SPREADING WAVES OF HAPPINESS – SRI SRI Ravi Shankar

SPREADING WAVES OF HAPPINESS – SRI SRI Ravi Shankar The occidental world, in particular the United States of America consider number 13 as a fiendish number. There is no 13th floor, Apollo 13 went up in flames in the stratosphere. But that is not the case in the oriental hemisphere, especially for the 13th May born Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. He is the founder of the Art of Living which is spread across 155 nations. He is spreading waves of happiness through his atavism, activism; undertaking peace missions in terror stricken and naxalites infested areas and working in different amphitheatres of war. Among other activities are included river rejuvenation initiatives, ecological programmes and rural development applications. Gurudev in the year 1980 cognated the unique rhythmic breathing technique called the Sudarshan Kriya (proper vision process, a purification technique) after observing deep silence for a period of ten days on the banks of the Bhadravati river in the bijou town of Shimoga. This breathing technique is at the heart of all Art of Living courses which are imparted by qualified Art of Living teachers. This breathing technique is imparted in what is now called the Happiness Programme. The talismanic breathing technique is in Gurudev’s voice and disseminated to the participants in three different cycles of slow, medium and rapid breathing on an ancient mantra called ‘SOHAM’ after a set of pranayama styles. It conjures Mandrake like magic which is so subtle and fine that it detoxifies all impurities embedded in the cells of the human body. The sacred breathing technique has a salutatory impact on human body and mind which assuages frayed nerves, and invigorates the being. Suffice to say that Cassandra’s of doubt and prophets of doom have not been able to contest reams of research papers written by eminently qualified medical practitioners and psychologists at AIIMS, NIMHANS and other medical institutes in India and abroad which testify that Sudarshan Kriya boosts bodily functions including those of the heart, the liver, the brain, endocrine system, and kidney to name but a few. The breathing process also brings succour to those suffering from various pestilences like heart ailments, epilepsy, addictions of alcohol and substance abuse. It also silences the distraught mind to incredible levels of hush and shush which helps develop intuition. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, “Sudarshan Kriya harmonizes the rhythms of the body, emotions and puts them back in tune with the rhythms of nature. Being in rhythm, we feel good about ourselves, love flows naturally in all relationships.” Gurudev arrived on planet Earth on 13th of May 1956. He was born at Papanasam into an orthodox Brahmin family to R.S.V. Ratnam and Visalakshi. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was born on Shankar Jayanti , the birth anniversary of the Advaita saint Adi Shankara. Aeons ago Adi Shankara spread the Advaita philosophy, travelling by foot, and established “mutts” at Jyotirmath in the Himalayas, Sringeri in the vicinity of Kanchipuram, at Puri in the east by the sea and Dwaraka in the west. There is yet another interesting twist to the naming ceremony of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. It was eleven days after he was born which coincidentally happened to be Ramnuja Jayanthi (the proponent of Vishistadvaita School of philosophy). Quintessentially several temples of the Sun and Shankar dot the landscape of Papanasam, thus the seraphic child was christened Ravi Shankar. The cornerstones of Guruji’s teachings are Sadhana, Satsang, Sudarshan Kriya, Seva and meditation. Strategies to develop these aspects of one’s personality are unbossomed in the bouquet of courses offered by the Art of Living. Chronicler’s write that the child prodigy was often found to be in a state of trance or meditation and could recite the Bhagvad Gita by the age of five. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was to become a tutee in physics at St Joseph’s College Bangalore where he was to receive formal education and developed a scientific temperament. Gurudev’s first preceptor was Sudhakar Chaturvedi, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and popularly referred to as Banglori. He was later in the fold of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi where he was to learn the nuances of Transcendental Meditation. However, visionaries carve their own niche and he snapped the umbilical cord and went on to establish the Art of Living Foundation upon attaining enlightenment. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has weaved the traditional with the modern, the ancient with the contemporary through a heterogeneous mix of programmes. At the fulcrum are courses like The Happiness Programme, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation, Sri Sri Yoga (which is different from the BKS Iyengar school of Yoga and at slight variance with Ashtanga Yoga), for Guruji stresses more on breathing techniques and meditation to enhance prana levels and jollity among practitioners. Other programmes are the Art of Living Silence Programme (the active and hyper active mind is enveloped with peace, compassion, unalloyed love and compassion), the Divya Samaj worshop where mental and physical boundaries are demolished and the participant emerges out from their comfort zone, the Ayurvedic cooking course – designed to balance the three Doshas in the human body that is Vatta, Kapha and Pitta. The Vedic wisdom programme inducts participants to traverse the spiritual path and gain insights into Upanishads, Vedas, Darshanas. The Prison Smart programme metamorphoses the lives of incarcerated prisoners so that they eschew violence and crime. For children and youth, Guruji has specifically designed courses like Know Your Child and Know Your Teen to unravel their true potential so that they blossom. Utkarsh Yoga (for children between ages eight to thirteen) empowers them and transforms their lives to maintain physical and emotional balance. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has established the International Association of Human Values which is working among the terror-stricken and in war zones of the world through the Stress Relief and Resilience programme. “At a time when many people feel that modern knowledge and ancient traditions tend to contradict each other, it is refreshing to come across someone like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who has been able to reconcile scientific education with his Vedic training to find a path relevant to contemporary needs,” says His Holiness Dalai Lama.