Ravi Shankar

Ravi Shankar (born May 13, 1956) is an Indian yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual

leader.

He is referred to as Sri Sri (honorific), Guru ji, or Gurudev.

From around the mid 1970s, he worked as an apprentice under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation.

In the 1980s, he initiated a series of practical and experiential courses in spirituality around the globe.

In 1981, he founded the Art of Living foundation when he was 25 years old.

He is recognized for his efforts to promote peace, well-being, and humanitarian values.

Ravi Shankar was born in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu, to Vishalakshi and R.S.Venkat Ratnam.

He is the brother of Bhanumathi Narasimhan.

He was named "Ravi" (an Indian name which means "sun") because his birth was on a Sunday, and "Shankar" after the eighth-century Hindu saint, Adi Shankara, whose birthday was the same day as Ravi Shankar.

Ravi Shankar's first teacher was Sudhakar Chaturvedi, an Indian Vedic Scholar and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the St. Joseph's College of Bengaluru University.

After graduation, he travelled with his second teacher, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, giving talks and arranging conferences on Vedic science, and setting up Transcendental Meditation and Ayurveda centers.

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 Shivamogga, in the state of Karnataka, adding, "I learned it and started teaching it".

In 1983, he held the first Art of Living course in Switzerland.

In 1986, he travelled to Apple Valley, California, in the US to conduct the first course to be held in North America.

He believes 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.

According to him, the spiritual bond we share as part of the human family is more important than nationality, gender, religion, profession, or other identities that separate us.

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."

He visited Pakistan in 2004 on a goodwill mission and again in 2012 when he inaugurated Art of Living centers in Islamabad and Karachi.

During his visits to Iraq, at the invitation of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, in 2007 and again in 2008, he met with political and religious leaders to promote global peace.

The Islamabad center was burned down by armed men in March 2014.

In November 2014, Ravi Shankar visited 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.

In June 2015, Ravi Shankar met with the delegations of Colombian government and the FARC who were negotiating the resolution to Colombian conflict in Havana.

He urged FARC leaders to follow the Gandhian principle of non-violence to attain their political objectives and social justice.

For his efforts, Colombia's House of Representatives awarded him the Simón Bolívar Order of Democracy, Knight Cross grade.

The South Asian Forum for Peace was launched in November 2016 at a conference titled "Kashmir Back to Paradise" in Jammu.

According to Ravi Shankar, 90% of people in Kashmir want peace but are neglected.

He added, "The solution to the Kashmir problem can only come from the Kashmiris".

In 2019, Ravi Shankar met with Venezuelan leaders from both sides to encourage dialogue, end the political conflict and restore peace and stability in the country.