THE POWER OF BELONGING

‘When the resolve is clear and the work is done in the spirit of service, every effort bears fruit.’ spoke the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi within the pristine environs of The Art of Living International Center in Bengaluru on 10th May.

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The words captured the journey of one of the largest volunteer-driven movements dedicated to humanitarian service, inner peace, solace and wisdom. And the man behind the vision that has manifested this movement is the global spiritual icon, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who incidentally turned 70 this month, a lifetime “lived wholly in service of others,” as described by the Governor of Manipur, Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla.

It is interesting that, not too long ago at one of his most important addresses to the United Nations in public memory, Gurudev had said, “I have this crazy idea to see a world without violence. This may appear Utopian, but we need to dream, and we will get there.” Coming from a spiritual leader, those words comfort the mind and makes one more hopeful.

But what can a world without violence, without hate, where people come together for something more wholesome and unifying, beyond one’s limited identities, look like?

If the views at the at The Art of Living International Center were anything to go by, the dream seemed closer to be fulfilled than ever- a showcase of possibility of peace, a display of oneness beyond caste, creed, and regionality not seen very much in recent times, something that found expression in the words of Hon. Archibishop of Kerala, “We live in a world weighed down by wars...by a deep restlessness in the human heart. Nations are divided, faiths are misunderstood, and millions live in fear and despair.” The words of Hon. Archbishop of Kerala Mor Baselios Joseph were not without hope.

“It is precisely in such times that the world needs voices like yours, voices that speak not of division, but of the oneness of the human family,’ he said while honoring Gurudev for his lifelong work, as Gurudev turned 70 this month.

And perhaps that was the deeper significance of what unfolded over the last few weeks at The Art of Living International Center.