India
Date : July 22 2013 : Guru Purnima celebrations, Montreal
Germany
India
13th May 2013, Bangalore - Art of Living International Center, Karnataka, India
The following day saw even more people arrive from all over South India to wish Sri Sri on his birthday. The first edition of the Sri Sri Awards were given to luminaries who had distinguished themselves in various fields. Sri A. Nagaraju, who received the award for his outstanding contribution to film and theater over decades, gave a moving performance highlighting the glory of the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire in Karnataka. There were a number of dance performances including Mohiniattam from Kerala and Garbha from Gujarat. Sri Sri lauded the work being done by Art of Living volunteers in distributing over 4000 solar lights in remote villages of India that were still without electricity. He also appreciated the initiative to clean the Kumudvati river in Karnataka, which has already started benefiting 20 villages and over the next few months will lessen the water shortage in Bangalore as well. He then led the gathering into a meditation. The day ended with a final performance by the ashramites that had the crowd on their feet.
12th May 2013, Bangalore - Art of Living International Center, Karnataka, India
Over a thousand village deities gathered from all over Karnataka at the newly built Guru Paduka Vanam at the Art of Living International Campus at Bangalore on 12th May. The oval shaped amphitheater with a water body at the center completely full of decorated deities was an ethereal sight to behold, especially when all thousand of them were offered arati at the same time. The entire atmosphere was festive and full of celebration with sounds of drums, cymbals, conches and ringing bells. Explaining about the significance of the event, Sri Sri said in his address, "Just like we have a Parliament, the subtle beings also have a Parliament. This Parliament of the Gods has assembled here today. An idol becomes a deity when a realized person invokes life in it through mantras. Every village has a deity that is worshipped. Leaving aside all differences of caste and creed, we are all under one Divinity. The purpose of this event is to remind us of this."
24th Apr 2013, Japan
Sri Sri interacted with entrepreneurs at a special seminar, encouraging the audience to embrace spirituality in corporate practices.
Earlier in the day, Mr Hakubun Shimomura, Minister of Education ,Culture, Sports, Science & Technology met with Sri Sri.
Former Prime Minister of Japan and Opposition Leader Mr Noda Yoshiko also received Sri Sri.
23rd Apr 2013, Japan
Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe welcomed HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Mr. Shinzo Abe appreciated the work of The Art of Living in the country and lauded Sri Sri's vision of a stress-free, violence-free world.
Earlier in the day, Sri Sri visited the famous Meiji shrine.
A large audience comprising Indo-Japanese youth interacted with Sri Sri at a special seminar at the Indian Embassy. The Japan Entrepreneurs & Presidents Association (JEPA) awarded Sri Sri with a special Certificate of Appreciation. Mr Yamada Hiroshi, Member of Parliament, was also present at the session and felicitated Sri Sri.
23rd Apr 2013, Japan
Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe welcomed HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Tokyo on April 23. Mr. Shinzo Abe appreciated the work of The Art of Living in the country and lauded Sri Sri's vision of a stress-free, violence-free world.
22nd Apr 2013, Japan
The Indian ambassador to Japan hosted a welcome reception for Sri Sri as the latter arrived in Tokyo.
Earlier as Sri Sri landed, he was interviewed by a Tokyo channel which comes to the Narita airport every Monday and interviews passengers.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: Where are you coming from & where are you going?
Sri Sri: I'm coming from Canada and on my way to Indonesia from here.
Q: Why have you come to Japan?
Sri Sri: I'm on a world tour to create a happy society. I'm giving a few public talks and seminars aboutt spreading health and happiness in Japan.
Q: What is your name?
Sri Sri: They call me Guruji.
Q: What kind of teacher are you?
Sri Sri: I teach meditation & Yoga.
21st Apr 2013, calgary, Canada
Sri Sri addressed 1000 people at the launch of the I Meditate Calgary campaign. He was greeted by a roaring crowd and a standing ovation, and was introduced by Minister of Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta, Jonathan Denis.
He spoke about meditation, did Sukshma yoga for the head and then went into a 25-minute guided meditation, followed by Q&A.
“What we do here is mend broken hearts. Neither alcohol, nor eating can fill the emptiness of a broken heart. Meditation can. Also meditation has many physical and mental benefits that medical research is documenting.”
He departed at for the airport and again received a standing ovation from the crowd.
20th Apr 2013, Calgary, Canada
Calgary’s Mayor Naheed Nenshi met Sri Sri and they spoke about how the city has grown. Mayor Nenshi said that he wears a badge with the number ‘3’ on it. The badge signifies his campaign, “do three good things for your community each year”. Sri Sri then went on to explain the significance of the number ‘3’ which he also uses. He tells doctors to do three free medical camps; lawyers to do three free consultations; engineers to do three free estimates. He then went on to speak about how the number ‘3’ is a very auspicious number – that is why they say shanti three times, which signifies peace for the mind, body and spirit.
Earlier in the day, Sri Sri interacted with participants from the ongoing Art of Living courses and also gave a talk at a Hindu temple. He addressed 700 people in a hall with a capacity of 400. He spoke about the significance of Ram, the importance of unification in the community (working together) and did a Q&A.
Sri Sri was mobbed on his way out of the temple, India style.
Then he met with 60 local volunteers and inspired them to reach out to various ethnic communities and spread the spirit of peace and happiness.
20th Apr 2013, Calgary, Canada<