1500 kgs of Garbage Disappear

“Ancient cultures all over the world have exhibited a deep reverence for Nature. For them, God was not in temples or churches, but was inherent in Nature. It's only when we start moving away from Nature that we start polluting Nature. Today there is a pressing need to revive the ancient practice of honoring and conserving Nature. ”. Sri Sri

Inspired by Param Poojya Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Art of Living has taken up massive cleanliness drives all over India. Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna in Delhi, Swach Mangalore project and cleanliness campaigns in Pune and Kolkata, have been few initiatives in the past.

On Sunday morning May 1, 2010, Bangalore was greeted by about 500 Art of Living volunteers donning caps, geared up to carry yet another cleanliness drive on a patch of 3.5 kilometers on Kanakpura Road.

Nikhil Gupta, the organizer of the event said, “A lot of effort was put in to clean the plastic dumped on the national highway, on 1st may 2011. But without conscious and strategic involvement of the local administration and people themselves, sustainable cleanliness is not more than a castle in the air.”

"It’s time we clean up the mess we've created. Now we should take responsibility join hands to make a cleaner inside as well as outside," shares Mona Pande, Volunteer.

The one-and-a-half hour long cleanliness drive began at 8.30am saw the volunteers collect over 1500 Kgs of waste. “It’s high time for us to realize how important it is to save the environment. I did not expect that it is possible for 500 people to make the area sparkling in such less time," said Surinder Kalta, Volunteer

The drive also saw participation from Mr. Fegade, Executive Engineer, National Highways, Mr Sabri Ali, Assistant Executive Engineer and Mr Mohan, System Assistant Executive Engineer, National Highway.

Testimonials

M.,
age 26
“I had decided to go back to my anti-depressants before this (The Art of Living) course, but now I don’t need them. I will practice these techniques every single day for the rest of my life. I only hope other people are lucky enough to take this course. It has given me more help than I could have ever imagined possible. Thank you.”

Course participant

“I’ve been suffering from a loss of concentration, weak memory and extreme anger. Now I feel as if something heavy has been lifted from my back.”

Course Participant

“I found that this training of breathing is so useful and its benefit shows when I do it. I feel that my heart is stronger and younger. When I can’t sleep I just do the breathing and I feel energy in all parts of my body.”

Dr. Venus

“I feel peace with myself and have less stress. I think if I continue with the practice, this feeling of peace will continue to grow.”

M. Ali Bankat

"Before this experience, I was sad, depressed and starting to lose hope because of the situation here in Iraq. Now, after only four days, I feel confident in myself – happier, have hopes and dreams again and I feel that life is so beautiful. I have started to love everyone and physically I have much more energy and am able to do more things. I want to thank you very much for helping all of us feel better.”