The Transcendental Meditation Movement

The Transcendental Meditation Movement

Series:  Elements in New Religious Movements

The Transcendental Meditation Movement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2023

Dana Sawyer, Cynthia Humes

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This Element provides a comprehensive overview of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) Movement and its offshoots. Several early assessments of the as a cult and/or new religious movement are helpful, but are brief and somewhat dated. This Element examines the TM movement's history, beginning in India in 1955, and ends with an analysis of the splinter groups that have come along in the past twenty-five years. Close consideration is given to the movement's appeal for the youth culture of the 1960s, which accounted for its initial success. The Element also looks at the marketing of the meditation technique as a scientifically endorsed practice in the 1970s, and the movement's dramatic turn inward during the 1980s. It concludes by discussing the waning of its popular appeal in the new millennium. This Element describes the social and cultural forces that helped shape the TM movement's trajectory over the decades leading to the present and shows how the most popular meditation movement in America distilled into an obscure form of Neo-Hinduism.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/transcendental-meditation-movement/8AD646F40DC7FF8937034506F006EC94

KCR, Naidu Run After Spiritual Gurus!

Greatandhra.com
April 13 , 2018

It looks like Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu have developed a lot of affinity for spiritual gurus to promote their respective political images in the public.

While KCR has been pampering yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Naidu has been seeking the blessings of celebrity spiritual gurus like Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev of Isha Foundation and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of Art of Living.

On Thursday, Baba Ramdev came to the residence of KCR and reportedly appreciated his plan to form a federal front.

He also lauded KCR’s vision for agriculture development, particularly his cash incentive scheme. The CMO claimed Baba describing KCR as “super CM.”

However, it is an open secret that Baba Ramdev has business links with KCR’s daughter and Nizamabad MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha.

She has tied with Baba’s Patanjali group to launch a food processing industry in her district.

At the same time, there are also reports that Baba, who is said to be closer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is also negotiating a secret deal between the TRS and the BJP in the next elections.

On the other hand, Jaggi Vasudev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar are high profile spiritual leaders having control over the corporate world in the country.

And Naidu wants their help in bringing the corporate sector to Andhra Pradesh, besides helping his own family business Heritage.

In return, both the spiritual leaders are learnt to have been promised allotment of lands to set up their foundations in Amaravati.

So, it is a sort of quid pro quo in the name of spirituality!

http://m.greatandhra.com/politics/gossip/kcr-naidu-run-after-spiritual-gurus-88773.html

The Beatles reinvented themselves in Rishikesh

IANS
New Delhi 
March 17, 2018

In February 1968, members of the legendary rock band, The Beatles, arrived in Rishikesh for a "momentous" sojourn. A teenage rebel -- a diehard Beatles fan himself -- watched them with keen interest. Five decades later, he has compiled an account of their stay here, and maintains that the three-year period that marked their affair with India was particularly significant in the life of the band.

"This is when The Beatles reinvented themselves from being the world's most famous pop stars into pioneering musical artists, creating new parameters of contemporary music," says Ajoy Bose, who has written an exhaustive account of their journey in "Across The Universe: The Beatles in India".

Bose, a well-known journalist, finds it interesting that their growing relationship with India, "led by George Harrison, who was particularly into Indian music, culture and religion, went side by side with their experiments with narcotics and psychedelic drugs".

"Their stay at the ashram got the band away from psychedelic drugs, although they may have sneaked in a few quick smokes of pot. What we do know is that their stay in Rishikesh resulted in an astonishing creative burst of song-writing -- the most prolific in their entire career," Bose told IANS in an interview.

"I believe that the real reason why they managed to write so many songs in India was because it was the first time since they became the Beatles they were allowed to be individuals and not just a band that needed to perform or record in the studios."

Living in a remote Himalayan ashram, the Beatles did not, for a change, have to worry about "being stars and celebrities" and the inevitable tensions that this involved.

"So a sabbatical did change the Beatles, at least temporarily, and particularly the songs they wrote in the ashram, because these were all individual pieces and were not created with an album in mind. That is why the 'White Album', which contains most of these songs, is considered so unique in the Beatles discography," notes Bose.

The real reason behind the Beatles' historic journey, however, is not really known. Bose contends that "destiny played a very strong part" in bringing the Beatles to India. It so happened, he explains, that George Harrison, the lead guitarist of the band, almost accidentally picked up the sitar on a film set.

"Harrison's intense relationship with Pandit Ravi Shankar played an equal, if not larger role, than Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's transcendental camp... Some of the people who knew both Harrison and Ravi Shankar described their close friendship as a karmic connection -- as if they were related in a previous birth.

"And the famous sitarist himself once commented that George's surprising affinity to Indian music, culture and religion could perhaps be only explained in terms of the Hindu belief in reincarnation," says Bose, who has previously authored "For Reasons of State", a book on the emergency; and "Behenji", a biography of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.

The Beatles visit had another fallout: It generated huge interest in India across the West. "It certainly motivated thousands and thousands of backpackers from Europe and the United States to trek across India -- and many of them stayed back as Hippies," he says.

On what prompted him to write "Across The Universe..." at this juncture, Bose says that it is "a labour of love" and a tribute to the Beatles from a fan who fell in love with them as a teenager in the mid-1960s.

"I fought with my father over listening to their music, copying their psychedelic clothes and, of course, keeping my hair as long as the lads from Liverpool. At the same time, it was not just hero worship of the Fab Four... (I wrote the book as) I really felt there was a big hole in the huge number of books on the Beatles," he maintains, the "big hole" being their affair with India.

The English rock band that was formed in Liverpool in 1960 -- with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band of their times. Ringo, the drummer of the band, had to go back after a fortnight in Rishikesh because "his chronic stomach condition could not take Indian food and also because his wife Maureen was afraid of insects".

The three-hundred page book, published by Penguin Viking, comes with an elaborate back note section, where the author has provided relevant references.

(Saket Suman can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in)

http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/the-beatles-reinvented-themselves-in-rishikesh-ians-interview-118031700196_1.html

Colombia deal won Santos Nobel, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar played key role in that pact

TOI
October 8, 2016

BENGALURU: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of The Art of Living, played an important role in the Colombian peace process for ending civil war, for which President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
When the 52-year-old civil war formally ended with the signing of the peace agreement between Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and the Colombian government in Cartagena de Indias on September 26, Sri Sri was invited by Santos and FARC to the ceremony.

After the event, Santos told Sri Sri: "Thank you for everything you have done for the peace process. You have been a great support and friend of this process. All your help is very useful and your spiritual guidance is so important and I'll be grateful forever."
During his visit to Colombia, Sri Sri addressed 500 social activists, inviting them to cultivate inner peace and support the peace process. He also met Colombia's post-conflict Rafael Pardo and discussed ways to build peace and reconciliation.
In September, The Art of Living had facilitated a meeting between FARC leaders and the families of 12 persons who were kidnapped, held captive and finally killed by FARC (only one survived). During this meeting, families of the victims expressed their suffering to the perpetrators. The meeting ended with the families and FARC leaders holding hands and praying. "Our effort to fly victims to Havana for a forgiveness programme was important in turning the tide for a yes to the referendum in Colombia," Sri Sri had tweeted about the meeting.
Sri Sri reiterated his support to the process of reconciliation and forgiveness that Colombia embarked on after the plebiscite on October 2. "The challenge of peace in Colombia can make this nation the new Switzerland of Latin America if we work together to unite the hearts and minds of Colombians," he said.
Sri Sri has been invited to be the keynote speaker at Reconciliation Colombia in Cali on November 30.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Colombia-deal-won-Santos-Nobel-Sri-Sri-Ravi-Shankar-played-key-role-in-that-pact/articleshow/54745723.cms

10 Curious Scandals of Indian Swamis

Wonderslist

You must have heard of those long-bearded spiritual gurus who promises you an advance ticket to heaven if you pay him some big fat dollars. Here’s a trivia, in my mother-tongue Bengali the term ‘swami’ means husband. Anyway, every Indian swami has one time or the other been related to intimate contact with opposite gender in one way or the other. As they say sex and spirit go hand in hand! This is how ­­­­­­­­­; Here below are 10 Curious Scandals of Indian Swamis – The Curious Cases of Indian Swamis;

10. Caught in the act – Swami Nithyananda

On the day of March 10, 2010 this godman was tainted and painted red by Sun TV (news channel). For even a godman needs a hot full body massage with occasional dips of kisses followed by other such acts (though the video here has deleted most of the racy stuffs). Swami was rather lucky getting it done by a popular actresses. I can hear the sighs.

Nithyananda later said in an interview that he was in a state of ‘samadhi’ i.e. trance while being unrobed & massaged (anyone would be, right?). With the pressure mounting swami made a startling revelation that he was actually impotent. The man has some nerve, we got to give him that!

And this ain’t all, condom, drugs and more secrets told the story of why this ‘playboy’ was in real trouble. When Arathi Rao, a former devotee alleged rape, swami went into hiding digging and further extending the ditch he was in. Because when the police went to nab the man in his ashram they were goggle-eyed to find a heap of condom and ganja (drugs) inside the premise. And then came the answer to the cryptic question, it was Arathi Rao who had secretly recorded the swami’s exceptionally hot moments. Naughty girl!

9. Lets Play Brother-Sister – Asharam Bapu

He’s our current favourite in India. This controversial godman hit the nerve of every rational Indian when making a remark on the2012 Delhi gangrape saying that the girl raped was also to be blamed. He further added that the girl “should have called the culprits brothers and begged before them to stop… This could have saved her dignity and life.” To exemplify his hideous theory he said “Can one hand clap? I don’t think so.”

We don’t think so either swami, especially since he has been arrested for paedophilic behaviour recently. This is what is generally called tit-for-tat.

This January, 7 more girls have poured out their tales of horror (which includes forced oral) to the police who have collected the statement of around 100 people, enough to build up a case against this self-styled godman.

8. Like Father, Like Son – Narayan Sai

Asaram Bapu’s has proven that the pull of blood relations is quiet thick. Two sisters had lodged complaints against Sai and his father Asaram of rape, sexual assault and illegal confinement. Grilled in police interrogation and under the hawk-eyed presence of his estranged wife, Sai had revealed physical relationships with eight of his female disciples, and in an OMG moment confessed of even fathering a child with one of his sevikas (disciple).

7. Oiled All Over – Sathya Sai Baba

Sai Baba was no novice to controversy (yes, he is dead). Death couldn’t stop him from featuring in this list though. Plunge into Wikipedia, you’ll find a full 1000 words collection of accused misdeeds under the‘criticism and controversy’ section.

In 2002 a documentary produced by Denmark’s national television and radio broadcast company, Danmarks Radio (DR), named “Seduced By Sai Baba”, presented interviews with Alaya Rahm who alleged sexual abuse by this swami. Again in a BBC documentary titled The Secret Swami, one of Swami’s critics had claimed that an ex-devotee had confined to him about the repellent swami’s sexual behaviour when once he had “put the oil on his hands, told me to drop my pants and rubbed my genitals with the oil”. Even Sai Baba’s multi-millionaire devotee clearly believes in these rumours; see here.

6. Believe It or Not, It’s The ‘Guru’ – Rajneesh

This one was a mash up (yes, he is dead too) and had quiet an international reputation. Popularly known as Osho since 1989, he was a break from the mainstream conventional hoodoo swamis. They even have a cool international website of an Osho Meditation Resort [http://www.osho.com/].

Coming to the point, this singular swami was actually known as the ‘sx guru’ and was quiet a news maker owing to his provocative lectures in his ashrams. And you thought swamis are conservative huh?

Initially, in his Pune Ashram (which is flourishing like never before) some groups were allowed intimated relationship between the participants’. Osho argued, unlike other religious advocators that psychological repression leads to suppression of significant feeling that later raises their ugly heads in some other guise (like rape); he added that sexual repression results in societies becoming obsessed with sex. Osho’s ideas on sex, marriage, family and relationships contradicted traditional views, arousing anger and opposition around the world.

Though being a candid supporter of homos.xuality at the beginning, he later retracted this views and said “homosxuals…. were perverted, created the disease AIDS.” And just when you thought you were beginning to like this sex-swami. Alas!

5. Exposed – Kripalu Maharaj

He died in November 2013 at the age of 91 not before being exposed by an American follower Karen Johnson in her book “Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus: How I Was Conned by a Dangerous Cult” And Why I Will Not Keep Their Secrets.”

The book is concentrated on the swami’s bed room rituals. In an interview Karen said “Because he is considered to be an avatar of Krishna, his intimated touch and so on are supposed to be a gift of divine love, or prema dan. He gives private audiences to women he can manipulate and blesses them by intimated touch. He invites women to give him ‘charan seva’, a kind of massaging ritual which usually incorporates sexual touching.”

Karen had a very bad experience in past 15 years in his ashram. She told that she was a member of ‘Jagadguru Kripalu Council’ and had spend 15 years of her life in his JKP ashram situated in Austin city. Wonder what took her so long to come out?

Back in 2002 Kripalu was alleged to have raped and molested a 22-year-old Guyanese woman in a prayer-room, at a house in which he was staying in San Fernando, when she visited him in May of that year.

4. Intensive Swami – Ichadhari Baba Bheemanand

This self-styled swami apparently while teaching spirituality ran a prostitute racket, or so it was alleged back in 2010. It was said to be a business worth Rs 500 crore (5 billion USD). He used to supply women, including air hostesses, students and house wives, to high end clients all across Delhi and earned approximately Rs 2.5 lakh (4000 USD) everyday. Ichadhari baba collected a mind-boggling amount of Rs. 25000 crores (25 billion USD) by his s..x racket.

The 39-year-old Swamin Bhimanand, whose real name is Shreemurath Dwivedi, started working in Delhi as a security guard in 1988 until in 1997 when he was arrested for managing a prostitution ring. When he got out of jail, he took up religion simply as a front to his sleazy dealings. Police had claimed to have recovered five diaries from him which have the names, phone numbers and even rates of certain prostitutes. Bulls-eye, another swami down.

If you have a tremendous wish to see this swami going intimated in a dance, watch above video.

3. Mafia Style Swami – Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

Curious Scandals of Indian Swamis

Alleged malpractices at the Dera first came to light in 2002 when an anonymous letter reached to then Prime Minister of India, accusing this swami of rape and mass-scale sexual exploitation.

“There are 35 to 40 girls here who have compromised themselves at the Dera. We appear to be devis, but are treated like prostitutes,” the woman wrote in her letter, adding: “My life is in danger, so I will not reveal my name.”

Since then, Ram Rahim’s name has figured in many criminal cases, including the murder of a journalist in July 2002. This guy seems grave!

The police had caught hold of his former driver who said that sexual exploitation was rampant, and that several male followers had been forcibly castrated on Rahim’s orders. This guy is gross as well.

2. When The Beatles Turned to a Swami – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Curious Scandals of Indian Swamis

John Lennon of The Beatles had, during his visit to India written a song ‘Sexy Sadie’ which he had wanted to actually name ‘Maharishi’ as it was based on the swami himself. Yogi made to the limelight by becoming ‘spiritual advisors to The Beatles’ in 1968. During their stay, the Beatles heard that the Maharishi had made sexual advances towards Mia Farrow; though Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Cynthia Lennon later said that they felt the story was fabricated. The original title was changed on George Harrison’s request.

Lennon once said of the song: “That was inspired by Maharishi. I wrote it when we had our bags packed and were leaving. It was the last piece I wrote before I left India. I just called him, ‘Sexy Sadie,’ instead of (sings) ‘Maharishi what have you done, you made a fool…’ I was leaving the Maharishi with a bad taste.” He told Rolling Stone that when the Maharishi asked why he was leaving, he replied, “Well, if you’re so cosmic, you’ll know why.”

Later the band dumped the swami.

John had subsequently said after many years, “There is no guru. You have to believe in yourself. You’ve got to get down to your own God in your own temple. It’s all down to you, mate.” I say, good advice mate.

1. The This One Makes Sense Swami – Ravishankar

The man which topped the list of 10 curious scandals of Indian swamis is none other than Ravi Shankar. Last December, when the Supreme Court of India overturned the 2009 landmark adjudication of decriminalizing homosxuality, spiritual swami Ravi Shankar wrote on Twitter – “Homosexuality has never been considered a crime in Hindu culture. In fact, Lord Ayyappa was born of Hari-Hara (Vishnu and Shiva).”

He later tweeted – “Homosexuality, not a crime in any Smriti. Everyone has male and female elements. According to their dominance, tendencies show up and may change.” In another post Sri Sri wrote – “Nobody should face discrimination because of their sexual preferences. To be branded a criminal for this is absurd.”

During the 2012 Delhi gang rape, instead of giving a preposterous gut-revolting comment like the other swamis Sri Sri Ravi Shankar through his social initiative VFABI protested against such barbarism.

For the record, this swami has been honoured by several countries for his humanitarian work and had even been the honorary citizen and Goodwill Ambassador of the city of Houston, USA back in 2008.

http://www.wonderslist.com/10-curious-scandals-of-indian-swamis/

How Ravi Shankar broke with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to becoming Sri Sri

Bhavdeep Kang
Scroll.in
March 21, 2016

An excerpt from a forthcoming book profiling India’s ‘godmen’.

Ravi Shankar’s first major tryst with organised spirituality was a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who took an immediate shine to him. The next thing he knew, he was whisked off to Switzerland and found himself travelling the world with his guru.

Sri Sri recalled his days with Mahesh Yogi as follows: “I was into studying the Vedas and he used to conduct these Vedic Science conferences around the country. So many scientists and scholars would come and I attended one of the meetings. He just picked me up from one of these and said, ‘You come with me.’ He asked me to come to Switzerland for a month or so and then he kept extending. That one month became almost a year. But I was still interested in doing my formal degree. So that is how it started. I was organising various things: yagya, conferences on Vedic Science, Ayurveda.”

MN Chakravarti, a former teacher of Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation, who knew Ravi well those years, had a different story to tell. According to him, in 1975, when Sri Sri was around twenty years old, he had attended a TM class in Melkote (in district Mandya, Karnataka) of which he was the coordinator. He initiated the young man into Maharishi’s programme after which the two got to know each other well. “We would go to his home in Jayanagar (in Bengaluru; now the Sri Sri Media Centre) and his mother would feed us,” recalled Chakravarti.

However, MN Chakravarti found Ravi’s father, RSV Ratnam extremely ambitious, “sort of like a star mom”. He didn’t think Sri Sri was either ambitious or interested in money. “He was a nice boy, very eager, decent and smart. His sister, too, was very nice.”

Later, Ravi did a stint in Rishikesh, where Maharishi’s ashram (famously inhabited by the Beatles for a space) was located. “We went there for the advanced course. You know, each round of meditation involves 40 minutes and we as teachers are expected to do three rounds. He used to tease me and say that as a senior, I should do more.”

He was “sweet-looking”, said M N Chakravarti, the kind of boy whose cheeks people have an irresistible urge to pinch. Despite the flowing hair and beard, he has more than a touch of the effeminate, which leads one to ask whether spiritual leaders have a strong feminine side.

“You are just the way you are naturally. It is for others to perceive the masculine or feminine. Because you can’t say I want to be this way or I have to be this way and I should not be this way. No, be absolutely free and be natural.”

Unlike some great sages in Indian mythology who crossed over from pleasure to asceticism, Ravi had none of the vices associated with callow youth. He neither smoked nor drank. He loved cinema though and in Rishikesh, “He used to take the boatman along with him, to cross the Ganga to town and see a film… otherwise, there would be no boat on the way back. He would tap on the window of our hostel and I would let him in,” said Chakravarti.

So far, the lad showed no sign of extraordinary powers, until one day when he arrived in Kalady, Adi Shankara’s birthplace in Kerala. According to Chakravarti,” Here, I was given an advanced technique by Maharishi. Ravi was not, although he was there. Maharishi was to leave from a small airstrip 20 kms away. Then Ravi made a prediction. He said Maharishi’s plane would stop, the door would open and an emissary would come and ask for me.”

Ravi Shankar was right, but only partly. The Maharishi’s plane did stop and his secretary did come out. But the chosen one was Ravi, not MN Chakravarti.

The stories converge after that. Ravi was given charge of Maharishi’s Institute of Vedic & Management Sciences, in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). He shadowed his guru day and night, flew with him to every destination and was soon regarded his successor. Then suddenly one day, Ravi left – according to him, out of his own volition. Yet another story which did the rounds was that Ravi had, albeit inadvertently, leaked sensitive information to a foreigner who turned out to be an intelligence operative and was then sent out of the institute on some trumped up charge involving voucher payments.

So, what was the real story? Sri Sri spoke in euphemisms, as is his wont.

“It (relationship with Maharishi) was very good, nice, loving and cordial. I am sure they had a lot of expectations from me, but then I went into silence and I started teaching Sudarshan Kriya (SKY). He knew I could not stay. It was like a golden cage for me. I needed to connect to grassroots level people. At that time (with Maharishi), I met Mrs (Indira) Gandhi, Jagjivan Ram, all the top people of the country but suddenly, I took leave from all that and changed to village-level persons. I travelled to small and remote villages. My heart was more with them. The sewa (service) aspect was not part of that (the TM) movement. That movement was more intellectual, based on meditation. I was more interested in sewa.”

By the time Sri Sri joined Maharishi, his most spectacular disciples, the Beatles, had already broken up. But more than a decade later, he would be introduced to them by a former TM practitioner, Michael Fischman. Now head of AoL in North America, Fischman played the Beatles for Sri Sri, after he spotted a picture of the band with Maharishi on his coffee table.

Sri Sri was delighted with the lyrics ofAcross the Universe, particularly the chant, “Jai Guru Deva”. He then sat through all the numbers inspired by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and later commented that the song Within You Without You was based on a traditional Indian raga.

In Guru of Joy, Francois Gautier writes that very little is known about Guruji’s time with Maharishi, largely because Sri Sri himself appears reluctant to dwell on it in any detail. What seems clear is that he was a favourite with Maharishi who saw him as a trusted aide and a possible heir. But one particularly unfortunate event appeared to have started his fall from grace.

In 1980, a massive yagya, featuring 6,000 pandits, was to be organised at Maharishi Nagar, a vast ashram in NOIDA, in UP. In Sri Sri’s words:

“Maharishi had his own style of celebrating and did everything with a lot of pomp and show. For this particular ceremony, he wanted everything to be in yellow as far as the eye could see, as this was the colour of goddess Laxmi. So all the sweets were to be yellow, decorations in yellow and gold coins from different countries were brought for this yagya.”

Despite all the preparation, the yagya degenerated into chaos, with the pandits running riot and protesting against Ravi Shankar.

The disastrous event is described succinctly by Michael Fischman in his book, Stumbling Into Infinity. To begin with, many amongst the huge contingent of pandits recruited for the yagya were carpet-baggers who had been signed up by unscrupulous elements on the promise of rewards and a permanent place in Maharishi Nagar. A rumour that they would be packed off without the promised largesse sent them into a frenzy. Eventually, despite the opposition, Ravi Shankar stepped in and calmed the pandits down with the assurance that no one would be evicted.

Although he regained many of the brownie points that he’d lost when the yagya flopped, his deft handling of the fallout created jealousy.

His less favoured colleagues began to poison Maharishi against the young pandit, suggesting that he was trying to usurp his guru’s place.

Finally, the tipping point came when Maharishi, with the objective of starting Vedic schools all over India, sent Ravi Shankar to establish the Ved Vigyan Vidya Peeth in Bengaluru, in 1985. Not only was a trust set up with Sri Sri, the late Justice V R Krishna Iyer, Lakshman Rao (then Mayor of Bengaluru) and Justice P N Bhagawati, sixty acres of land had been allotted by the Karnataka government in the outskirts of the city on a thirty-year lease, with a plan to admit 200 children to the school.

A little later, Maharishi took a random decision to not only shut down the schools but transfer all the kids to Delhi. Ravi rebelled and insisted he would continue to care for the children in Bengaluru. The battlelines were now clearly drawn between the guru and his favourite shishya.

How difficult was it to part with his guru? I asked Sri Sri. “It was very tough. On the one hand, I had a vision. There were so many people waiting for me. On the other hand, I felt I could not leave because there was no reason. I had all my comforts, I had everything. At that age, I had seen almost everything in the world. It was tough to take an adventurous step of starting something from the very beginning and following my own vision, my passion of really connecting with grassroots people. From that platform, I could not do it. I have heard that they were not very happy that I embarked on something different.”

Excerpted with permission from the forthcoming Gurus: Stories of India’s Leading Babas, Bhavdeep Kang, Westland Books.

We welcome your comments atletters@scroll.in.Ravi ShankarMaharis

http://scroll.in/article/805429/how-ravi-shankar-broke-with-maharishi-mahesh-yogi-to-becoming-sri-sri

Not so 'cultural' about World Culture Festival: Over 70 cases of theft filed in 3 days

New Delhi: Besides facing criticism for flouting environmental norms, the World Culture Festival organised by renowned spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living (AoL) foundation also saw Delhi Police registering over 70 cases of theft during the three-day event.

ZNews

March 15, 2016

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living (AoL) foundation

According to reports, Delhi Police registered over 70 First Information Reports related to theft during the event that ended on Sunday.

According to the ''The Indian Express'', over 30 people, including four women, have been arrested in cases related to theft of cash, mobile phones, laptops and even a Ganesh idol.

The event was organised by the AoL to mark the foundation's 35th anniversary.

“We have nabbed several people who came from outside Delhi, and recovered a large number of stolen valuables from their possession,” Manpreet Singh Randhawa, DCP, Delhi Police was quoted as saying.

Most of those arrested are from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The Art of Living had courted a controversy for flouting environmental norms and causing damage to the fragile ecosystem of Yamina river and the alleged 'misuse' of the Army to build a pontoon bridge.

The National Green Tribunal slapped a fine of Rs 5 crore on the AoL for allegedly damaging a 1,000-acre area due to preparations for the 3-day festival, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders.

First Published: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 - 10:47

http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/not-so-cultural-about-world-culture-festival-over-70-cases-of-theft-filed-in-3-days_1865741.html

Are Spiritual Gurus Above The Law? Well, It Certainly Looks Like It In Sri Sri’s Case

Apoorv Pathak:
Reuters/Adnan Abidi.

The flagrant violation of public safety safeguards and disregard for environmental concerns in hosting the World Culture Festival has turned the event into a disaster waiting to happen.

The Delhi High Court has termed it as anecological disaster. An expert committee has estimated that the cost of undoing the damage to the environment would amount to Rs. 120 crores. The Central Public Works Department has judged its stage to be structurally unsafe. The Delhi Police has flagged it for serious security concerns and over 80 farmers are on a protest for illegal takeover their cropland without any due compensation.

So, one would have thought the event would be cancelled. But, even with the organisers facing harsh legal action, alas, one would be mistaken. Such is the influence of the spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar that not just will he have the prime minister attend the event, he has also refused to pay the symbolic fine of Rs. five crores, confident that the rule of law in India does not apply to spiritual gurus.

The brazen contempt for rules, though problematic in itself, has severely undermined public interest and left the public at the mercy of the gods to face disasters to which it seems they have deliberately been made vulnerable by a benign neglect of norms.

Worsen Delhi’s Water Scarcity

Every summer Delhi suffers from a chronic shortage of groundwater which is an important source of water for Delhi. The floodplains of the Yamuna are the most important groundwater recharging sites. By damaging their natural conditions and hardening the surface as is required for the event, their ability to absorb water would be significantly reduced. This is among the important reasons why construction activity is prohibited above the floodplains.

By holding such a large-scale event in this ecologically vital and vulnerable area, the groundwater recharge will be affected, worsening Delhi’s water crisis.

Increased Flood Vulnerability Of Delhi

The consequence of reduced water absorption ability won’t just be limited to water scarcity but also extend to worsening the flooding Delhi witness every monsoon. Any such large-scale exemption of prohibition on activities on the floodplain sets a bad precedent for conservation in future. When the violations of Commonwealth were legitimised, the current organiser used that as an excuse to get away with it as well. If this is allowed, a plethora of violations will follow as there is no reason why others should not be extended the same favour.

Every year or two our disregard for water bodies, their floodplains and marshland comes back to haunt us. If it was Uttarkashi floods in 2013, then it was the Kashmir flood in 2014 and Chennai in 2015. Why would we deliberately turn the gaze of nature towards Delhi for it to unleash its wrath in 2016?

Stampede Risk

Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. Year in and year out the nation loses many precious lives due to ill managed mass gatherings where adequate arrangements to handle the crowd are missing. This event has all the factors that increase the chances of a stampede. With the river on one side and weak soil on the other, the site has a narrow access. The weak ground, it is possible, might give in due to the pressure of millions gathering on it and the stage lacks proper structural support. Also, mitigating measures are conspicuous due to their absence. Heaven forbid if there is some mishap, who will be responsible? The politicians who caved in to appease the powerful spiritual leader or the courts who were presented with a fait accompli and could do precious little than fine it?

The sad reality is that the event exposed the rotten collusion between our politicians and spiritual gurus. They care a penny for the impact of their action on the common citizens. The gurus claim to help us discover the gods. In this instance, indeed, they did help us discover the gods but in a very perverse way – we are left at the mercy of the gods and have no alternative but hope. All we can do is pray that the gods are watching out for us, else, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2016/03/yamuna-world-culture-festival-disaster-waiting-to-happen/

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: High-profile yogi wielding political power; All you need to know about the founder of Art of Living

With an estimated wealth of $184,094,000 and holding proximity to the highest level in the Indian establishment, Sri Sri could arguably be the most influential godman in India.

Mohammed Uzair Shaikh
March 9, 2016

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is at the centre of controversy surrounding the mega-cultural event being organized at the banks of River Yamuna. Regarded as a contemporary saint, Sri Sri is one of the most influential godmen in India. Once rated as the fifth most powerful man in the nation, Sri Sri wields real power. Unlike Kabir, Dyaneshwar or Hari Das, this high-profile yogi has fame, money and manpower.

Although he demands plurality in the society, Sri Sri is one of the most stringent bashers of the ‘left’. Despite claiming to be an agnostic towards political ideologies, Sri Sri is regarded to be the moderate face of Sangh Parivar. Sri Sri claims to be a non-partisan player, but his affinity is quite evident towards the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which was not only endorsed by the godman, but his volunteers were part of the highly successful ‘NaMo’ campaign. (ALSO READ: Army build bridges for Art of Living event on Yamuna Banks; State machinery committed to godman Sri Sri Ravi Shankar?)

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With an estimated wealth of $184,094,000 and holding proximity to the highest level in the Indian establishment, Sri Sri could arguably be the most influential cult leader in India. Here are the quick takeaways from Sri Sri’s highly successful career as a godman originating nearly four decades back:

- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was born in the town of Papanasam in Tamil Nadu. His date of birth is May 13, 1956. He was named as Ravi Shankar, and the honorific title of Sri Sri was accorded years later when he turned into a Vedic preacher.

- During his early childhood, Sri Sri was influenced his by teacher Sudhakar Chaturvedi, who was a committed Gandhian. However, during his teenage years, he got deeply rooted into the saffron world, as he turned into a disciple of saint Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

- Ravi Shankar earned a degree in science from Bangalore University. He graduated from St Joseph’s College. Following his education, he started working full-time with Maharishi to spread Vedic sciences.

- The transformation in Sri Sri’s life came when in 1978, when he learnt the Sudarshan Kriya, a revolutionary meditation form, which he claims to have received from divine sources. Sri Sri claims that he was was meditating for 10 days on the banks of River Bhadra in Shimoga village of Karnataka. The Sudarshan Kriya is considered to be the USP of Sri Sri, which is regarded as a life-changing form of meditation.

- After preaching spirituality and meditation for nearly three years in different parts of the world, Sri Sri founded the Art Of Living organization with the vision of spreading humanity, spirituality and love among people all over the world. However, AOL does not offer its services for free. The courses offered by the organization are charged a decent amount depending upon the society where the courses are being offered.

- Sri Sri turned into a millionaire by the end of 90s’ when the Art of Living recorded more than 1 crore international followers. In 1997, he formed International Association for Human Values, a Geneva-based charitable organization. It drew charity from millions of AOL members. In the subsequent years, Ravi Shankar formed the following assets - Art of Living Centre, Sri Sri Shankar Vidya Mandir Trust, PU College and Sri Sri Centre for Media Studies in Bangalore, whereas the Sri Sri University and Art of Living Health & Educational Trust are located in United States.

- Former members of Art of Living accuse Sri Sri of taking over some of the properties of another godman Swami Nithyananda after his scandalous sex tape came out. However, the allegations are challenged in US court.

- In 2003, Sri Sri attempted to create a place for himself in the corporate world by initiating ‘Ethics in Business – Corporate Culture & Spirituality dialogue’. The aim is to attract employees of several corporate firms to join the AOL courses which would prove to be stress-buster in their lives.

- Sri Sri is one of the known opposers of the Indian ‘Left’, raising the fears of naxalism on several occasions during his public meetings. He steered a controversy in 2012 by alleging that the Government schools are responsible for introducing the Marxist ideology to the students. At the time, the country was ruled by Congress-led UPA. He was referring to the 60-year-rule of Congress in the nation since independence and the reliance of left academia for all those decades.

- In 2013, Sri Sri gave a call to all his supporters to contribute towards Narendra Modi’s prime ministerial run. Members of his social outfit - Volunteer For a Better India (VFBI) were involved in the ‘NaMo’ campaign. In his public satsangs, he severely criticised the Congress and accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Left of conspiring with the grand-old party to stop a nationalist like Narendra Modi from coming to power. In case, if you want to check out the political conspiracy theories of Sri Sri, you can view it here:

- In January 2016, Sri Sri was awarded the Padma Bhushan award by the Indian Government. In the subsequent months, he took a more active role in socio-political events attempting to turn a mediator between Shani Shingnapur temple authorities and the protesting women of Bhumata Ranragini Brigade. He also drew limelight by reiterating that the JNU students involved in a row with the Centre are ‘anti-nationalists’.

http://www.india.com/news/india/sri-sri-ravi-shankar-high-profile-yogi-wielding-political-power-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-founder-of-art-of-living-1018149/

Indian guru criticised for festival that risks damaging ecosystem

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s World Culture festival is to be held on the Yamuna river, with campaigners saying it risks ‘an everlasting impact on the environment’

The Guardian
Agence France-Presse in Delhi
March 1, 2016

Indian guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has come under fire for a festival to promote peace that environmentalists say risks damaging the delicate ecosystem of Delhi’s Yamuna river.

Critics say the World Culture festival, to be held from 11 March on the banks of the river with millions of fans – including India’s prime minister – in attendance, will cause lasting environmental damage.

Organisers say they expect 3.5 million people to attend the three-day event, which will feature yoga and meditation sessions, peace prayers by Sanskrit scholars and traditional cultural performances from around the world.

Manoj Mishra, of the Live Yamuna campaign, said more than 1,000 acres had been cleared to make way for a stage, pontoon bridges, portable cabins and parking.

“Reed beds were cleared, vegetation was chopped for a two-and-a-half day event, which will leave an everlasting impact on the environment,” Mishra said.

Shankar’s Art of Living foundation, which is organising the festival, denied there would be any permanent impact and said it had secured permission from the authorities to hold the event. “We have used only eco-friendly material like wood, mud, cloth and scaffolding towards building a temporary stage,” the foundation said.

The event is billed as a platform “for spiritual and religious leaders, politicians, peacemakers and artists to spread the message of global peace and harmony”.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/01/renowned-indian-guru-criticised-for-festival-that-risks-damaging-ecosystem

Spiritual guru Ravi Shankar says brokering peace with ULFA chief

Rahul Karmakar

Hindustan Times, Guwahati
December 17, 2015

Spiritual guru Ravi Shankar, who was in the Assam capital for a mass meditation camp on Wednesday, said he has been brokering peace with elusive United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) chief Paresh Barua.

The latter has denied discussing truce with the founder of the Art of Living Foundation.

“I have been in touch with Paresh Barua, and I spoke to him today too. I have been trying to convince him to pursue peace that would be good for Assam and India as a whole,” Ravi Shankar told reporters here.

He was hopeful of a positive outcome. “Let’s see when that happens.”

Hours later, Barua called up a couple of TV channels and denied having let the spiritual leader be a mediator for peace. “We have not talked about the possibility of giving up our armed struggle against a colonial New Delhi,” he said.

Before Ravi Shankar, several celebrities had offered to mediate between New Delhi and Barua. Prominent among them were music legend Bhupen Hazarika and Assamese litterateur Mamoni Raisom Goswami, both of whom died within a fortnight of each other in November 2011.

Barua, police officials said, is virtually the last man standing in the ULFA as most of its leaders have either left the organisation to pursue business, surrendered, or are in jail awaiting trial.

Formed in 1979, the ULFA became a major subversive force until military operations since 1990 broke its back. Many leaders and cadre surrendered in 1992 but the top leadership continued to wage war from bases in Bangladesh and Bhutan.

A flush-out operation in Bhutan in December 2003 killed a few of its top leaders. Some disappeared without a trace while others were handed over to India.

Despite the Bhutan setback, ULFA leaders allegedly enjoyed the patronage of the Khaleda Zia government in Bangladesh. But the return of the India-friendly Sheikh Hasina government in 2008 made it difficult for the rebels to use Bangladeshi soil.

The action against Northeast rebels in Bangladesh since 2009 led to the arrest of ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Barua and several others. National Democratic Front of Bodoland chief Ranjan Daimary met a similar fate too.

Rajkhowa subsequently led the pro-talks ULFA group for several rounds of dialogue with the Centre. Opposed to his forum, Barua formed the ULFA-I with his band of supporters in 2013.

Intelligence officials said Barua’s position has been considerably weakened after Bangladesh handed over ULFA founding-member and general secretary Anup Chetia to India in November. Chetia is Barua’s cousin and their ancestral homes at Jerai Chokolibhroia village in eastern Assam are side by side.

The pro-talks faction wants Chetia, who was in captivity in Bangladesh for 18 years, to be part of the peace process. But officials said certain formalities needed to be fulfilled before he could do so.

Chetia, accused in a number of kidnapping, murder and extortion cases in Assam, said he was ready for peace talks. He also sought forgiveness from the people of Assam for “our past mistakes”.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/spiritual-guru-ravi-shankar-says-brokering-peace-with-ulfa-chief/story-gz3ScdMNp5VN7a44xBjStJ.html

In India, Dow Jones Meets Dharma

Nandini Lakshman
Bloomberg BusinessWeek
February 08, 2008

A new set of indices measuring such characteristics as good governance and eco-friendliness is winning favor with investors and gurus alike

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Indian sage who taught transcendental meditation to the Beatles, died in the Netherlands on Feb. 5. Back in India, a new generation of gurus is promoting the latest thing to hit the Indian stock market: values investing. Not to be confused with Warren Buffett-style value investing, values-based investing draws on the principles of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. Last month Dow Jones (DJ) launched the faith-based Dow Jones Dharma indices, which measure the performance of 254 companies that have characteristics like good governance and environmental friendliness in common.

A Guru Teaches Techies How to Breathe

September 21, 2003

Bloomberg Business Week

As Arun Nandal prepared to start a new job as a software engineer, the good son touched his parents' feet to seek their blessing. Then he boarded a train and traveled 40 hours from his home in northern India to the country's tech capital, Bangalore, to share his joy with someone almost as important.

That person was Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, well known in India and, increasingly, around the world as guru to the technology class. Nandal, 22, credits Sri Sri and his Art of Living courses on breathing and spiritual development with helping him land his first job, at Lucent Technologies Inc., in Bombay. He says Sri Sri's techniques taught him to concentrate better and helped boost his university grades. "We are very energetic at our age, so we need to focus," says Nandal. "Art of Living helps with that."

The Art of Living in Modern India

Revealer

Jake Halpern

December 12, 2012

When I think of India, the same bizarre sound always resonates in my head. It is not the sound of muezzin, or Bollywood soundtracks, or auto-rickshaw drivers cursing at plodding elephants, though there was plenty of that. No. It’s the sound of a lone man sawing a piece of wood. Actually, it’s stranger than that. It’s the sound of a boom box playing a tape recording of a man sawing wood.

Let me explain. I have lived in India twice. The first time was in 2002. I was there with my girlfriend, Kasia, who was visiting as a medical student. During our stay, we followed the recommendation of a neighbor and took a month-long course offered by the Art of Living Foundation, which is run by a mega-guru named Ravi Shankar (not to be confused with the musician of the same name). I’d never pegged myself as the sort who would benefit from meditation or “spiritual enlightenment,” but I went anyway. Every class, we worked on our breathing – in and then out, in and then out, in and then out – until our minds went blank in a cascade of bliss.