Awards and Honors: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Featured Awards

Prime Minister’s Award, Mongolia, 2006

The award was conferred by President of Mongolia Nambaryn Enkhbayar in Ulan Bator at a function held in the Presidential Palace on August 24, 2006. Receiving the award, Sri Sri said, “It (the award) is an honour not to a person but to the ancient philosophy and spiritual tradition of India.”

Sri Sri’s work in Mongolia is widely appreciated by people from all sections of society. In February 2006, Sri Sri was conferred Mongolian Prime Minister’s Award during the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Art of Living held in Bangalore.

Dara Shikoh National Award for Harmony, India, 2005

The Inter Faith Harmony Foundation of India, a group floated by Indian Muslims, honored Sri Sri with the prestigious Dara Shikoh National Award for Harmony for 2005 in August that year. Prominent philosopher and statesman Dr. Karan Singh presented the award to Sri Sri in a function held in New Delhi.

According to Khwaja Dr. Iftikar Ahmed, founding president of the foundation, the award was presented to Sri Sri “for the remarkable work done by him in promoting peace, interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution”. Accepting the honour, Sri Sri emphasised the need for awakening the fundamental unity of the human family.

National Veterans Foundation Award, USA, 2007

Sri Sri received the National Veterans Foundation Award in recognition of his outstanding service to returning veterans and their families. Floyd ‘Shad’ Meshad, president and founder of the National Veterans Foundation, presented the award during the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Art of Living in Washington DC in March 2007. Sri Sri was honoured for his programs for veterans and their families who suffer from a multitude of psychological and emotional problems. The Art of Living initiated a series of ‘The Project Welcome Home Troops’ programmes to help veterans and their families over the trauma of wars.

In his speech at the award ceremony, Meshad said, “The program that I recently completed along with key staff members of the National Veterans’ Foundation showed me the impact that the breathing techniques can have in healing traumatic emotional experiences. Anything we can do to bring our troops peace of mind and let them come back and reintegrate into society, is worth its weight in gold.”

The Global Humanitarian Award, USA, 2005

Sri Sri was presented ‘The Global Humanitarian Award’ by Governor of the State of Illinois Rob Blagojevich on May 14, 2005. The award was conferred on Sri Sri for exemplifying the highest ideals of humanitarian service, for his steadfast devotion to inspiring healthy living and fostering universal harmony.

The Sant Shri Dnyaneshwara World Peace Prize, India, 2007

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was conferred the prestigious Sant Shri Dnyaneshwara World Peace Prize 2006 in recognition of his contribution in spreading the culture of peace in the world. The award is instituted by World Peace Center (Alandi), India and Maharashtra Institute of Technology (MIT), Pune, India.

University Doctorates

Over the years, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has also been awarded with several university doctorates, including

Honorary Doctorate from Kuvempu University, In¬dia, 2004
Doctor of Philosophy (Holistic Medicine), Open In¬ternational University for Complementary Medicine in Sri Lanka, 2006
Doctor of Science, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India, 2007
Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, Maharaja Sayajirao University, India, 2007
Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, Nagarjuna Univer¬sity, India, 2008
Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, Bangalore Univer¬sity, India, 2009
Professor Honoris Causa, Szent Istvan University, Budapest, (Hungary), June 24, 2009

International Honors

2011 Crans Montana Forum Award
2010 Atmajyoti Award, Delhi, India (Sept. 23, 2010)
Culture in Balance Award, World Culture Forum, Dresden Germany, October 10, 2009
The Ball of Peace awarded by The Peace Doves, Norway, June 13, 2009
Phoenix Award, Atlanta, USA, 2008
Honourary Citizenship and Goodwill Ambassador, Houston, USA, 2008
Proclamation of Commendation, New Jersey, 2008
Architect of World Peace Award, India, 2008
‘Light of East’ National Award, India, 2008
Honoured by United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) for his contributions towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, 2007
Honoured by the city of Washington DC by pro¬claiming the week of his visit as ‘Human Values Week’ in March 2007
National Veterans Foundation Award, USA, 2007
Leadership Award for Extraordinary Promotion of World Peace and Harmony by Amity University, New Delhi, 2007
Honorary Citizenship by City of Baltimore, Canada, 2006
Honorary Citizen of the city of Calgary, Canada, 2006
Centennial 2006 Medallion by the Legislative As¬sembly of Calgary, Canada, 2006
The 2006 International Peace Award by ‘For the Love of Children Society of Alberta Canada’, 2006
The Humanitarian Award by the city of Brampton, Ontario, 2006
Order of the Pole Star, Mongolia, 2006
Peter the Great First Grade Award, Russia, 2006
Mongolian Prime Minister’s Award, Mongolia, 2006
Alberta Legislative Centennial 2006 Medallion, 2006
Dara Shikoh National Award for Harmony, New Del¬hi, India, 2005
Global Humanitarian Award, Illinois, USA, 2005
Mahavir-Mahatma Award India, 2005
Bharat Shiromani Award, New Delhi, India, 2004
The Illustrious Visitors Award, Buenos Aires, Argen¬tina, 2004
Phoenix Award, USA, 2002
Guru Mahatmya Award by Government of Maha¬rashtra, India, 1997
Nominated to the Advisory Board of Yale Divinity School, USA, 1990
Title of Yoga Shiromani (Supreme Jewel of Yoga) by the President of India, 1986

Sri Sri

While several cities in the US and Canada have also honored him by declaring a day during his visits to the cities as ‘Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Day’, some countries have bestowed him the honor of ‘illustrious visitor’. Washington DC honored his visit to the city in 2007 by marking that week as ‘Human Values Week’. He has also been accorded honorary citizenship by some US and Canadian cities. In 2006, during his visit to Jaipur, India, Sri Sri was handed the symbolic key to the city by the Mayor of Jaipur.

April 23, 2010, Milwaukee, USA
April 20, 2010, Denver, USA
October 29th, 2008, Irving, Texas, USA
July 4th- 6th, 2008, Edison, New Jersey, USA
July 29, 2007, Pomona, California, USA
March 28, 2007, Washington DC, USA
December 4, 2006, Regina, Canada
November 25, 2006, Windsor, Canada
November 21, 2006, Surrey, Canada
November 21, 2006, Richmond, Canada
September 13, 2006, Ottawa, Canada
September 10, 2006, Halifax, Canada
September 7, 2006, Edmonton, Canada
June 28, 2002, Chicago, Illinois, USA
May 9, 2002, Beverly Hills, California, USA
April 29, 2002, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
January 10, 2002, Austin, Texas, USA
August 26, 2000, Washington DC, USA
June 28, 2002, Chicago, Illinois, USA
May 8, 2002, Beverley Hills, California, USA
April, 2002, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
January 10, 2002, Austin, Texas, USA
August 26, 2000, Washington, USA


Human Values Week in Louisiana – February 23, 2007
Human Values Week in Baltimore – March 25-March 31, 2007
Human Values Week in Columbia – March, 2007
Art of Living Foundation day – in Syracuse – May 7, 2004