Joy of Giving : Bahrain

Art of Living Bahrain Volunteers celebrated "Joy of Giving" by distributing food hampers in a labour camp. Volunteers distributed 250 food hampers to workers in a labour camp in Budaiya.

The news was carried by Gulf Daily News, Bahrain. (June27, 2014)

www.gulf-daily-news.com/source/XXXVII/099/pdf/page03.pdf

Some more pictures from the event:

Overcoming Addiction: Creatively

A Painting Competition for kids and housewives was organized at the SridishaAlcohol and Drug treatment Centre in Bhopal where AOL courses are also conducted on June 26, International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. 

A Unique endeavour to sensitize Children with the issue of Drugs.

Some of the Entries are presented below.

From Addiction to a Life of Service

From a successful college professor to an arrogant, drunk man and finally dedicating his life in service of society, Dr Purshottam Wayal’s life has been a series of paradoxes.  

“As I progressed in my career and grew prosperous, I grew more arrogant and fell into habitual vices and was soon a raging alcoholic ,’ says  Dr. Purshottam Wayal, who spent 11 years of his life in an inebriated state of mind.

After many years of abusing his physical, emotional and mental health, he realized he had to free himself from this negative lifestyle.  This transformation came about when he did the Youth Leadership Training Program (YLTP) by the Art of Living.

Recalling his turnaround, Dr Wayal says, “The techniques imparted to me in the workshop gave me a lot of confidence and solace. I was marveled to see my own energy level double up within a span of 12 days.’’

Within two months, Dr Wayal was completely free of all vices. “I was a changed man. My focus was now to gather misguided youths who were addicts or alcoholics and help them, “he recounts.

He started conducting the YLTP programs in villages in Maharashtra, where over 40,000 people quit alcohol and other addictions and are working towards building a better community.

Dr Purushottam Wayal has been honored by the Maharashtra award,  ‘SamajikGauravPuraskarand  Marathwada award , ‘AdarshShikshakPurskar’, for his dedicated service towards society. 

Kick the Habit to reach the Goal: Ujval Shankar's Story

For Ujval Shankar,  the lure of cigarettes, tobacco and drugs was impossible to resist. This was his story, a decade back.  Ujval's life took a U-turn when he decided to kick the habit. Pranayama, yoga and meditation were his tools to fight the battle which was ruining his life.

"For a decade, I was into smoking, drinking and drugs. When I was about to complete school, I picked up my first cigarette. In college, it became a status or ego issue. Soon, smoking was no longer ‘for fun’ — it became a habit that was difficult to kick.”

Speaking of alcohol he says that at the end of five working days, we go for a drink. “We end up sleeping too much and feel so tired when Monday starts off. With this the same office cycle continues where you go out, smoke and come back but the stress and pressure has not gone permanently, it’s just being pushed under the carpet. But with these techniques the root cause is eliminated,” he highlights the importance of the yoga, pranayama and breathing techniques that helped him a great deal.

Today, Ujwal plays a key role in making other addicts kick the habit. He conducts the 'Stop Smoking, Start Living' program by the Art of Living.



This is Ujwal's Story carried by the Times of India Bangalore edition on June 26, 2014http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/After-the-high-he-bats-for-de-addiction/articleshow/37222232.cms

BANGALORE: Ujval Shankar picked up his first cigarette when he was about to complete school. It was just the beginning: alcohol and drugs followed after he joined college . For 10 years, he was so engulfed by the addiction that it began to affect his studies, career and family. 

Today, the 36-year-old HR professional runs de-addiction camps and has launched the "Stop smoking, start living" initiative. As part of the campaign, Ujval and his team of youngsters visit schools and colleges to create awareness about the ill-effects of addiction . For those who get registered with his initiative, de-addiction programmes are organized with the help of the Art of Living (AOL), which includes yoga and meditation camps. 

On the eve of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (June 26), TOI spoke to the man who not only overcame his addiction but is also now helping others beat it. "In 2003, when drug addiction was severely hampering all aspects of my life — physical, emotional and my relationships — a friend introduced me to a three-day de-addiction course in the Art of Living. I didn't believe it when the friend put me in touch with the de-addiction camp, saying things would improve. That was because I had tried rehabilitation centre and self control techniques, and they had not worked. At the camp, I tried breathing exercises and met with people who had come out of the problem , which changed the course of my life," Ujval said. 

After getting rid of the habit, he set the next target. Over the next few years, with the help of like-minded people, he planned a campaign to help others facing drug addiction problems. "In 2006, we launched the campaign and called it 'Stop smoking, start living' . We decided to target smoking, because in many cases, it forms the gateway to other form of addictions," he pointed out. 

"We visit pubs and other hangouts where we can interact with youngsters. However, we don't force anyone to quit the habit. After they register with us, we try to help them explore the positive sides of life. De-addiction courses under AOL and Sudarshana Kriya (a unique breathing exercise) have helped many youngsters to say goodbye to addiction," he added. 

Ujval said consumption of drugs increases dependency on the dope and youngsters are forced to be on the high. "We recently had a person who couldn't sleep without alcohol and drugs. As a result of addiction for years, he was experiencing short-term memory loss, too. He attended the de-addiction sessions in a drunken state. With the help of meditation and proper diet, he was able to overcome the withdrawal symptoms and cope with emotions. He is leading a happy life now," said Ujval. 

'Not a cool quotient' 

Ujval says it was peer pressure and the urge to maintain the socalled "cool factor" that made him stick to smoking. "It all started as fun. During one of my outings, I started drinking. Then came the dope, it was a pure case of experiment in search of the new high. As I got a job and moved to Himachal Pradesh, I further got engulfed by addiction as there was no family control over me. Through our campaigns through websites and social media, we highlight such sensitive issues and success stories to help others to come over the problem," he added. 

Ujval believes anyone who wants to overcome addiction would definitely have given a try. "Through our campaign we just help them to give that try," he said. 

98% of cocaine users started with cigarettes 

According to a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, over 10 lakh people die due to tobacco addiction and related diseases in India every year. 

Those who smoke tobacco easily fall prey to other addictions. 44 per cent of tobacco users (in the age group of 12 to 15 years) have been found to be addicted drugs such as ganja, cocaine and heroine, according to various studies 65% of ganja and 98% cocaine users surveyed said they began with tobacco Those who smoke 15 cigarettes and more per day were found to be addicted to using ganja frequently.

Rediscovering Life: The Highs of Meditation and Sevice

Ravindar Singh’s life revolved around alcohol and tobacco for ten years. Since he was 28 years, his addiction dictated over his life, and took a toll over his mind and body, straining completely his relationship with his family and friends. It wasn’t until his wife persuaded him to do the Art of Living’s Youth Leadership Training Program (YLTP) that his life began changing course.

‘I agreed to do the program only because I was promised I would find a job after completing it. I came drunk to the program on the first day,’ he says. But in the course, when they told him to give his 100%, he followed that and today he has found life through the YLTP program.

‘Life is a delight now!’ he beams. He continues to work with a lawyer as a clerk at the District Court in Chamba, but works 100% now, he says. Not only has his relationship improved with his wife and children, he now mobilizes the community he lives in to get together and find ways to contribute to society. They take up cleaning projects in the area. Every chance he gets, he talks to the youth, he emphasizes, from a place of firm conviction that there is a better high in yoga and meditation and serving society than in alcohol and drugs.

Manjeet's Story: Reaching out to thousands of addicts in Punjab

Manjeet Singh’s Story: A Journey from watching a friend die in his arms due to a drug overdose to Reaching out to 18,000 addicts in a year.

Even while there has been no comprehensive study of the problem of addiction in Punjab and its repercussions, Manjeet Singh bears testament to the drug-devastation that is sweeping the land.

He has cradled the lifeless body of two childhood friends, who died due to a drug overdose and says all his friends struggle with addictions.

Manjeet himself wonders how he wasn’t grabbed by the clutches of addiction. Every drug you can name, everything was available in Punjab. He tried doing drugs too, he shares. He had a routine and was committed to it.

Before partying, he would want to go to the Gurudwara and spend time there in seva or silence.Active in college, he was the vice-captain of the football team and a coordinator of all the cultural activities. He never prioritised partying above these activites, he says.

 He saw his friends losing interest in anything but drugs and alcohol. “Maybe my interest in life saved me,” Manjeet speculates.

Manjeet was interested in doing a little something for society, be it tree plantation or working with deaf and dumb school children. However, with the Art of Living he found a structured platform to reach out to people with addictions. Manjeet did the Art of Living’s Youth Empowerment and Skills Workshop to improve his skills for the IAS preliminary exams in 2007.

The Turning point in life

‘This is my last breath, but go save the others”, is what one of his friends said, Manjeet recalls.

Since then, Manjeet has travelled all over Punjab and reached out to 18,000 people with the Art of Living De-addiction program

Manjeet’s childhood friend died in his arms due to over dosage of drugs asking him to save other people. It was a sudden shock for him.

When Manjeet did his first Sudarshan kriya in November 2007, he had two things in his mind.

First, that this birth was for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji, commonly known as “Gurudev”.

Secondly, he wanted to take drugs out of Punjab. He expressed his wish to become an Art of living faculty and asked how he could do that.

In the year 2009, he came to Bangalore Ashram to do his Teacher Training Course where he asked Sri Sri what he could do to eliminate drugs from Punjab. He was blessed to become a full time Art of living Faculty and started his initiative in Ludhiana, Punjab.

His Journey to touch 18,000 people’s lives positively in a year

The initiative involved 4-5 Art of living volunteers, with a common Mantra in Punjab “Naan Kumari Naanka Chari Rahe Din Raat” which mean that the addiction of our name is such once comes doesn’t go away. He made sure that whatever they did would be in the regional language so that people could relate to it.

They made four clusters to begin with and then made a cluster of 20 villages each and used to go talk to people individually, to youth leaders and also approached Gurudwaras. They announced a 12 day deaddiction program. So, in the first camp approximately 100 people came and on the second day in this camp the number of the people increased to 200 people. 

Manjeet and his group took deaddiction program for 18,000 people from November 2009-November 2010.  

Fly High without making holes in your pocket – the Socio-Spiritual solution to Drug Abuse

Dinesh Ghodke, Art of Living Faculty and Director Outreach, Sri Sri University, writes on Solutions for Drug Abuse. The Article is printed in the Editorial of Tripura Times on June 23rd

http://www.tripuratimes.com/PDF/2014/5/23/index.html

In Bihar, Priests refuse to Marry Children

Art of Living Impact 

It takes three people to make a marriage. The bride, the groom and the priest who officiates it. The Art of Living in association with UNICEF combated the problem of child marriage in Bihar by raising awareness in 418 religious leaders, not just community members.

Under the initiative a total of 1,29,560 people were reached out to, through programs for mindset change. In Gaya - 74,960, in Nawada - 23,400, and in Vaishali - 31,200.

181 local youth emerged as 'Agents of Change' after the Art of Living Youth Leadership Training Program and worked further for the cause. 40% were girls, most of whom were themselves victims of Child Marriage.  
       

Current Situation in Iraq

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar tweets on the current Situation in Iraq:

"It's disappointing to see seeds of harmony we sowed in Iraq are being washed away. In current scenario, the voice of peace has lost strength

#‎Iraq We do feel the efforts since 2003 of our 6000-strong volunteers to knit communities in Iraq have gone in vain

#‎Iraq However, in the long run, I know we will succeed in this mission. This is the time to not lose heart & hold on to our faith in peace."

Check out this video on Sri Sri's 3 day visit to Iraq in 2007. He became the first Indian Spiritual leader ever to visit Iraq. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j12usEHlU_Q

Follow @SriSri to get more updates from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar directly

Agenda for a New India

(An Excerpt from an interview by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, to Rediff.com's Savera R Someshwar. The founder of the Art of Living foundation shared his dreams for a rejuvenated India. Interview published on March 12, 2013)

'It is the distress and mistrust in people which causes them to take religion as an excuse to express their frustration and display aggressive, violent behaviour,' says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

A nation's most powerful weapon is the will of the common man.

It is this will, says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, buttressed by action, that will draw an agenda for a better India.

Watch the Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoYmTgdbQ6w

 If you were asked to draw up an agenda for a New India, what would your agenda be?

·         Justice for farmers.

·         An easy working atmosphere for industrialists.

·         Creating a more tolerant and cooperative society among all religious leaders.

·         Clean politics; people with character and humility should be in politics.

If there were three ills in India that you would prioritize and tackle, what would they be?

What are the three things you would ask people to fight against and change?

·         The first is Corruption.

·         The second is Communalism.

·         The third is to get over your lethargy and be inspired for a brighter future.

http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-interview-with-sri-sri-ravi-shankar/20130306.htm

World Renowned Surgeons Converged to hear about 5000-year old Ayurvedic Surgical Technique

The Art of Winning

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Interviewed by Alok Kejriwal, CEO, Games 2win 

(Excerpts of the interview published in The Economic Times on June 13, 2014)

In today's hypercompetitive society, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar exhorts young entrepreneurs to look at positive aspects because competition "will help you be more innovative" and "every competitor can inspire you to do more". To those envious of the success of others, Sri Sri's mantra is to recognise and honour their own uniqueness.

As this happens, he says, competitiveness will cease. "Jealousy is there when we want to possess things. When you know you are here only to contribute, how can there be jealousy?" Intentions should be pure and clear, he says, for nature to extend its support in unimaginable ways. Edited excerpts follow:

In successful start-ups, the first team members make or break a company. What did you do to form a team?

I did not base this on anyone or on volunteers. I based it on knowledge and wisdom. There is one power that is going to take you through — moving with passion and dispassion together. Praise, talent and adulation are things people aspire to see in their twenties, thirties and forties. I had seen all this in my teens. Time is only for caring and contributing. And then the path opens up.

Five out of 10 IIM -IIT grads want to start up and family members become cagey.

They should do start-ups. Thirty years ago, there was so much prejudice against India. When we started the Prison-Smart Program in Boston, they just gave us a small 10" by 15" cell. It was a dusty place with a small window.

But when we started the course it created a big breakthrough in the prisoners' lives, and the authorities said they were seeing a miracle. They then gave us a grant to do the course for 3,000 people in another place. So, wherever there is sincerity and talent, there will be people who recognise it. You have to have patience.

Most youth think a start-up means instant money. What is your advice?

When you are feverish about success you take wrong decisions. Realise that you have sown a seed and you have to let it grow. You have to have inner strength. At every step you have to ask yourself, 'Am I doing the right thing or not?' If you worry 'What about me' all the time, you miss out on ideas because you are self-centred. If your goal is clear, your aim is clear and you have the patience to move in that direction, nature is with you.

How do we cultivate intuition, how do we draw on it?

That is what spirituality is all about — taking that inner rest. That restful alertness of mind, meditation and seeing life from a broader context. Then you will not be so feverish. You will let things unfold.

Any formula for entrepreneurs to succeed?

They should keep their mind open and not be too anxious about success. Put in 100 per cent and be open to new ideas instead of being stuck in old ones.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/panache/the-art-of-winning/articleshow/36465006.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Watch the full Interview here : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jhqJXmZYRU