On Tour with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar  

"Whenever you are unhappy or miserable, know for sure you need food for the soul. And that is meditation." said Sri Sri during satsang at the Art of Living centre in Oslo.

During the day, Sri Sri very caringly served lunch for everybody. "Miraculously, the food that was prepared to feed about thirty people was enough to feed nearly one hundred! We were offered large portions and even second servings. After having served absolutely everybody, Guruji kept asking if anybody was left out. And sure enough, after a while a hungry Gunnhild showed up, and Guruji popped out of his room to serve her. He remembered everyone, and even put aside plates of food for the missing people." shares Ingrid, volunteer.

Lunch was followed by a visit to the tranquil pine forest high above Oslo, for a few moments spent with nature before proceeding to the satsang.

Sri Sri arrives in Oslo to meet with the people after the recent tragic events. Soon after his arrival , he guided the local teachers and volunteers through a beautiful meditation. He also introduced to them the possibilities of healing and building immunity through certain ayurvedic preparations. "As one drop of poison can destroy you, one drop of nectar can invigorate the whole body and boost the immune system."

In the evening he visited the area where the bomb exploded on the 22nd of July. After walking around the whole block, he visited Domkirken, Oslos's main church, where he lit a candle. Honouring every tradition, wherever he goes, has been a consistent feature of Sri Sri's tours.

Sri Sri, who has contributed to peace and reconciliation in many parts of the world, will hold a lecture and lead a guided meditation in the Oslo Convention Centre. He will also hold an open meeting on community involvement for a better society across cultures.

9 days in the bangalore ashram were spent with participants of the teacher's training program inspiring them to take wisdom and the message of love to every corner of the planet. Every evening there was a meditation where all gathered chanted Satyam param dhimahi guided by Sri Sri before diving into that silent space. "From (chanting) Satyam Param Dhimahi (Let Truth, Divinity and Knowledge dawn in my consciousnes), it will move into 'Satyam eva Jayathe' (Truth alone shall prevail)."says Sri Sri.

He spoke on several topics including cultivating humility, Karma and bondage, becoming expressive, using intuition, longing and dispassion. Following is a short excerpt: "You know if you have only longing, the longing can turn into anger or hatred. And if you have only dispassion, the dispassion will become so dull and boring and can even get into depression. So longing and dispassion together makes it so interesting, so complete, so juicy, so alive." Read More

He encouraged all who came to the ashram to take responsibility and come up with ideas on how they could contribute to the betterment of the country and spread the knowledge.

Sri Sri interacted with members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bar Associations and representatives from various social and political organizations in Jammu. He then proceeded to Delhi for a meeting with teachers from The Art of Living in the Teen Murti Bhawan, followed by satsang where he encouraged people to meditate, integrate wisdom into their lives and serve - this is the recipe for peace and happiness.

Sri Sri arrived in Jammu for a two-day visit to welcomed by hundreds of students lined up at the Airport. He then visited the Gandhi Memorial College of Education and laid the foundation stone of its library complex, and then inaugurated the Ma Sharika meditation centre in the Raipur area, in the outskirts of Jammu. Meeting with reporters after the inauguration, Sri Sri emphasized that the ongoing Indo-Pak dialogue process should continue and not be hampered because of the terror-attack in Mumbai. "Dialogue should continue but at the same time stringent measures should be taken (to deal with terrorism)," says Sri Sri. He also added that there is peace in Kashmir this year. " Time is better than last year for normal life. A better environment is prevailing. Locals are very happy".In the evening, he met (and gave darshan) to a large gathering in the evening and shared precious words of wisdom along with his message of peace for the valley.

“Dialogue should continue but at the same time stringent measures should be taken (to deal with terrorism),” Sri Sri told reporters after inaugurating the Ma Sharika meditation center in Raipur, located on the outskirts of Jammu. Sri Sri emphasized that the ongoing Indo-Pak dialogue process should continue and not be hampered because of the terror-attack in Mumbai. He also added that there was peace in Kashmir that year. “The time is better than last year for normal life. A better environment is prevailing. Locals are very happy.”

Earlier in the day, hundreds of students lined up the airport to welcome Sri Sri as he arrived for a two-day visit. Sri Sri then visited a reputed educational institution and laid the foundation stone of its library complex. In the evening, Sri Sri shared his message of peace for the Valley at a large gathering and also answered queries from the people.

The members of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Pt. Bhajan Sopori, Justice (Retd) G.D Sharma and Dr. (Prof.) Ved Kumari Ghai, accompanied by Chief Executive Officer of the Board, R.K Goyal, visited the Holy Cave Shrine of Shri Amarnathji and paid obeisance at the Sanctum Sanctorum on 22nd July.

The Board members reviewed the Yatra-related arrangements at the Holy Cave, particularly those relating to sanitation and health care. They interacted with a large number of Yatris and enquired about the Yatra arrangements.

They later visited the Baltal Base Camp and reviewed the operation of the Sewage Treatment Plant and also witnessed the Langar operations at the Baltal Base Camp. The Board members expressed their satisfaction at the sanitation and other facilities, set up for the convenience of the Yatris.

The members of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Pt. Bhajan Sopori, Justice (Retd) G.D Sharma and Dr. (Prof.) Ved Kumari Ghai, accompanied by the Chief Executive Officer of the Board, R.K Goyal, visited the Holy Cave Shrine of Shri Amarnathji and paid obeisance at the Sanctum Sanctorum on 22 July.

The Board members reviewed the Yatra-related arrangements at the Holy Cave, particularly those relating to sanitation and health care. They interacted with a large number of Yatris and enquired about the Yatra arrangements.

They later visited the Baltal Base Camp and reviewed the operation of the sewage treatment plant and also witnessed the Langar operations at the Baltal Base Camp. The Board members expressed their satisfaction at the sanitation and other facilities, set up for the convenience of the Yatris.

Sri Sri and Mirwaiz Ulmer Farooq (chairman of the Hurriyat) met in the headquarters of the separatist alliance in the presence of several other Hurriyat leaders to discuss ways to sustain peace in the Valley. “They (separatist leaders) are respectable and important persons,” said Sri Sri and called for their involvement in the talks for the resolution of Kashmir issues.

Sri Sri said there has been considerable improvement in the situation in Kashmir as compared to the previous year.

Mirwaiz expressed to Sri Sri that the Indian civil society should play a constructive role in resolving the Kashmir issue. He (Mirwaiz) further said that Sri Sri was as an advocate of humanitarian values, and Kashmir was a humanitarian issue. Therefore, Sri Sri and like-minded people should help in resolving the dispute.