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Power of Spirituality leads to world peace

APJ Abdul Kalam President of India

Unconditional service to humanity

Sri Sri Ravishankar Guruji

The silver jubilee celebration of Art of Living (AOL) Foundation’s mega event took place at Jakkur Flying Club Bangalore on 17^th to 19^th of February 2006 with an estimated crowed of 2.5 million, the unprecedented spiritual biggest gathering of people from all over the globe made the event a remarkably one.

In true tribute to the idea of one world “Vasudiva Kutumbakum” serves as the theme for AOL 25^th anniversary.

AOL is spread in 144 countries through its various social and development programmes and has touched the lives of over 20 million people from different walks of life.

A mammoth stage measuring 500 X 250 feet inspired by ancient Indian architecture has been erected at the venue. Over 25,000 villages had been adopted by the foundation so far and there was a plan to adopt one lakh villages within five years for their overall development. The mission is to ensure chemical-free farming and achieving complete literacy initially in Karnataka and later the rest of the world.

In the confluence of celebration and spirituality different Swamis of different mutts, pontiffs of varies faiths, political leaders and foreign dignitaries from more than 145 countries participated.

The three days has seen discourses, thoughts on spirituality from leaders of many religions, well tuned karnataka music, bhajans brief speeches, meditation and the ‘sudarshana kriya’.

Chaturvedi Governor of Karnataka lauded the efforts of Sri Sri Ravishankar Guruji and said he had indeed fulfilled the prophecy of ‘Vasudiva kutumbakum’ his message of fellowship, harmony and peace are highly commendable, especially in times like these where the world is being torn apart by divisive forces.

Kumaraswamy Chief Minister of Karnataka has said that this peace conference should be a platform for peace initiatives in the world.

At a time when world is becoming extremely materialistic message of peace and harmony are extremely important added Sri Yediyurappa Deputy CM Karnataka.

The concluding day celebration was aptly started with watering of the Lakshmitharu plant (Simarouba plant, symbolizing prosperity) by president APJ Abdul Kalam and other dignitaries.Moments after enjoying Thyagaraja Keertana Yendaro Mahaanubhavulu president addressed the audience by quoting Saint Patanjali’s Yoga sutra “when you are inspired by some great purpose; some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you will discover yourself to be a greater person by for than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” He further presented a three pronged approach to imbibe the very spirituality the celebration meant for;

• Having an education with values,

• Religion with powerful spirituality

• Economic development which eliminates

poverty from the world.

The crowed swaying to the chants of Shiva Shiva Shankara and other hymns. The chants were Vedic and fusion music. The bhajan ‘Swara raga sudha hari sundara nanda mukunda’ and the song from Shankarabharana fame Shankaraa nada nenadahara by Sri S P Balasubramanyam were received with great applauses. Loud cheers and chants of Jai Gurudev echoed at the venue.

Nirj Joseph Deva member of European parliament recalled how a meeting with the Guru had led him to a life altering course “this is an occasion to thank him for opening our hearts and empowering us to seek the divine within us”.

His Majesty king of Ghana observed that the world, despite its tangible disparities, has been brought together by Guru.

Member of Pakistan group who came to the center stage and said “we have brought love and friendship from our country, Pakistan belongs to you!” a remarkable out burst from our neighbors, they even danced to the tunes of bhajan by waving Pakistan flag.

A grand South Indian symphony with more than 3800 musicians 650mridangams,100ghatams,770veenas,782violins,138nadaswarams,92saxophones,10mandolins,60 tanpuras,750 flutes, 150 guitars, 20 key-boards.) was a record performance. Citizens of Ghana, Mongolia, Switzerland, Malaysia among others who enjoyed the music

Times of India/ Deccan herald/ Samskar TV (Live) channel/Dated17th 18^th 19^th and 20^th February 2006.The Week 26th Feb 2006

What is art of living?

We should see life with a broader perspective:

• Have a cosmic vision about life. Seeing

our life in context with space and time

which broadens our vision.

• Commitment to truth, values and service.

• Being compassionate

Art of living encompasses these three

What is Sudarshan Kriya?

It is breathing technique, which has reached over a million people in over 100 countries around the globe.

The Views of Sri Sri Ravishanker: It is a celebration to reassure everyone about the power of good and the power of truth and the power of love is higher than anything in the world.

• I see the erosion of human values. At the same time, the need for it is also being felt by the people. So you have to bring back the faith in goodness in the people.

• I feel that spirituality is in our bones, in our nadi, in our genes. It can never completely disappear. It just takes some opportunity to bring it up. We need to nurture a little more of those spiritual values and surely things will improve.

• A reformer cannot be a ruler. And a ruler cannot be such an effective reformer. So our role as NGOs and social activists is to bring reform in society, bring down the greed level in society.

• More than one fourth of the European population suffers from depression. We can’t allow Indian to tread those lines of development. We need development but not at the cost of mental health, not at the cost of social harmony, not at the cost of equality and justice. I think spiritual knowledge can bring mental strength to people. Spiritual uplift will help in building a strong nation.

• I won’t say anything that is not natural to me and it is not in my personal life. And we don’t do anything that is not in my nature.

• Be with your nature, be natural, do what you can to encourage good qualities in people around you.

• Fear of loosing one’s faith has kept people in their little compartments. The six eastern religions have co-existed all along. If the rest of the world also adopt this model, I feel world peace is not far.

Sri Sri Ravishankar born in 1956 in the middle class family, today he is one of India’s best known spiritual leaders and spiritual ambassadors to the world. He is the only non-westerner to serve on the advisory board of the Yale University’s School of Divinity. He found the Art of Living Center an NGO having special consultation status with the UNO; he addressed the UN on the occasion of its 50^th anniversary. He was honored with Peter the Great medal for his contribution to Russia federation and he was also nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

The ashram also called the Veda Vignan Maha Vidyapeeth was established in 1982 on 60 acre hill, outside Bangalore on KanakapuraRoad; the lotus shaped meditation hall at the Ashram, an architectural marvel named as Vishalakshi Mantapa situated atop the Panchgiri hills and the white edifice rimmed by 1000 petals is a wonder full blend of Vedic architecture and modern technology. At night the Vishalakshi Mantapa presents a colourfull and enchanting spectacle; the view of the white building decorated with lights and crowned with glass dome that tops the building is adorned with 15 feet high brass kalasha is simply breathtaking.

In this modern age, he has redefined the age old concept of Ashram – providing a center for knowledge and excellence.