His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: 2008

HIS HOLINESS SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's message of human values seeks global peace and
development by bringing about sustained individual commitment to joyful living,
selfless service and self-awareness. He is the founder of various charitable and
educational organizations. His programs have reached and benefited more than 20
million people around the world. Born in 1956 in Papanasam, India, Sri Sri studied
with many renowned spiritual masters and became a scholar of Vedic Literature. By
the age of seventeen he had also obtained an Advanced Degree in Modern Physics and
later received an Honorary Doctorate from Kuvempu University, Karnataka.
In 1982 Sri Sri Ravi Shankar founded the Art of Living Foundation, which is active
in 144 countries. In 1997 he founded the International Association for Human Values
(IAHV), which to date has initiated projects in 25,300 villages bringing
self-reliance to more than 2.3 million people. Through IAHV, large volunteer relief
efforts have been organized across the globe including Afghanistan, Bosnia, during
the earthquake in Gujarat, India (2002), the and for those who were affected during
the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, the Tsunami affected people in South-East
Asia (2004). Its volunteers have also been involved in providing trauma relief and
stress management to Iraqis. Through his Art of Livinf programmes and service
activities over 20 million people's lives have been positively affected.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has addressed various institutions around the world, including
the United Nations, World Economic Forum, European Parliament and International Anti
Corruption Conference. He has also spoken at leading academic and research
institutions in the United States including the National Institutes of Health, NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center, Yale University, UCLA, University of California at
Berkeley and Columbia University. Sri Sri has also been inducted as an honorary
board member at Yale’s Divinity school in recognition of his contribution to
spreading human values around the world.
His Holiness travels to over 35 countries every year reminding the world that the
great spiritual traditions share common goals and values and that violence has no
place in religion. His simple message of love, practical wisdom and service
encourages harmony, teaching everyone to follow their chosen religious or spiritual
path while honoring the path of others. Those who have listened to him acknowledge
the universal inclusiveness of his appeal.

Awards and Honors
• His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Day, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., June 28,
2002
• His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Day, Beverley Hills, California, U.S.A.,
May 8, 2002
• Phoenix Award awarded by Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., April 29, 2002
• His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Day in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., April
29, 2002
• His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Day in Austin, Texas, U.S.A., January 10,
2002
• His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Day in Washington DC, U.S.A., August 26,
2000
• “Guru Mahatmya” award by Government of Maharashtra, India, September 1997
• Title of “Yoga Shiromani (Supreme Jewel of Yoga)” by President of India, 1986
• Advisory Board, Yale Divinity School, U.S.A., 1990-1991

Forums and Conferences
Organized and Hosted
• World Conference on Spiritual Regeneration and Human Values,
Bangalore, Art of Living International Center, Bangalore, India, January 2003
o In attendance from India - Vice President and
Deputy Prime Minister, and more than thirty national ministers, state governors and
regional politicians.
o In attendance from elsewhere - Ministers, former
prime ministers, first ladies, representatives of presidents and prime ministers
from Poland, Italy, South Africa, Norway, Holland, Taiwan, Mongolia, Australia,
Botswana, Mauritius, and Croatia.
o Letters of support came from the Dalai Lama,
Norway's Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland, Canada's
Secretary of State Ethel Blondin-Andrew, United Arab Emirates' Minister of Higher
Education and Scientific Research Nahayan Mabarak
Al Nahayan, South Africa's Senior Parlimentarian Reverand Motlalepula Chabaku, U.S.
Representative Jim McDermott, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett, U.S. Representative
Eddie Bernice Johnson, U.S. Representative Cori Lombard, Shadow Senator from
Washington D.C. Paul Strauss, American Jewish Committee leader Rabbi David Rozen,
World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn, etc.

• Human Values, Science and Sustainable
Development, Rice University, Houston, Texas, May 2003
• Uplifting Spirit Through Education,
University of Berkeley, Berkeley, California, May 2003
• Human Values, Science and Sustainable Development, Bangalore, India,
November 2003
• Living Human Values: A Call to Action, Amsterdam, Holland, November 2000
• Living Human Values, National Press Club, Washington DC, May 1999
• World Youth Peace Summit: Bangalore 2003
• Corporate Culture and Spirituality (Held at annually in Bangalore)

Addresses around the world as a speaker (Partial Listing)

• European Parliament December 2004
• International Court of Justice, The Hague, December 2004
• Orissa Legislative Assembly, November 2004
• North-East Youth Conference, October 2004
• Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture, Karachi, Pakistan, July 2004
• Address to the Scottish Parliament June 2004
• C.A.R.I. (Institute of Intl. Affairs) Argentina May 2004
• Address to the Senate, Brasilia, Brazil May 2004
• “Toward a National Dialogue on Integrity Issues: Roles of the Public,
Private and Civil Society Sectors in Promoting a National Integrity Agenda in
Turkey”, Istanbul, Turkey, March 24, 2004.
• Panama Chamber of Commerce, Panama May 2004
• Interfaith Conference for World Religious Leaders, Seville, Spain, December
2003
• Keynote address, 5th World Congress on Environmental Management, Himachal
Pradesh, India, June 2003
• “Different Cultures, Common Values,” 11th International Anti-Corruption
Conference, Seoul, South Korea, May 2003
• “Uplifting Spirit through Education,” University of California, Berkeley,
California, U.S.A., May 2003
• “Human Values, Science and Development,” Rice University, Texas, U.S.A.,
May 2003
• “Science, Meditation and Creativity,” NASA – Goddard Space Flight Center,
Washington DC, U.S.A., April 2003
• “Love and Trust,” World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, January 2003
• “Prayer and Meditation for Peace,” World Conference on Religion for Peace,
Washington DC, U.S.A., January 2003
• Symposium on Science and Spiritual Quest, Bangalore, India, January 2003
• Inter Pacific Bar Association, New Delhi, India February 2003
• Keynote address, “Dawn of the New ICE Age – Philosophic Consideration on
Convergence,” Inter Pacific Bar Association, India, February 2003
• Symposium Towards Peace, Progress and Salvation, Jammat-E-Islami Hind,
Bangalore, India, March 2003
• Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, India, March 2003
• “Contributions of the Holy Vedas and the Holy Quran to Science,” Bangalore,
India, August 2002
• Keynote speaker, Symposium on the Science of Breath, All India Institute of
Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, March 2002
• World Peace Through Prayer and Meditation, Venice, Italy, May 2002
• “Technology and Tradition,” Confederation of Indian Industries,
Hyderabad, India, August 2002
• First Dalit Conference, Bangalore, India, August 2002
• World Ayurveda Congress, Kochi, India, November 2002
• “Social Partnerships Make Business Sense,” Confederation of Indian
Industry, Mumbai, India, November 2002
• Madrid Convention on Aging, Madrid, Spain, December 2002
• “Where are the Peacemakers?” World Economic Forum, Davos,
Switzerland, February 2001
• “Human Values in the 21st century,” European Parliament, Strasbourg,
France, June 2001
• Keynote address, 11th International Forum on Technology Management,
India, November 2001
• “Volunteering for Humanism in the New Millennium,” VIII IAVE
Asia-Pacific Conference, New Delhi, India, November 2001
• “Sacredness Transcends Time and Space,” Opening Ceremony of the
Museum of World Religions, Taipei, Taiwan, November 2001
• “Shaping Globalization,” State of the World Forum, September 2000
• Keynote address, Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and
Spiritual Leaders, United Nations, New York City, New York, U.S.A., August 2000
• -Living Human Values: A Call to Action, Amsterdam, Holland, November
2000
-Human Values and Human Rights in the 21st Century, National Press Club,
Washington DC, May 1999
o Calcutta Management Association, April 1998
o Interfaith Conference, Paris, France, April 1998
o Inter Religious Conference, Parliamentarians of Croatia, January 1998
• Conference on the World’s Great Religions and Their Transformation in
the 21st Century, University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A, January 1998
o Conference on Breaking the Cycle of Violence, Baltimore, Maryland,
U.S.A., June 1998
• International Conference for Human Values, International Association
for Human Values, May 1998
• Chair, International Conference of Religions, Kyoto, Japan 1996
• Interfaith Prayer and Meditation Conference, Washington DC and Los
Angeles, U.S.A, July 1996
• International Congress of Catholic Priests, September 1996
• Invited speaker, United Nations 50th Anniversary, New York City, New
York, U.S.A., 1995

Service Activities
“Service is an expression of love. The ultimate purpose of life is to be of service.”
- H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's unconditional love for humanity has rekindled the human
values of peace, service and compasion in the hearts of people all over the world.
His dedication to service has been an inspiration for many projects worldwide that
have brought about social and economic transformation and spiritual upliftment.

International Association for Human Values (IAHV) www.iahv.org
IAHV, founded in 1996 by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, is a non-profit,
educational organization. Through a variety of educational activities and service
projects aimed at social, economic and spiritual upliftment, IAHV works to achieve
peace, harmony and human dignity throughout the world.

Activities and projects developed and implemented by IAHV are:
1. 5H Program:
www.5h.org
The 5H Program - Health, Homes, Hygiene, Human values and Harmony in diversity
- is a holistic and sustainable approach to long-term social transformation
combining basic human needs such as good health, adequate and humane housing,
and individual and community hygiene, with training and support for the
spiritual needs of people and their communities. This creates fertile ground
for human values and harmony to flourish. This program has been successfully
implemented in India where it is applied to the sectors of society most in
need, such as poor rural villages. It has been very successful in
creating responsible, engaged individuals with healthy self-esteem, and communities
that are self-reliant, prosperous and harmonious. Currently the program is moving
into other nations using the model developed in India such as Poland, Latin America,
USA, South Africa, Kenya, Kosovo, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

2. Youth Leadership Training Program:
This program channels the energy and talents of young people into implementing
the 5H Program. These youths become village leaders and, by their experience
and training, the future leaders of their communities and countries.

Through the 5H in India, the International Association for Human Values
has:
Reached out to over 25,000 villages in 25 states across India.
Trained 25,710 village youth in the Youth Leadership Training Programme.
Employed 1,350 youth for the implementation of the 5H Programme.
Conducted over 75,000 Breath-Water-Sound workshops benefitting over 2.3 million people.
Planted over 1.3 million trees.
Facilitated the formation of 2000 self-help groups with a membership of 35,000
villagers.
Developed 50 model villages benefitting 1,00,000 villages.
Built 1000 homes
And, in the year 2003 alone, have conducted more than 28,350 cleanliness campaigns
and 2857 medical camps benefitting 4,30,000 people.

3. Institute for Rural Development (Sri Sri Rural Development Program)
o This provides a program for enabling self-reliant villages.
o It organizes local self-help groups and vocational training in organic
farming, water management, handicrafts and other functions necessary for vibrant,
sustainable, eco-friendly communities.
o VISTA India (Value Integrated Services to All) specifically focusses on
empowering rural women.
o Three rural schools providing free education are located in Agra, Sellary
(Bihar) and on the outskirts of Bangalore.

4. Tribal Welfare Project
o Focuses on improving the standard of living of tribal communities in India
by providing medical aid and modern education,
o Encourages them to maintain the richness of their cultural identity.
o Currently there are 28 tribal schools providing free education to tribal
children in the states of Jharkhand, Assam, Tripura and West Bengal.

5. Slum Development Project
Dharavi Slum Rehabilitation Project:
In Asia's largest slum Dharavi (Mumbai), 5H programme has been implemented
with great benefit to the residents.
• 25,000 slum residents have undergone the Breath-Water-Sound workshop.
• A dumpyard in Dharavi has been converted into a garden.
• Over 100 trees have been planted.
• A school for the children of the slum residents where over 120 children
study.
• Free computer education for the youth in Dharavi.
• 58 cleanliness camps.
• 15 medical camps.
• 60 youth have undergone the Youth Leadership Training Program.

PRISON SMART
Prison SMART (Prison Stress Management and Rehabilitation Training) enables
prisoners to release stress and anger from their system and thereby break free
from the cycle of violence, helping them to reintegrate into society and
reduce their levels of stress and angst within the prison walls. Over 1,20,000
prisoners from across the world in countries such as the USA, Russia,
Netherlands, Scandinavia, Brazil, Great Britian, Germany. South Africa and
India have done this programme. The programme is also offered to prison staff
to enable them to deal with their stressful jobs.

In India:
45,000 prisoners have done the programme.
The programme has been conducted in prisons in Delhi, Mumbai,
Patna, Kolhapur, Satara, Amreli, Alipore, Calcutta, Jamnagar,
Salem, Trichy, Yerwada, Bangalore, Jammu and Kashmir, Gauhati and
many other places.
In Tihar Jail (Delhi), India's largest prison, over 24,000
prisoners and 600 prison staff have done the course.
To enable the successful reintegration of the prisoners into the
mainstream of society, the SRIJAN project was initiated by His
Holiness in Tihar Jail. Within the prison walls, the prisoners
make paper bags, diaries etc. that are sold across the Art of
Living Centres across India. The profits are deposited in a bank
account for the prisoners and handed over to them on release.

This programme is also offered to militants and terrorist groups in various
violence-rid areas of India. Inspired by His Holiness' message of peace and
compassion, in Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar, hundreds of
militants have laid down their arms and pledged to reintegrate into the
mainstream of society through service after undergoing this programme.

CALAMITY RELIEF MEASURES
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living and IAHV volunteers
consider it the duty to assist every human being in need. In numerous
calamities, the volunteers not only provide material aid but also trauma
relief courses to prevent or alleviate post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
and other emotional and psychological relief.
• September 11, 2001 New York City Twin Towers attack.
• Indonesian Floods
• Flood relief in Dreseden, Germany.
• Gujarat earthquake (2001) where an entire township (Nana Dahisara) was rebuilt.
• Orissa (India) Cyclone
• Iran earthquake (2004)
• War-torn Bosnia
• Relief measures in Iraq
• South-East Asia Tsunami Relief Measures (2004-5)

The Art of Living Foundation
www.artofliving.org
The Art of Living Foundation, founded in 1982, is an international, non-profit,
educational and humanitarian organization affiliated with the United Nations as a
non-governmental organization (NGO). The Foundation provides stress management and
self-development programs that culture one’s innate human values providing the tools
for people to live life with more grace, naturalness, effectiveness and joy. The
Foundation has Centers in more than 144 countries offering a variety of these
programs, including special programs for children and teens, organizations, and
those incarcerated or suffering from illnesses such as depression. A natural
outcome of these self-development programs is more generosity and compassion for
others and
the state of the world, enabling another Foundation objective, which is service to
the world. The Foundation has numerous educational and service projects, and it
provides volunteers to its sister organization, the International Association for
Human Values, and to communities struck by natural disasters, war or other crisis.
The Foundation regularly attends international U.N. sponsored events, and often
provides presentation and seminars on human values and Foundation programs.

These programs are as follows:
Art of Living Course, Parts 1 and 2 ww.artofliving.org
Part 1 is an effective self-development program teaching powerful breathing and
meditation techniques for eliminating stress and bringing greater peace, joy and a
clearer sense of self to daily life. This course has been taught to more than two
million people around the world.
The Art of Living Course, Part 2 is an advanced program that builds on the
knowledge and practices given in Part 1. Participants experience the
catharsis of silence, introspection, meditation and service.

ART Excel (All Round Training in Excellence) www.artexcel.info
A program for young people, ages 8-15, teaching them potent breathing
techniques and educational but fun activities that enhance mental focus,
confidence, self-esteem, and tools to deal with stress, peer pressure and
powerful emotions.

Self Management Seminar www.selfmgmt.org
A program designed for corporations, organizations and professionals to deal
with stress and anxiety in the workplace, to enhance cooperation, harmony and
leadership, and to boost creativity and productivity.

Developing a Divine Society (Divya Samaj Nirman)
A self-empowerment program enabling participants to break down barriers and
limitations in their perception and expression so they can reach their
potential and realize their responsibility to care for the world.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Bio

Monday, August 25, 2008

Misnomer