Over 2,200 trained singers from Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow and Bengaluru are looking forward to be part of a historic musical extravaganza ‘Antarnaad,’ which coincidently also marks the Golden Jubilee year of Maharashtra State.
For weeks now, over 1,000 volunteers have been rehearsing for ‘Antarnaad,’ an unusual vocal ensemble, wherein vocalists will remind the world that through music we can find ourselves, an ‘Art of Living’ press release said. The event is scheduled to take place on January 12 evening at the S P College Grounds.
“Among the many unique offerings that India can make to the world, spirituality and music are certainly definitive,” the release says, quoting ‘The Art of Living’ founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. ‘Antarnaad’ is a celebration of both of these in unison, designed to re-inspire the people of this country and especially the youth, on all that is traditional and at the same time exhilarating, timeless and yet contemporary, he adds. Read More
Every excuse to celebrate is good. there are two aspects of true celebration. one is celebration as thanksgiving, as an expression of gratitude for the divine. the second celebration is to move forward by dropping the past, knowing that life is eternal. welcome the new year with either or both of these true celebrations.
Like the christmas tree, life is evergreen. no storm or snow can weather away its leaves. similarly, our spirit is eternal and though time and some adversities may try to cloud the spirit, it still moves forward through personal or social grief and emerges powerful.
The nature of spirit is celebration. celebration is the best medicine to help you move forward in life - it gets you out of the gloom after a crisis. in celebration, don't just concentrate on having parties. when celebration has a tinge of sacredness and prayer, it gains depth and dignity. then, that type of a celebration is service, it is sacred. it is not just entertainment for the mind or excitement for the body, but nourishment for the soul. in such celebration, guilt will come nowhere near you.
Instead of beginning the new year with an intoxicant, if it can begin with an act of kindness, a moment of reflection and even a second of introspection, we can call ourselves far more civilised. your guilt for celebration is only if your celebration is for your own pleasure. if celebration is aimed at uplifting and uniting the hearts and minds of people around you, if it is to help them to let go of the traumatic past and kindle a ray of hope for the future, if your celebration is aimed at uplifting society, then that type of celebration is service, it is sacred. don't feel stingy. share what you have with others. turn your celebration into a sacred offering for society rather than make it a self-centred pleasure-seeking one.
To celebrate life, you don't have to spend a lot of money. celebration comes from enthusiasm and joy, celebration is an attitude and that does not need resources. when things are depressing, celebration is needed even more. a visit to the slums makes you realise that one can celebrate even during tough times. look at those people. they still celebrate.
Let time celebrate your presence. when you let time celebrate you, you are a witness amid celebration. welcome the year 2010 with a genuine smile from within. that smile comes when you know for sure that you are loved. if you don't know you are loved by the divine, you will not be able to celebrate life. you will live in insecurity. with insecurity comes greed. with greed comes selfishness. and with that comes anger. with anger comes lust. and with that comes sadness and misery, one behind the other, like a chain. \
In the past year, check how many days you were entangled in maya? turn back and remember the whole year. when you do this, do not reject anything. let your attention be on the self. this is a delicate balance. this is yoga. this balance is spirituality. spirituality is a harmonious blend of outer silence and inner celebration, and also inner silence and outer celebration! celebration that comes out of silence is real celebration.
The year gone by has taught us many lessons: what we should be doing and what we should not be doing. every pain that we went through in 2009 brought us some depth, and the joy and pleasure gave us a new vision of life and hope for the future. difficulties give you depth and joy gives you width. one thing you must know is that life will always be better. it moves in the direction of the best. on the way you may find some rough roads, but it's for the better. reconcile with the past and move on to the future with enthusiasm.
The wise will see their past as destiny and the future as free will, and be happy in the present. the unwise regret the past and think the future is destined, and become miserable in the present. in 2010, you have the choice of being one of the two.
This new year, let there be sunshine - both in our lives and in society. let us all have the determination to create a violence-free, stress-free society. may your life be filled with peace, joy and true celebration. happy new year!
Mumbai: A group of volunteers of a spiritual organisation founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Art of Living, has succeeded in transforming the juvenile delinquents at the Boys' Observation Home in Shivajinagar, Pune.
Though the NGO had organised its Bal Chetna and Nav Chetna courses for these children earlier, they did not have much impact. "Merely conducting the workshops was not enough. We then decided to start daily follow-ups, as suggested by the authorities," said Nitin Pradhan, a coordinator of the group.
"These children used to have violent fights, and at least 3-4 boys would escape from the home each month. They were always on the lookout for an opportunity to run away," said MN Sonawane, superintendent of the observation home. Read more
BANGALORE: The state government has constituted a committee for celebration of 500 years of the coronation of Krishnadevaraya, emperor of the Vijayanagara empire.
The committee comprises 48 members from all walks of life.
Sri Sri Ravishankar from Art of living is the honorary President of the Committee, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is the Chairman, Jannardhana Reddy, minister of Tourism, Aravinda Limbavali, minister of Higher Education, Suresh Kumar, Law minister, Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri are the Vice- Presidents in the committee.Read More
Mangalore, Dec 26: Satyam Shivam Sundaram organized by Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir (SSRVM), institute for education from the Art of Living (AOL) comprised music, yogasana, satsang and dance at TMA Pai Convention Hall in city on Friday December 25. To read with photos
Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir (SSRVM)- the name itself suggests a temple of learning where knowledge is revered. SSRVM schools provide world class holistic education, which is all round development of a student’s personality by facilitating physical, emotional, social and spiritual growth.
SSRVM Trust was founded by Sri Sri Ravishankar as a spirituality-based educational trust to impart value education in students. Within a span of 10 years, the Trust has established many educational institutions, starting from pre-primary to PG students.
One among the lot is the SSRVM located near Udiyannoor Temple, Maruthankuzhi. Inculcation of human values and stress-free learning have been the prime objectives of the school. It is one among the schools under the fast expanding and progressively developing countrywide chain of schools run by the Trust.
The school has classes upto Class VI at present and will go upto Plus II in future.
The school promises to provide education that is integral in content, deep in its concern and sensitive to the child. The learning process here is tailor-made for a child.
The teachers bring out the natural interests in a child and then focus on facilitating the learning of all aspects of education through these interests. The student strength is restricted to 20 per class in play school, LKG and UKG. Yogas and asanas are practised daily so as to help students to maintain a sound mind and body. Education trips are undertaken by the school. It has NCERT curriculum and the school will be affiliated to CBSE.
SSRVM schools enable students to broaden their vision. Here learning is an individual process for each student. While enhancing human values like friendliness, compassion, caring and sharing, regular curriculum is imparted in a joyful and stress-free manner.
Admissions are open for the next academic year. For details, contact 0471-2363368/9446510738. Email: thiruvananthapuram@ssrvm.org.
Excerpts from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s opening address at the Parliament of World Religions 2009 at Melbourne, Australia on December 3, 2009
The purpose of religion is to bring enlightenment to the individual, and happiness in society, and to move from limited individual identity, to universality and communion with the Divine. When at a time these ideals are far from reality, congregations such as these where people of all faiths gather together, have great responsibility to ponder on the pressing issues. It is a necessity for survival of our planet. Faith and Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) are a powerful tool of transformation in society. Though we have moved away from the blemish of medieval conflicts to a more tolerant and co-operative society, FBOs have the responsibility to make a happy society.
Even if part of the planet thinks they are going to heaven, and the others are going to go to hell, they will create a hell for everyone.
We need multicultural and multi-religious education to reach every nook and corner of the planet.
Violence is appalling today, whether it is domestic violence or societal violence – we see it in every newspaper column, and a sort of pride is being attached to violence. In school classrooms, violent children are considered heroes.
When we were growing up, we grew up with stories about Mahatma Gandhi, about ahimsa, non-violence. If someone lost their temper, people thought they needed to see a psychologist, that there was something wrong. Today, even with our heroes in movies, there is a culture of glorifying violence, which we need to turn around - and that responsibility is on us, the faith-based community.
There are two types of violence in the world today – religious violence, which we are all aware of, but also leftist violence. In India, Naxals control 212 of the country’s 604 districts.
Spirituality needs to reach these areas, but we all have to do this work. Even in Columbia, South America, they are also affected by violence. FBOs have to play a role.
As I listened to the symphony this evening, I looked at these beautiful singers and artists, all playing their own tune, but all looking at the conductor.
All religious leaders have to take on this role. We cannot lose sight of that one Divinity, which has created this beautiful diversity. Otherwise we won’t have a symphony, we will have a chaos.
The world has witnessed so much chaos, now let’s focus on one conductor – GOD – Generator, Operator and Destroyer. Focus on one aspect, but play your instrument.
There is no threat to any tradition, to any culture, if we are all uplifted in human values, in communion of One, which is in the heart of each and every one of us.
I am reminded of the Kumbh Mela, which has been going on for thousands of years. When I was at the last Kumbh Mela, I saw something amazing. 30 million people congregate there, and yet there is no crime, no violence, no stealing. Imagine that people can have this faith.
Once at the Kumbh Mela, it was very cold in the night, it was January. We went out to distribute some blankets. We saw a young boy, who had just crossed his 20s – he was wearing some shorts, underclothes, and we offered him a blanket. He said, “I don’t need it, I can manage, but under the bridge there are many elderly women, they need it more than me. Please give it to them.”
That sense of belongingness with each other, helping each other - only FBOs can bring this feeling on this planet.
Once again, I congratulate all of you for venturing on this noble work of reforming society and uniting with the ever-present being within all of us.
We need to ponder on issues relating to the environment, children, agriculture. The word “Parliament” is really scary! Rather, I would call this a family reunion, because there is more conflict in parliament. A reunion of all faith-based organizations to deal with the problem of depression.
WHO has said that depression will soon be the second biggest killer in the world. Popping Prozac is not enough. It was so painful to hear from our sister from Afghanistan that a whole generation is suffering from depression. 92 percent of Palestine is depressed. 160 billion Euros is being spent on mental health care in the EU alone.
We need to get out of this vicious circle. Many have good cars, good jobs, but if depressed, it’s like dressing a corpse, putting make-up on a corpse.
We need to attend to the human values, and how we can elevate the spirit to move out of this deep depression and anxiety, and violence.
Let’s all brainstorm something concrete, to bring back to every nook and corner of this planet.
