The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) aspiration for joining national politics is like a newborn willing to join college instead of starting from scratch, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said here on Tuesday. During an informal chat with TOI, Sri Sri said Arvind (Kejriwal) may be doing it with good intention. "But we need a strong government at the Centre. Can't take risk with a party with no experience... Right now the country is on a ventilator. We need a strong and decisive government. If AAP can't handle Delhi, how can it handle the nation?," Sri Sri asked. He was here to attend Foresight, an annual event of private news channel OTV. Sri Sri cautioned voters to think twice before they elect a candidate for parliament. It should be to ensure a strong and stable government. Asked whether Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi will make a better PM, Sri Sri didn't take a name, but said experience should mater. Speaking about the current state of affairs in the government, he said a situation has arisen where no officer wants to take a decision. Bureaucrats and police are afraid of taking action, leading to policy paralysis. On Delhi Police should stay with Centre or Delhi government, Sri Sri said wherever the institution stays, there must a mechanism where honest officers can be able to work without fear. Sri Sri said Indian education is more theoretical, not practical leading to unemployment. Skill development centres are more important. There is a lot of opportunities for employment if students are imparted various skill training, he said. Sri Sri said agriculture sector in the country needs to be revived. He blamed NREGA for ruin of agriculture sector. Source: TOI                 Note: Unable to see the above images? Please click on 'Display images' in your mail Art of Living Universe: Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus | YouTube | Pinterest

Over 1 lakh to meditate for peace and prosperity on January 31

Over one lakh people are expected to meditate for peace and prosperity in the city on January 31, with 1,008 school children rendering select songs composed by great Tamil poet Bharathiar, as part of a program under the guidance of global spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. "Around the same time lakhs across all 32 districts will sing these powerful Bharathiar songs, soaking the state with partiotism," Anand Purushothaman, Apex member of Art of Living Foundation, Vyakti Vikas Kendra, founded by Ravi Shankar, told reporters here today. After the free meditation session titled 'Anandha Vaibhvam',Sri Sri Ravishankar would address the crowd, he said. During his two day visit to the city from Jan 30 after a seven year gap, Ravishankar will be present at the program, claimed to be for the first time in India,where thousands will learn special breathing technique +Sudharshan Kriya,+ he said. He will address about 12,000 students from 30 colleges, particularly from various engineering colleges to inspire leadership qualities, partiotism, strength to face challenges, importance of soft skills and more than anything a happy and positive attitude to life, on January 30, Anand said. At another programme that day, Ravishankar will give a talk on 'spirituality for prosperity' to industrialists and dignitaties of Coimbatore and Tirupur istricts. Proceeds from the event will go to Art of Living's 'Happy Villages' program in Tamil Nadu. Click Here for complete details of events scheduled during Sri Sri's visit ! Source: Business Standard                 Note: Unable to see the above images? Please click on 'Display images' in your mail Art of Living Universe: Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus | YouTube | Pinterest

A compilation of Poems by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

When He talks, the world goes on a standstill to listen. His words give answers to some, and advice to others. They provide solace to aching hearts, and inspire the determined ones. His wisdom and knowledge leads millions around the globe. So what magic do you think His Poetry would create for million longing souls ? A compilation of Poems by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, all just a click away! Enjoy! Link: http://bit.ly/PoemsBySriSri                 Note: Unable to see the above images? Please click on 'Display images' in your mail Art of Living Universe: Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus | YouTube | Pinterest

Sri Sri to Present Award to Hazare

Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will inaugurate the Gandhi Darshan Awards distribution ceremony, organised by Media Research Institute, at Putharikandam Maidan here on January 29. Swami Gururatnam Jnana Thapaswi of Santhigiri Ashram will preside over the function. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will present the jury award for lifetime activities to Anna Hazare. Also, curtains will go up on the campaigning of Gandhian ideologies to be conducted on international level. K P A Rahim will inaugurate the lecture series as part of it. Award winners were selected by a jury comprising Gandhi Smarak Nidhi chairman P Gopinathan Nair, Kavalam Narayana Panicker, D Sreedevi, Kerala University former Pro VC N A Karim and S Ajith Kumar. Winners of the Gandhi Darshan awards are: Karnataka Health Minister U T Khader (rural health), M K Raghavan MP (social work), T P Rajeevan (literature), C R Neelakantan (social), G Balachandran (rural employment opportunities), Dr Kunjali (palliative care) and Muhammed Haji (business). Source: The New Indian Express                 Note: Unable to see the above images? Please click on 'Display images' in your mail Art of Living Universe: Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus | YouTube | Pinterest

Modi a good man, don't know Rahul, AAP lacks experience: Sri Sri

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has praised Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as a "good man" but said he has no opinion about Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi as he was not acquainted with him. Answering a specific question about his opinion of Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi, at the Club Grounds in Chandrapur, where he was conducting a 'Divya Utsav cum Mahastasang', he said that he is not at all acquainted with Rahul and hence had "no opinion" on him, but informed that he had met Modi a couple of times and "he appears to be a good man". He also said that coalition governments have proved to be a failure in governance and hence "a single party government with majority" is the need of the hour. When asked about his opinion about the Aam Admi Party as an alternative to existing political parties at Centre, he said that though AAP appears to be honest in providing corruption free governance, it lacked experience. "It is like giving keys to a driver with learning license to drive the vehicle in difficult terrain. Hence it is better to wait for some more time to analyse its performance. Time is not ripe yet for AAP to form government at the Centre," Sri Sri told reporters. He also spoke about the Art of Living Foundation's latest mission called 'Vote For Better India'. "Vote For Better India, is AOL's new mission through which over 12 crore youth in our county would be encouraged to enroll their names in voters' lists and vote for the candidate of their choice during the forthcoming elections," he said. "We have to ensure that there is 100 per cent voting so that the real representatives of the people of the area get elected. We have thousands of volunteers working for the cause to assist and ensure enrollment of names in voters' lists," Sri Sri said. Source: Rediff News                 Note: Unable to see the above images? Please click on 'Display images' in your mail Art of Living Universe: Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus | YouTube | Pinterest

Memory and Meditation - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's conversation with Dr. Todd Sacktor

More than twenty years ago, Dr. Todd Sacktor, a neuroscientist at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, discovered the enzyme that may well be the engine that drives long-term memory. During his trip to Bangalore, India to discuss his research at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Dr. Sactor met with Sri Sri. Dr. Sacktor comes from a modern medical understanding of the brain and Sri Sri speaks from an ancient eastern perspective making this a very interesting and engaging conversation between the two. Click Here to watch the wonderful video !                 Note: Unable to see the above images? Please click on 'Display images' in your mail Art of Living Universe: Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus | YouTube | Pinterest

Yoga is the best way to enforce prohibition, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says

Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Tuesday termed people who do not practise yoga as ayogiyan (a term in Sanskrit and Tamil which means unethical person). "If you don't practise yoga, you are good for nothing. This has been the belief since ancient times," he said while speaking at the valedictory function of the 20th international yoga festival organized by the tourism department. He was of the opinion that yoga would be the best way to enforce prohibition. "As violence is connected to alcoholism and substance abuse, we can eradicate the evils if we focus on promoting yoga. It will make our health and society better," he said. Pointing out that most of the problems in the modern world were mainly due to lack of communication, he said yoga inculcated among people the skills to communicate. "Yoga brings the knowledge, passion and action together," he said. He listed out types of yoga as bhakthi, karma and gnana and elaborated that love for the universe is bhakthi yoga, action based on love for universe is karma yoga and knowing what action is needed and how to reach out is gnana yoga. He said seer and poet Sri Aurobindo had practised integral yoga. Sri Sri said there were 18 scriptures in Tamil Nadu and regretted that none of their scriptures were popularized. "If we teach those scriptures to our students they will get the much-needed spiritual strength," he said. He advocated inclusion of yoga in school and college curriculums. Similarly, yoga and meditation must find space in the legal system. "Yoga and meditation are used in courts in some countries to resolve issues," he said. Earlier, while speaking to a section of reporters, he sought Indian citizenship of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees staying at the camps in the country. He said his organization had proposed to launch a movement to popularize works of Mahakavi Bharathiyar. "We will kick start the movement at Coimbatore on January 31," he said. He appealed to people to spend at least one hour a day for water conservation. He said Aam Aadmi Party, which formed the government at the national capital, would need at least six months to one year to fulfill its poll promises. He appealed to all voters to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections. Source: TOI                 Note: Unable to see the above images? Please click on 'Display images' in your mail Art of Living Universe: Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus | YouTube | Pinterest