SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

'Sri Sri Ravi Shankar' (born : May 13, 1956) is a spiritual and humanitarian leader, born in India. He is often referred to by the self-chosen double-honorific "Sri Sri" or Guruji. A. Salkin, Emperor of Air, ''Yoga Journal'', 2002. He is the founder of the international Art of Living Foundation that aims to relieve stress at an individual level, and to relieve disease and violence at a societal level.
Shankar is also a driving force behind charitable organizations such as the International Association for Human Values, which conducts the 5H program.

Contents

Biography

Philosophy and activities

Sudarshan Kriya

Organisations

Honors & Awards

Notes

External links

Biography

Shankar was born May 13, 1956 in Tamil Nadu, India to father Venkat Ratnam, a scholar of languages, and mother Vishalakshi. He was named "Shankar" since his birthday matched that of the 5th century BC Hindu saint Adi Shankara. According to his parents and biographies, at the age of four he could recite verses of the Bhagavad Gita ^[1]. Even at a young age, he was said to be often found in deep meditation. He is a former disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.^[2]According to his organization, he obtained an "Advanced degree in Modern Physics" by the age of 17 and later received an honorary doctorate from Kuvempu University, Karnataka, India.^[3] In the early 1990s, Shankar added the honorific "Sri Sri" to his own name after meeting with the famous sitarist Ravi Shankar, who complained that the guru was unfairly capitalizing on the musician's fame.
According to a biographical article, Shankar "ascended into enlightenment" in 1982, after a 10 day retreat into silence, and emerged with the technique of ''Sudarshan Kriya'', a rhythmic breathing exercise.^[4] In an interview, Shankar said that in 1982, while he was on the banks of the Tunga river in Shimoga in Karnataka, India, "The Sudarshan Kriya. It came like a poem, an inspiration. I learnt it and I started teaching it."^[5]He also came to believe that regulating breath could help people with their suffering.^[6]
He founded the Art of Living Foundation that year to spread this breathing technique. In 1997, he along with Dalai Lama and several others ^[7], founded the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) to "foster a deeper understanding of the values that unite a human community on a global scale".

Philosophy and activities

Shankar emphasizes breath as the subtle link between body and mind, and many of his techniques use the breath as a tool to relax the mind. He also places emphasis on service and volunteers are encouraged to serve others in addition to meditating. According to Ravi Shankar, science and spirituality are linked and not in conflict. Shankar's stated vision is to create a world that is free of stress and violence by globalising wisdom, and his programs aim to offer practical tools to accomplish it. In his view, "Truth is not linear, it is spherical. So it has to be contradictory. Anything that is spherical is always contradictory." ^[8]
In 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, Shankar's organization offered courses free of cost to New Yorkers.^[6] Shankar's organization expanded operation to Iraq in 2003, aiming to relieve a war-ravaged population of stress.^[10][11] In 2007, Shankar visited Iraq on the invitation of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.^[12], ^[13] Shankar also visited Pakistan in 2004 and met with various political and religious leaders, as part of an effort to promote global peace. ^[14]

Sudarshan Kriya

Main articles: Sudarshan Kriya

Developed by Shankar, ''Sudarshan Kriya'' is the core component of the Art of Living courses. Since persons taught the technique are required to sign non-disclosure agreements, not much is publicly known about the specific details,^[15] though some of the starting asanas and exercises are disclosed in a newspaper article ^[16]
''Sudarshan Kriya'' is claimed to infuse the body with energy and harmonize the natural rhythms of the body, mind and emotions. There has been some scientific research on the effects of ''Sudarshan Kriya'' conducted in India and in the USA.^[17] However, criticism has been made of the organization's reluctance to allow critical scientific analysis of ''Sudarshan Kriya''. A study prepared for the US Department of Health and Human Services, reviewed the quality of research in ''Sudarshan Kriya'' and other 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."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. Shankar has claimed that the method has been patented, although no records to this effect are found in US Patent and Trademark Office, or the Indian patent databases; the term, however, is registered as a trademark giving Art of Living Foundation exclusive rights to make commercial use of the term in the USA. The Rediff Interview - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Salil Kumar ^[18] ''Sudarshan Kriya'' has been found to aggravate some medical conditions.
Shankar's Art of Living Foundation offers many programs centered on ''Sudarshan Kriya'', meditation and group-dynamics. The organization teaches Breath Water Sound workshops (or ''Nav-Chetna Shibirs'') in urban slums and villages, and Prison Smart workshops in prisons, free of charge. The fee for AOL courses varies from country to country and in the USA, the regular course fee is $375.

Organisations

The Art of Living Foundation, formed by Shankar, is mainly involved in spreading the teaching of Sudarshan Kriya, while the International Association for Human Values has initiated - under the 5H program - community development programs which cover development planning as well as emergency relief support and assistance to societies ranging from the urban to tribal level. ^[19] Shankar has also founded other organizations/educational institutions, some of which deal with specialized issues such as rural development, agriculture and ayurveda.

★ Ved Vignan Mahavidyapeeth^[20]

★ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir ^[21]

★ Sri Sri Center for Media Studies^[22]

★ Sri Sri College for Ayurvedic Science and Research ^[23]

★ Sri Sri Ayurveda^[24]

★ Sri Sri Mobile Agricultural Initiatives ^[25]

★ Sri Sri Pre-University College^[26]

★ The Sri Sri Institute of Management Studies^[27]

★ The Sri Sri School for Performing Arts and Fine Arts ^[28]

★ Sri Sri Rural Development Trust^[29]

Honors & Awards

Following are some of the awards awarded to Sri Sri Ravishankar^[30]:

★ Mahaveer Award for Peace and Non-Violence, England, 2007.

★ Peter the Great First Grade Award for contribution to the Russian Federation Russia, 2006.

★ Mongolian Prime Minister's Award for contribution to the nation Mongolia, 2006.

★ Fervent Global Love of Life by the Cultural and Education Foundation of Human Life, Taiwan, 2006.

★ Bharat Shiromani Award, New Delhi, India, 2005.

★ Dara Shikoh National Award for Harmony, India, 2005.

★ Global Humanitarian Award, Illinois, USA, 2005.

★ Honorary Doctorate from Kuvempu University, India, 2004.

★ The Illustrious Visitors Award, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2004.

★ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Day, Ohio, USA, 2003.

★ Phoenix Award, Atlanta, USA, 2002.

★ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Day, Austin, Texas, USA, 2002.

★ Title of Yoga Shiromani (Supreme Jewel of Yoga), India, 1986.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was among the 166 candidates^[31] who were shortlisted for 'Nobel Prize' ^[32] in the year 2007.

Notes

1. WebIndia Biography
2. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
3. Sri Sri's official website
4. S. Verughese, Lessons in Living ''Life Positive''
5. A. Mahadevan Face to Face, ''Reader's Digest''
6. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002075460_healthbreathing31.html
7. [1]
8. Aninterview in the Washington Post
9. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002075460_healthbreathing31.html
10. http://www.rediff.com/us/2003/apr/24ravi.htm
11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3393327.stm
12. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/art-of-living-guru-in-iraq-to-talk-peace/41193-3.html?xml
13. http://ushome.rediff.com/news/2007/may/23look.htm
14. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/788657.cms
15. [2]
16. Sudarshan Kriya Asanas, Tehelka.com
17. Art of Living's site covering research of Shankar's techniques
18. Sudarshan Kriya registered trademark
19. 5H
20. http://www.srisri.org/Ved%20Vignan%20Maha%20Vidya%20Peeth.html
21. http://www.ssrvm.org/
22. http://www.srisri.org/Sri%20Sri%20Center%20for%20Media%20Studies.html
23. http://www.srisri.org/Sri%20Sri%20College%20for%20Ayurvedic%20Science%20and%20Research.html
24. http://www.srisriayurved.com/
25. http://www.srisri.org/Sri%20Sri%20Mobile%20Agricultural%20Institute.html
26. http://www.srisri.org/Sri%20Sri%20Pre%20University%20College.html
27. http://www.srisri.org/Sri%20Sri%20Institute%20of%20Management%20Studies.html
28. http://www.srisri.org/Sri%20Sri%20School%20of%20Performing%20Arts%20and%20Fine%20Arts.html
29. http://www.srisri.org/Sri%20Sri%20Rural%20Development%20Program.html
30. http://us.artofliving.org/founder/honors-awards.html
31. http://in.news.yahoo.com/050222/137/2jrrq.html
32. http://www.rediff.com/news/2005/sep/28franc.htm

External links

; Official sites

★ Official website of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

★ Art of Living homepage

★ IAHV homepage
; Media links

★ Video interview on CNN

★ A report on Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, by Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis, 23 April 2006

★ An interview with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar