"TO FIND HAPPINESS, YOU NEED TO HAVE A CALM MIND"

The widely acclaimed spiritual leader, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in conversation with Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld, speaks about how to develop wellbeing in troubled times, work-life balance and happiness

- Annurag Batra

Digital technology has created a connected world, which is great for economics and creating wealth but has impacted the quality of life. We are always ‘on’. As a result, we constantly hear people say they are stressed, or are feeling bogged down. Over the last decade, the environment around us has changed dramatically, and has negatively impacted physical and mental wellbeing. People rely on their spiritual wealth to help them overcome stress and chaos. We can safely say that this generation is in the pursuit of wellness, and increasing our spiritual wealth is the most important task of the 21st century.

A renowned spiritual teacher, Gurudev has offered yoga and meditation techniques in formats that are suitable for the contemporary being. Sharing his vision of non-violence, he has played a central role in conflict resolution around the world. He has been credited for his attempts at fostering peace in Colombia, Iraq, the Ivory Coast, Kashmir, and Bihar. He has consistently emphasised interfaith harmony and called for multi-cultural education as a remedy for fanaticism.

Read on for excerpts of the interview.

How did the name ‘Art of Living’ come to your mind?

Forty two years ago when we started, there was a lot of prejudice about yoga, meditation and everything spiritual. In those days if you said Pranayama or Yoga, people would imagine someone standing at the Kumbh mela on one leg or someone lying on a bed of nails. So, I came up with the term ‘Art of Living’. The term managed to create curiosity in people, and they wanted to know what it was. When they started to practice the techniques they saw its benefits in day-to-day life.