Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to be Honored with International Award

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the International Association for Human Values and the Art of Living Foundation, will receive the prestigious Gandhi-King-Ikeda Community Builder’s Prize in a ceremony to be held from 7 to 9 p.m., April 3, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel of Morehouse College. Shankar will be honored for his humanitarian work in 152 countries, including disaster relief and outreach to oppressed groups, through the United Nations-affiliated International Association for Human Values and the Art of Living Foundation, two of the largest volunteer-run, not-for-profit organizations in the world.

As part of his U.S. tour, this ambassador of peace will give a public talk: Non-Violence: No Higher Calling. Peace is often characterized as a state of tranquility—a utopia, free from conflict. Shankar plays a key role in conflict resolution and spreads his vision of non-violence at public forums worldwide. He has received particular credit for bringing opposing parties to the negotiating table in Iraq, Ivory Coast, and Kashmir and Bihar, India.

As a spiritual teacher, Shankar has rekindled the traditions of yoga and meditation and offered them in a form that is relevant to the 21st century. Beyond reviving ancient wisdom, he has created new techniques for personal and social transformation, including the Sudarshan Kriya, which has helped millions of people find relief from stress and discover inner reservoirs of energy and peace. More than 4 million people in 152 countries have learned the technique.

Through his Non-Violence: No Higher Calling movement, Shankar is calling for all citizens to answer every act of violence with 100 acts of non-violence. Individuals can pledge their commitment to specific actions on the NonVio website at nonvio.org. Shankar states, “Violence is a result of stress that people cannot manage. Doing breathing and meditation helps to relieve stress. Stress is unavoidable, because there’s so much pressure and too much to do in too little time. My vision is a violence-free, stress-free world.”

Admission is free. Location: 830 Westview Dr., Atlanta. For more information, call Asha Mulchan-Onofri at 800-985-9185, email Asha.Mulchan@iahv.org or visit SriSri.org, iahv.org and ArtOfLiving.org.
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