(Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s address at the inauguration of the Art of Living center in Los Angeles on April 14, 2010. A 100-year-old church has been registered as an Art of Living center, and will offer yoga, meditation and encourage service initiatives.)
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This building serves two purposes. First, It will bring excitement, celebration and serenity in the region. Secondly, it will be a place to bring tranquility, contentment and happiness through meditation. This would be such a place where people would come out as a beautiful human being. And this is the purpose of life - To become more and more beautiful from within. Beauty is not just external. It is quality of the spirit that makes you more alive and beautiful. A spiritual center is where we come and the spirit gets uplifted, the body becomes stronger and free from disease, the mind is more focused and energized, and the intellect is free from prejudice. A place where you embrace people from all communities and diverse cultures as your own.
This is a home for everyone. Especially the community here, you are the host and we all belong to you. I would like to tell you that we belong to you and you belong to us. I want every tear to turn into smile, and every youth in this vicinity to take on from here, and make it like a tree which have stronger roots and wider branches. Strengthen the roots, broaden your vision, and be of service to humanity. I wish and pray that the building will give this inspiraton to the people in this entire region. I would like this place to be useful to men, women, children, young, old and everyone.
It is a beautiful moment for all of us. I really congratulate all the volunteers who did such wonderful work. All of them are putting their 100 percent and doing such an excellent job. You know, this can happen only when there is commitment and a strong sense of belonging. When you are happy, you share that happiness with everyone, and you find that happiness when you go deep within yourself.
