On Tour with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar  

Thirty-four prominent world leaders, and over 200 participants, including corporate executives, scientists, and spiritual leaders, gathered in the European Parliament to discuss the urgent need for strengthening human values, and ethics in business worldwide.

The program was part of the International Business & Leadership Symposium, a forum initiated by H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. At the forefront of the discussion was the topical issue of sustainability in the environment, and climate change.

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the director of International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC ) which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Price, and former Prime Minister of Poland, Prof Jerzey Buzek were among the speakers along with former prime minister of the Netherlands, and co-founder of The Earth Charter Prof Ruud Lubbers, and former prime minister of Luxemburg Jacques Santer.

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visited Nandigram to heal the wounds, and scars of the people following a protracted political feud in the area. After meeting hundreds of victims, H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar called for dialogs to end the conflict.

“As the conflict is highly politicized, political parties will not be able to resolve it. NGOs and spiritual organizations have to play the role of peacemakers. What is needed is conflict resolution through dialog,” he said.

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also offered to mediate between the opposing groups to end the ongoing clashes. H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar went around Nandigram and interacted with the victims in different localities. He traveled seven kilometers on foot to reach out to people in an area where there were no concrete roads.

Nearly 200,000 farmers from six suicide-prone districts of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India gathered at Yavatmal to seek solace from H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

He was on a two-day visit to the Vidarabha region to interact with the farmers directly. Many farmers came out of depression, and suicidal tendencies, after a comprehensive program was launched by the Art of Living.

Stressing the need for adopting natural, zero-budget farming, H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “Excessive use of chemicals has poisoned soil, and is hurting yields. Grow alternative crops. If you are reaping only losses in cotton cultivation, grow groundnuts, or vegetables which fetch you more income.”

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar led thousands of people from all walks of life in raising their voice against poverty, and taking a pledge to eradicate it at an event held at the Art of Living International Center.

As part of the global initiative with United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC), the Art of Living mobilized over seven million people across the world to take part in the Stand Up and Speak Out campaign against poverty.

In Bangalore, thousands from different parts of the world stood up, and took a pledge to help realize the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by UNMC.

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar urged those present to be a source of light to those in darkness, and help them stand on their own feet. “To eradicate poverty, we need two things: instill self esteem in people, and bring sincerity on the part of the government. Both need to go together,” he added.

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar unveiled the 'Universal Declaration of Child Protection' to further the cause of child rights and protection.

The declaration, drawn up in association with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), envisages that the two organizations will strive to lobby for protective legislation, and enforcement as well as identify and change attitudes, traditions, customs, behavior, and practices that violate child rights.

To boost the process of reconciliation and restoration of peace in strife-ridden Kosovo, H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar took his message of non-violence, and harmony to a wide cross-section of people during his two-day visit.

He met with the President of the Judicial Parliament Council, Hyadjet Hyesni and Vice-President of the Alliance New Kosovo, Ibrahim Makolli. HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also addressed the members of the United Nations mission in Kosovo. He also interacted with many war veterans.

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar led a public meditation for peace for hundreds of people in Priština. The Art of Living has been working in Kosovo since 2000, helping war victims reclaim their lives.

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visited Iraq on a three-day peace mission at the invitation of Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki. It was for the first time that an Indian spiritual leader was invited to the war-torn country on a peace mission.

During the visit, H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar urged Iraqi leaders to give non-violence a chance. He met with a wide spectrum of Iraqi society including senior political figures, Shiite leaders, tribal heads, representatives of humanitarian organizations, women, soldiers, and youth.

The Prime Minister requested H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to expand the Art of Living programs to more parts of Iraq, including the prisons. Following the visit, the Iraqi government sent 55 youth to the Art of Living international center to attend a month-long training. As a result, Iraq now has many more angles for peace.

In a historic initiative, H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar led a large gathering of over 40,000 people to take a global pledge to nurture human values in all spheres of life.

The event was part of a global event in which millions across the globe took the pledge to work in their communities, their schools, and in their homes to foster a sense of brotherhood, friendliness, compassion, and commitment to serving humanity, and this planet.

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar took his message of peace, and human values to the red zones of Jammu and Kashmir during his three-day visit to the Valley. He addressed a seminar on peace, and human values at the Sheri Kashmir International Conference Center on the banks of Dal Lake.

“While we must continue to preserve our cultural values, we will also have to modernize, in order to keep pace with the fast developing world," he said. In an effort to unite people of different faiths, he visited the Shariqa Devi temple, and Sheikh Hamza Mukhdoom's shrine in downtown Srinagar.

He also visited the famous Sikh temple of Chatti Padshahi. H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar inaugurated a middle school for young victims of militancy, and orphans from the 2004 earthquake. The school has been adopted by the Art of Living.

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar interacted with inmates of the high-security Kothalwal Jail in Jammu, where 300 foreign, and local militants are also incarcerated. Promising to give up their violent past, and work for social progress, many of them shared their experience of the Art of Living Prison program.

One inmate shared: “We supported militancy, and suffered a lot. We now really realize that if we had educated them (the militants), we would not have suffered so much. Thanks to H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, we now have the tools to transform Kashmir and bring back peace.”

H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar launched an initiative to create a ‘violence-free, stress-free’ America at an event at the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C. held to mark the Silver Jubilee of the Art of Living.

The initiative envisages several programs to foster human values such as compassion, friendliness, a sense of brotherhood, and an attitude of service to society.

On the occasion, H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s proposed Universal Declaration of Human Values was unveiled. The Declaration provides a pragmatic vision for the world community, representing a roadmap to foster understanding, and harmonious coexistence among different peoples, and cultures.

Drafted in the form of a proposed resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, this Declaration emphasizes the urgent need to rekindle human values in society in order to resolve the serious challenges facing the world today.