Sri Sri speaks about the Current situation in Iraq

As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar leaves for his third tour of strife torn Iraq which is reeling under the onslaught of the ISIS, here are few excerpts from the spiritual leader on his mission to bring peace to Iraq.

Q: What can be done to bring the hostages back to their family?

Sri Sri: I would like this question to be kept alive till the last hostage comes back. There is no one answer. There can be multiple answers and each answer could be a way to bring them back. By putting sense into those people who are keeping people hostage, by invoking compassion in them, or even going to the extent of punishing them through legal or international laws, we should see that they are brought back.  There could be many ways. We can't have one way for that. We should explore all avenues.


Q: How can the sunis and the shias work in Iraq together?

Sri Sri: They should take example from India. Here Shias, Sunis, Ahmedias, sufis everyone works together. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains everyone works together. We need to give them this mutli-culturalism, this way of multi-religious coexistence. In fact, they were together for centuries. This disaster has happened only in the recent years, that too due to the political and ulterior motives of a few people. 

Q: What makes the ISIS such extremists?

Sri Sri: Well, I really don't know. I think the Islamist scholars should answer this question. They should see where they have gone wrong, in what way they have misunderstood their own religion. They should come up and say this. I would invite all good-hearted people on the planet, especially from the Islamic world who know that these people are doing wrong. Put sense in the hearts and minds of these people. The scholars should stand up and say that their interpretation of the holy scripture is absolutely wrong. They must bring this clear message to the people. Perhaps that can help in some way.


Q: What can concerned people around the world do to help the beleaguered Yazidi community preserve its ancient spiritual heritage? 

Sri Sri: They should digitize all their ancient scriptures and make videos of their way of life. Nobody knows what they do when a child is born. Nobody knows how they get married. And what are the basic precepts of this religion. No one has even heard about this religion till the recent genocide. The world community should make a documentary about them, create more awareness about the existence of the community, and give all sorts of possible support to the community in the manner of education, safety and security, and help the community grow economically while at the same time preserving their religious identity. Like what has happened with the Parsis. When the Parsis were thrown out of Iran, they found a home in India. They have preserved their culture, their tradition, and their language. They have kept everything intact. The kings of India in those days gave full protection for Parsis to practice their religion and to preserve it. Similarly, anyone should not try to convert the Yazidis. In fact they should help them to preserve their culture, religion, and identity.

Q: How can enemies be taught to treat each other as brothers?

Sri Sri: Yes. This needs a lot of skill. It needs a lot of patience and perseverance. First of all, the enemies should be asked to come for a dialogue. It can happen only through a person who does not take sides. When they know there is someone who does not take sides, who can mediate. Then it needs a lot of communication skills in bringing people together to sit and talk. Mistrust and miscommunication can be cleared through dialogue. Dialogue should never be given up or stopped.

Q: What are the factors that brings around war, when all religions talk about peace? 

Sri Sri: 1. Religion not for religion's sake but for political ulterior motives. People use religion, caste, language, and other identities to further their own cause. Many times it is more political and with more vested interests than just religion.
2. At other times, it is mistrust or misinterpretation of religion.


Q: The end of this war will give rise to a lot of trauma-relief work in Iraq. How do you see India as a country contributing to this need?

Sri Sri: India has a load of wealth and wisdom in yoga, meditation, ayurveda and cultural roots which It can share with the people there. In fact this is something that we have not done well in the past. If we had spread the fragrance of peace and multi-culturalism that India has been nourishing and enjoying for the past decades and centuries to Middle East; If we had been a little proactive in instilling and planting this thought of peace and non-violence in the hearts and minds of people around the world, perhaps people would not get into the violent rage that they are getting into today. Not that there is no violence in India. There is violence in India too, but these are the people who have not had any sense of India's core values of non-violence. People in India also who have moved away from the idea of the non-violence, dharma, knowledge, wisdom, and the technology of experiencing the inner strength, they are involved in violence. But it is minuscule compared to what is happening in the world. So we wish that the ISIS ideology does not filter into the Indian minds and they do not create disturbances here also. We have to be watchful for this. People here who have believed in non-violence and peaceful coexistence should not remain by themselves. They should go and plant this knowledge wherever it is needed, especially in the conflict zones.

2000 Farmers gather to focus on 'Natural Resources Management' in Farming

Bengaluru, Nov 16, 2014: Entrepreneurial zeal, a zest to know more and a passion for perfection: This might sound like a corporate conference. Yet it was the flavor of an agricultural meet with 2,000 farmers from various states of India. Farmers, most of whom have dedicated themselves to the soil for over four decades, discussed  "Natural Resources Management in Farming' and model village training at a 3-day meet organized by the Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences & Technology Trust (SSIAST).

While inaugurating the meet, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of The Art of Living, said, “We need to make ‘kisan sangh’ (farmers' meet) in every village. More and more farmers need to adopt and implement the techniques of Natural Farming. Our earth has plenty for everyone. We only have to manage its resources well. Chemical-free farming is a new hope to the farmers in India and we will work with vigor to spread this knowledge.”

Held at The Art of Living International Center, the meet focused on the importance of saving indigenous cows, using natural ways of farming and chemical-free farming.

Simple and easy-to-practice tips like use of cow dung for manure, urine as pesticide were also given by experts. “Our philosophy is to promote farming techniques that are beneficial to the farmer, the consumer and the land. Natural farming or chemical-free farming can achieve these objectives. Along with the skills and knowledge we impart, here they can share leanings and challenges with each other too. We are creating a 'Kisan Sangh', an association to also market this organic produce,” shared Dr. Muley, Chairman, SSIAST. Incidentally 20 lakh farmers have already been trained by the SSIAST.

The meet provided an excellent platform for experts to come and share their experiences with the farmers. Chandrashekhar Bachelor, Agriculture Trainer with SSIAST from Chattisgarh shared his success story of converting infertile land into fertile by mixed cropping on a small scale with different crops, like, mango, papaya, and Kaju (cashew nuts). “We have stopped the production of alcohol from mahuwa flowers  in Koi village, Korba, Chhattisgarh which is heavily grown in the state. Instead we now make laddus (sweets) out of it. This is very popular now. We are working on 18 more villages and have empowered many farmers to grow organically.”

Vouching for the benefits of organic farming, Kehsav Vyas, a farmer from Madhya Pradesh said,” We are spending very less and earning much more. In modern farming, production reduces every year, while production increases with organic farming. I also grow sugarcane and make jaggery (gur) from the organic produce. I was fortunate that The Art of Living bought the entire jaggery produce.”

The Art of Living is also helping farmers by creating organic product markets. This method removes the middlemen and allows the farmers to earn more. 

The Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences & Technology Trust is established with the main objective to provide opportunities in education, research and extension in different branches of agriculture, horticulture, veterinary and animal sciences, agricultural engineering, home sciences, forestry, co-operation and agribusiness and other allied fields.

Art of Living and IAHV step up relief work in Sinjar in Iraq: Sri Sri to visit Relief Camps

Art of Living and IAHV step up relief work in Sinjar in Iraq

Sri Sri to visit the relief camps on 19^th-20^th November

Bangalore. November 7 2014: The International Association for Human Values, a sister concern of The Art of living along with few NGO’s in Iraq have collected 110 tonnes of food supplies to be delivered to Yazidi refugees on Sinjar mountains. So far the volunteers of the organization have air lifted One and a half ton of relief material to be distributed in the relief camps. Meanwhile, the airlifting of relief material continues. 

The Art of living Founder , Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had earlier called on Governments of Europe, America and India to save the thousands of Yazidis trapped in the Sinjar Mountains In Iraq. “America has heeded to our call of help and yesterday they obliged with two helicopters to airlift One and a half tonnes of food grains. We still have several tonnes of food grains waiting to be lifted to the people trapped in the Sinjar mountains,”shared Sri Sri.

Sri Sri will be visiting the relief camps where IAHV will also hold a conference in the Kurdish capital of Erbil on November 20th titled "Protecting Women and Bringing Stability and Peace". Thousands of Christians, Yazidis and Kurdish Shias are languishing in camps in Erbil, Duhok and Khazir. 

 Appealing for generous contribution, Mawahib Shibani, Program Director, IAHV, for Iraq said, “Currently, the people in the relief camps lack basic items for survival, such as food, clothing and hygienic kits. They are in a very poor psychological state. We have proposed the establishment of an integrated educational program in the province to help the Yazidis students at the Camp and outside it, therefore we need stationery for the students. We have also proposed setting up of toilets and bathrooms. We also plan to provide basic foodstuff to the Camp periodically.” 

Since the early stages of the ISIS insurgence in Iraq, over 1.5 million Iraqis have been internally displaced or forced to flee across borders for their safety. The Art of Living and International Association For Human Values of The Art of Living has been working to bring relief to refugees and internally displaced people (IDP). From its base in Erbil, the team has brought relief in the form of food, water and hygiene products to 5 different camps, each camp sheltering 550 Iraqi families. IAHV has reached more than 2,000 families.

Art of living work in Iraq: The Art of Living made a commitment to spread the message of peace and non-violence in Iraq. Since September 2003 when Art of Living began trauma relief initiatives, around 10,000 people from Iraq have found relief from the stress-elimination breathing techniques.

 Adding momentum to the initiatives, and with an aim of healing the wounds of war, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visited Iraq from May 21 to May 24, 2007 with his message of peace and non-violence. It was for the first time that an Indian spiritual leader was officially invited by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

 Sri Sri signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Youth Ministry under which The Art of Living offered special leadership programs for Iraqi youth.  Along with Mr. Sayed Abdallah Al Musawi, a leading Iraqi religious leader, he distributed certificates to women who have completed training in tailoring skills at the Art of Living’s Women Empowerment Center in Baghdad. The center has been empowering hundreds of Iraqi women providing them financial independence through vocational training.

Despite volatile conditions, Sri Sri visited the country for the second time in less than two years, reaffirming his commitment to rebuild Iraq and galvanize people to work towards a stress-free and violence-free Iraq.55 Iraqi youth were sent by the government of Iraq for a month-long training conducted by the Art of Living Foundation from August to September 2007.699 women survivors of violence in Baghdad and 240 in Kurdistan received training to relieve stress and trauma and skills to cope with life’s challenges under the Al Azhar Program.224 women have received vocational training in tailoring and 117 in computers. 33 women have been trained by IAHV and USAID on applying for jobs through Foras and to find placement with 400 private companies.

To donate relief/support please visit www.iahv.org

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