Gurudev
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Founder
For more than four decades, Gurudev has been inspiring people towards a vision: creating a stress-free, violence-free society. His mission started humbly in a small village in Southern India, during a period of deep reflection in silence. Since 1981, Gurudev’s work has grown into a global phenomenon of service and education, which has touched over 800 million people in 180 countries.
Gurudev’s teachings help people reduce stress, find peace, and expand their vision. His most unique gift to the world is a pioneering breathwork technique, SKY Breath Meditation, also known as Sudarshan Kriya. This powerful technique helps individuals connect with a deep sense of calm and clarity within.
SKY is now backed by over 100 independent, peer-reviewed studies—including research from institutions like Stanford and Yale. Findings show that it significantly reduces anxiety, stress, depression, and impulsivity, while enhancing cognitive function and promoting deep sleep.
Gurudev is also the author of Notes for the Journey Within, a Wall Street Journal national bestseller. He has developed 40,000 trainers and inspires a global community of 20 million followers across social media. His talks have been featured at the United Nations, European Union, national parliaments, state legislatures, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and more.
From the beginning, Gurudev’s vision has found expression in humanitarian work. As individuals experienced personal transformation through his programs, many were inspired to become catalysts for social change—leading and participating in a wide range of service initiatives. Today, his volunteer network is over a million strong and has contributed to efforts that include:
Bringing peace and trauma relief to returning veterans and their families
Reducing violence and infractions in schools
Supporting student mental health
Supporting mindful, sustainable recovery from opiate addiction
Caring for the environment, restoring 70 critical rivers
Reducing an epidemic of farmer suicides in India
Caring for refugees in the wake of disaster and war
Gurudev’s approach to peace is both comprehensive and inclusive—working from the grassroots up, as well as from leadership down. In Colombia, he played a key role in facilitating a ceasefire that contributed to ending a five-decade conflict between the government and FARC militants, ultimately leading to the historic 2016 peace accords. At the same time, grassroots efforts fostered reconciliation among families on both sides, helping to uproot the seeds of future violence.
Similar peacebuilding efforts have yielded results with guerrilla insurgents in India’s Naxalite-affected regions and the Northeast. More recently, Gurudev has been widely recognized for his pivotal role in the peaceful resolution of the Ayodhya conflict—a centuries-old flashpoint of religious tension. By fostering dialogue and trust among all communities involved, he helped pave the way for a harmonious, violence-free resolution.
On an individual level, Gurudev’s approach gives people tools to transform aggression and violent tendencies. Launched in 1991, his prison program offers true rehabilitation and transformation to convicts, helping break the cycle of aggression. Globally, over 800,000 people have benefited. In urban areas with high crime, his Cities4Peace program promotes social change through training and dialogue.
Gurudev has also been a driving force in uniting communities and revitalizing culture. He founded the World Culture Festival—a global celebration that has drawn over seven million people across cities like Washington, D.C., New Delhi, Berlin, and Bangalore. A timely expression of cultural diplomacy, the festival has welcomed the participation of world leaders and featured performances by tens of thousands of local artists, showcasing the richness and diversity of global heritage.
These landmark events celebrate unity in diversity, foster harmony, and offer a powerful vision of our collective potential for peaceful coexistence.
Through his teachings, humanitarian efforts, and community-building initiatives, Gurudev continues to inspire people worldwide to come together in pursuit of a common goal: a stress-free, violence-free society.
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