga of the Year) (ETV)

Leadership Award for Extraordinary Promotion for World Peace and Harmony (Amity University)

2008: Doctor of Srini Memorial Award (Srini International Organization, Nellore, India)

2010: Culture and Balance Award [21]

Sri Sri Ravishankar was nominated for Nobel Prize[22][23] his contributions and work for mankind.

Selected Works

Shankar's disciples have compiled numerous books transcribed from his various discourses, and a few have been translated into Russian and Spanish.


Notes

  1. ^ a b c A. Salkin, Emperor of Air, Yoga Journal, 2002.
  2. ^ a b Mahadevan, Ashok (February 2007). "Face to face". Reader's Digest. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  3. ^ Prabhu, Nagesh (2003-01-17). "Vice-President to open 'Vishalakshi Mantap'". Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  4. ^ WebIndia Biography
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ http://www.artofliving.org/intl/Founder/tabid/57/Default.aspx
  7. ^ Frankenberg, Ruth (2004). Living spirit, living practice: poetics, politics, epistemology. Durham, N.C: Duke University Press. p. 58. ISBN 0-8223-3295-7.
  8. ^ Verughese, S., Lessons in Living Life Positive
  9. ^ a b MacGregor, Hillary E (2004-10-31). "Breathe deeply to relieve stress, depression". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  10. ^ Washington Post interview
  11. ^ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3393327.stm BBC News | Indian stress-busters target Iraq
  12. ^ Art of Living guru in Iraq to talk peace
  13. ^ 'There's dignity of religion in Pakistan', The Times of India
  14. ^ Art Of Living course details
  15. ^ Sudarshan Kriya Asanas, Tehelka.com
  16. ^ http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/sri-sri-ravi-shankar-74.php
  17. ^ http://www.thecolorsofindia.com/ravishankar/index.html
  18. ^ http://www.srisri.org/biography/awards-and-honours
  19. ^ http://hinduism.about.com/od/gurussaints/p/ravishankar.htm
  20. ^ http://www.scribd.com/doc/15031501/So-Who-is-Sri-Sri-Ravi-Shankar
  21. ^ http://www.deccanherald.com/content/29982/sri-sri-ravi-shankar-conferred.html
  22. ^ http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/aug/15nobel.htm
  23. ^ http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/sep/28franc.htm

References

  • Gautier, François, The Guru of Joy. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar & the Art of Living, Carlsbad, California, Hay House, Inc., 2008. ISBN 978-1-4019-1761-6 (First edition: India, Books Today, 2002. ISBN 8-187-47842-X)
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