Ravi Shankar commonly known as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar , is a global spiritual leader and humanitarian. His devotees often address him with the name "Shri Shri" out of respect. He is the founder of Art of Living Foundation .

Biography

Ravi Shankar was born on 13 May 1956 in the state of Tamil Nadu , India . His father's name was Venkata Ratnam who was a philologist. His mother Mrs. Vishalakshi was a gentle woman. Taking inspiration from Adi Shankaracharya, his father named him 'Ravi Shankar'.

Ravi Shankar was of spiritual tendency from the beginning. At the age of just four, he used to recite the verses of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita . He started meditating in his childhood. His disciples tell that he had taken an advanced degree in Physics at the age of 17.

Ravi Shankar was earlier a disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. His father handed him over to Mahesh Yogi. Because of his scholarship, Ravi Shankar became a favorite disciple of Mahesh Yogi. He added 'Sri Sri' to his name Ravi Shankar after noted sitar maestro Ravi Shankar accused him of usurping his fame.

Ravi Shankar teaches Sudarshan Kriya to people for a fee. About this, he says that during a ten-day silence in 1982, the act of rhythmic breathing on the banks of the Bhadra river in Karnataka arose in his mind like a poem or an inspiration. He learned it and started teaching others.

In 1982, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar established the Art of Living Foundation . It does paid work for the promotion of education and humanity. In 1997, he founded the 'International Association for Human Values' with the aim of spreading the values ​​that bind people globally.

Philosophy 

Ravi Shankar says that breath is like a link between body and mind which connects both. It can be used to calm the mind. They also emphasize that apart from meditation, one should also serve others. They do not consider science and spirituality to be opposite to each other, but complementary. They are trying to create a world in which the people living there are full of knowledge so that they can stay away from stress and violence. When terrorists attacked the World Trade Organization in 2001, the Art of Living Foundation offered free stress relief courses to people throughout New York. This organization also set up an aid camp for the people affected by the war in Kosovo. In Iraq too, in 2003, the organization taught war-affected people ways to relieve stress. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visited Iraq on the invitation of the Prime Minister of Iraq and Shias there, Interacted with leaders of Sunni and Kurdish communities. In 2004, he also met those leaders of Pakistan who were in favor of establishing world peace. When the world saw the Tsunami, the people of the organization were also standing there to help. The organization continues to work continuously for the upliftment of prisoners around the world.

Sudarshan-Kriya 

Sudarshan-Kriya is the basis of the 'Art of Living' course. Those who wish to learn Sudarshan Kriya have to sign an agreement that they will not divulge Sudarshan Kriya to any other person. Sudarshan Kriya is said to energize the body, mind and emotions and bring them back to their natural state. The fee for the course to teach it varies from country to country. $375 is taken from a person in America. Some discounts are given to college students. Apart from this, there are some other institutions which work under the supervision of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, which are as follows-

Veda Science School
Sri Sri Center for Media Studies
Sri Sri College of Ayurvedic Science and Research
Sri Sri Mobile Agricultural Initiatives
Sri Sri Rural Development Trust

Criticism

In 2012, while attending an event in Jaipur, Ravi Shankar claimed that some Indian government schools were dedicated to Naxalism .A movement of militant communist groups in India has been declared a terrorist organization. He said, "All government schools and colleges should be privatised. Government should not run any school. It is often found that children of government schools fall prey to Naxalism and violence. Children of private schools do not get involved in this." are," he said. Later, Ravi Shankar issued a clarification that he did not mean that all government schools promote Naxalism. More clarification was given on his Twitter account: "I specifically mentioned sick government schools in naxal affected areas. Many people turning to naxalism have come from these schools. I did not say that all government schools (where millions study) promote Naxalism." In March 2018, he faced criticism from political leaders for his remarks where he said, India will turn into Syria if the Ram Mandir issue is not resolved soon.

Awards and honours

Seeing the services of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, he has also received many awards. Some of them are as follows-

National Veterans Foundation Award, USA, 2007
Varshad Kannadiga, ETV, 2007
Order Poll Star 2006, Mongolia's Best Award
Padma Vibhushan, Government of India, 2016