The Art of Living Foundation is a volunteer-based, non profit, humanitarian and educational non-governmental organization (NGO). It was founded in 1981 by Ravi Shankar with the vision of creating a stress-free and violence free society, in Bengaluru, India, which also serves as the location of its international centre.
Organization
History
Before founding the Art of Living Foundation, Ravi Shankar worked as an associate of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of the Transcendental Meditation movement.
Evolution of organizational activities
The Art of Living Foundation was established primarily as an educational organisation offering stress management programmes centred on Sudarshan Kriya, along with yoga and meditation.
In 1996, the foundation received special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), marking its formal recognition as a humanitarian non-governmental organisation at the international level. The following year, in 1997, the foundation co-founded the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) in Geneva, a separately registered organisation that obtained its own ECOSOC consultative status and through which many of the foundation's humanitarian and social programmes have since been implemented. During this period, the foundation expanded its scope to include disaster relief, prisoner rehabilitation, and environmental initiatives. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the foundation deployed trauma relief programmes in affected communities in India and Sri Lanka; a subsequent peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Health Psychology found significant reduction in post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among tsunami survivors who received the breathing-based intervention. In 2008, the foundation launched the Mission Green Earth campaign in partnership with the United Nations Millennium Campaign, targeting the planting of 100 million trees to address climate change. The foundation's Prison SMART programme, which delivers breathing and stress management techniques to incarcerated individuals, was independently reported operating in South African prisons during this period.
From 2015 onwards, the foundation's founder Ravi Shankar became directly engaged in active conflict mediation. In June 2015, he participated in peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla organisation in Bogotá and Havana. In August 2017, 68 militants from 11 armed outfits surrendered in Manipur, with the state's Chief Minister crediting Ravi Shankar's peace-building engagement in the region. In March 2019, the Supreme Court of India appointed Ravi Shankar as one of three mediators in the Ayodhya dispute.
The majority of the officers of the organization, along with most of its teachers and staff, are volunteers. Many of its programs are conducted through or in conjunction with a partner organization, the International Association for Human Values (IAHV). It's programs draw on Advaita Vedanta tradition and practices.
The Foundation operates as a charitable or a non-profit organization with chapters in many parts of the world.
Global centres
The Art of Living Foundation maintains residential centres that serve as regional hubs for its programmes and retreats.
The foundation's primary global hub is the Art of Living International Center, located on Kanakapura Road in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The centre was established in 1986. Its principal structure is the Vishalakshi Mantap, a five-tiered meditation hall inaugurated by then Vice President of India Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on 17 January 2003.
The foundation's European centre is located in Bad Antogast, in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the municipality of Oppenau.
In North America, the foundation operates the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina, a 380-acre property in the Blue Ridge Mountains, offering yoga, meditation, and Ayurvedic wellness programmes.
The foundation also operates a centre in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, situated on a 232-acre property and offering retreat accommodation and an Ayurvedic medicine programme.
Affiliated organisations
The Art of Living Foundation operates through several affiliated and associated organisations, each with a distinct legal identity and operational mandate. In India, the foundation's programmes are implemented through its registered public charitable trust, Vyakti Vikas Kendra India (VVKI).
International Association for Human Values
The International Association for Human Values (IAHV) is a separately registered humanitarian organisation co-founded by Ravi Shankar in Geneva in 1997.
Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir schools
The Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir (SSRVM) Trust operates a network of schools across India affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The foundation has been independently reported constructing school facilities for underserved communities, including a school built for children affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Tamil Nadu.
Sri Sri University
Sri Sri University is a private university established in Cuttack, Odisha, India, under the aegis of the SSRVM Trust. It was notified as a legal entity by the Higher Education Department of the Government of Odisha on 22 February 2012, following scrutiny by a High Power Committee, with the notification published in an extraordinary issue of the Odisha Government Gazette. The university is listed among private universities recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India and holds approvals from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), along with an 'A' grade accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
Sri Sri College of Ayurvedic Science and Research
The Sri Sri College of Ayurvedic Science and Research, located in Bangalore, Karnataka, is approved by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) under the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, and is affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences.
Sri Sri School of Yoga
The Sri Sri School of Yoga is a yoga teacher training institution founded by Ravi Shankar. It has been registered as a Registered Yoga School (RYS 200) with Yoga Alliance, USA since 2010. The school is a member of the Indian Yoga Association, a self-regulatory body established in 2008 and approved by the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India.
Programmes and courses
Its stress-elimination and self-development programs are based on the breathing technique Sudarshan Kriya, Meditation and yoga. These courses have been conducted for students and faculty, firemen, and prisoners. empowerment of women, campaigns against female feticide, and environmental sustainability.
Project Vidarbha
In 2007, with the support of the state government, volunteers from the foundation provided training to farmers in six Vidarbha districts in organic and zero-budget farming, rainwater harvesting, and multiple cropping, as well as teaching them the Art of Living course. The next year, the foundation said it had to reduce the scale of its work after the state government announced loan waiver for farmers and pulled back funding for the foundation's project
In 2008, Ravi Shankar announced the extension of the program to Andhra Pradesh to end farmer suicides from financial stress in that state.
Mission Green Earth
in 2008, the foundation launched 'Mission Green Earth Stand Up Take Action' campaign to plant 100 million trees to help reduce global warming and protect the environment, in partnership with United Nations Millennium Campaign and United Nations Environment Programme.
River Rejuvenation Projects
In February 2013, the foundation launched a three-year program to rejuvenate the Kumudavathi River (in Bangalore) under its 'Volunteer for Better India' campaign along with civic authorities and environmentalists to address water shortage problems. Ravi Shankar led a walkathon in Bangalore to create awareness about the program. The project had revived five water-recharge wells, constructed 74 boulder checks, cleaned up 18 step wells and planted 2,350 saplings in seven villages by June 2014.
Similar efforts were held to revive Pallar River in Andhra Pradesh, Manjra river in Maharashtra, and Vedavathi River in Karnataka.
Volunteer For a Better India
The Art of Living, along with UN agencies, NGOs and civil society, launched Volunteer For a Better India (VFABI) on 5 December 2012.
VFABI protested against the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case.
In May 2013, 1,634 volunteers distributed medicines worth Rs. 2.2 million under the guidance of 262 doctors to over 20,000 slum dwellers in Delhi through 108 free health camps organized in collaboration with the Indian Medical Association.
In September 2013, the 'I vote for better India' initiative was launched to increase awareness of the importance of voting as a responsibility towards the nation.
Controversies
Settlement with anonymous bloggers
In 2010, Art of Living sued two anonymous bloggers for defamation, trade libel, copyright infringement and disclosing trade secrets. The two claimed to be former teachers/followers of Art of Living and had written posts critical of the foundation. The Foundation's request to unmask the bloggers' identities was denied, and the judge allowed only the trade secrets claim to go to trial.
In a 2012 settlement, the bloggers agreed to freeze their existing blogs with no restriction on starting up new blogs critical of Art of Living.
Land encroachment
In 2011, a public-interest litigation petition filed in the Karnataka High Court alleged that Art of Living had constructed structures on the Udipalya tank. The government of Karnataka found on inspection that the foundation had encroached upon of the tank area and issued a show cause notice.
World Culture Festival on Yamuna flood plains
Art of Living Foundation organised the World Culture Festival on the Yamuna Flood plains in March 2016. A committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal recommended a fine of Rs 1,200 million on Art of Living Foundation for damaging the ecology of the flood plains. The fine was later reduced to Rs 50 million, with no further events to be allowed at that location. After initially disputing the fine, with Ravi Shankar declaring that he would rather go to prison, the foundation paid on 3 June 2016. The matter is still under litigation with the Foundation denying any wrongdoing.
Burning of the Islamabad center in Pakistan
After the organization's yoga center in Islamabad, Pakistan was burned down by armed men in March 2014, the Foundation reported receiving threats from the Taliban. The center has since been rebuilt and is functioning.