Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A politician indeed, no saint

Published in April 2nd, 2009

Posted by Anshu in Our life and times, Viewpoint

I have stayed away from this blog for so long, but today’s happenings have made me so so angry that I had to respond.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who is the founder of the ‘Art of Living’ professes to be a modern day humanitarian and spiritual leader. But the real face of the ambitious man behind the white garb and saintly halo emerges during the election time.

They say you cannot have a better brand ambassador than God. And so, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) is enlisting Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Baba Ramdev, Morari Bapu and Asaram Bapu to create an alliance marrying political, religious and environmental causes.

All over the country, small meetings are being held where his chosen ones are carrying a message from ‘guruji’. And while the professionals and the moderates are being lured with stories of Swiss bank accounts and conversions, what enrages me is the covert nature of the campaign. A man who claims to “teach love, practical wisdom, and service”, who claims to “promote harmony among people, and encourage individuals to follow their chosen spiritual path, while honoring other paths” is now telling people to ‘vote for change‘. This because “Hinduism is going to the dogs and we need more people with enthusiasm”. Now now his volunteers go around the country evoking images of Malegaon, telling us how Muslims and Christians are diverting ‘Hindu funds’ for their terror attacks and all sorts of other divisive speeches. So this is the real story of spreading harmony? Ravi Shankar… the Sris are off your name. The halo has disappeared.

If this man has guts, let him come into the election fray and openly say that he is campaigning for the Hindutva cause. Why these hidden agendas under the garb of religion? Either stay in religion, or get into politics. And yes, we have enough of such unholy alliances.

Uncover the real faces of these Godmen and saints! India has much better sense than to get swayed by those who evoke images of terror and play on our fears to merely get a few votes more.

44 users responded in " Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A politician indeed, no saint "

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open said, in April 2nd, 2009 at 8:55 pm

just wait and watch
Sudharak kabhi Sasak nahin hote
Be a responsible citizen, cast your vote
get well soon

dinesh said, in April 3rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm

Hey there. well somebody is taking responsiblity. u r entittled to your opinions. but dont judge the book by the cover. This godman has done more work than any indian leader.I have been following his work worldwide.
Instead of accusing and naming , what have you done to make a difference in your country. If you have done even one fourth of what he has done then only raise such issues.

anshu said, in April 3rd, 2009 at 1:07 pm

@Dinesh. I was judging a book by the cover until now. I even went and did the AoL course. Only towards the end did I realize that the pushy volunteers of AoL were selling not peace but something else. A secret agenda was clearly there.

Whatever I have done for my country may be meagre, but at least I am not spreading divisive ideas. At least I am not breaking up this nation and planting seeds of suspicion between communities.

Anshu

Vivek said, in April 3rd, 2009 at 8:03 pm

Who said that a saint should not be involved in politics. I think it is high time that saints take active interest in politics and clean the mess.

Take a cue from all our avatars of India. Krishna, Rama, Vamana, Narsimha Swamy…. they were all involved in politics, they removed the bad rulers and replaced them with good rulers.

If spirituality does not go with responsibility for the society then that spirituality is useless in my opinion. If Ravi Shankar’s volunteers are becoming active in politics then I definitely congratulate him and ask other saints to come out of their dens and take active interest in the country’s well-being. Just saying politics is bad is being irresponsible.

Just see how active the church and the muslim religious leaders are in politics. They have a complete say as to which candidates the so called secular parties should select. Then why this criticism directed towards our Hindu saints. If there is a code of conduct written in some Hindu scriptures that saints should not be involved in politics please quote that and I am happy to agree with you.

anshu said, in April 3rd, 2009 at 8:32 pm

@ Vivek.

I don’t support any fanatics- whether Muslim, Christian or Hindu. And attend one of these meetings– only to realize that they are spewing venom against other religions. No religion professes hate. It is these middlemen, these so called interpreters of religion, which create the muck. And if the leaders of one religion are doing the wrong thing, must we all blindly follow that Pied Piper off the cliff?

BTW who said Ram, Krishna et al were saints. They were rulers and politicians, so let us not equate the two.

And yes, if you want to talk politics, come out of the woodwork and talk in the open. With a label of being a Hindutva organization. Don’t disguise it in the garb of a ‘religious meeting’ where you do everything possible to disrupt the harmony of people around you. Don’t you see how their double speak causes cracks in our unity. The sad part is that educated professionals fall to this scam.

Anshu

rahulok said, in April 4th, 2009 at 3:48 pm

Dear Anshu. I truely understand what you are wanting tosay. it seems odd to me too. but you know what, because of this nature of ours, residents of Bharat, we were under rule for hundreds of years. we always believed in unity, taking everyone along and respecting others beliefs and religion..

See AOL is working in more than 150 contries and they are not hindu nations. sri sri does not have problem with religion. what I feel is he is against “Mass conversions” I myself have witnessed many cases around me of hindus being wrongly influenced and being converted. and this ratio is too much.
why BJP? its not that BJP is all in satva, but atleast this Mass conversions has to stop somewhere.

Rajesh chopra said, in April 4th, 2009 at 4:16 pm

hello anshu
just one advice be ready to change your name anwar or alison. U fatu i ve noting to do with what hindu saint or politicians r doing but for sure i dont want taliban or Italian rule in this country. And this politicians in the name of vote bank r all out to screw up this country. so be aware.

nisha ganguli said, in April 4th, 2009 at 9:14 pm

what happ ansu. u lost. its so easy to criticise then to act. psudo secular buggers like u screwing up this country. knw wts happ around u. dont just shit around.

c .s. pareira said, in April 4th, 2009 at 9:21 pm

I fully agree with u anshu. these god man r all against knowledge of jesus. our great leader soniaji is all out to spread the massage of Christianity so beautifully with th help of congress. we all must support it. we need more people like u. keeep it up.

anshu said, in April 4th, 2009 at 10:02 pm

@rahulok.

I have read through your opinion. Religious conversions are not acceptable to me. I, for one, believe that a person who is lured to accept another faith simply for monetary or other incentives cannot be trusted to stick to any one identity. He is a completely confused person. Yes, fanatics of each religion are coercing others’ to join their flock. There must be (a) a deep frustration or dissatisfaction in one’s own faith and (b) a new found interest in a new faith to switch your religious identity. I don’t know how exaggerated the numbers of conversions being flaunted are, but this tit-for-tat rigmarole of conversion and reconversion doesn’t increase my faith in any religion.

How beautiful a world it would be if children were not forced to choose their religions on the basis of their birth, but be free to understand and adopt whatever religious faith they wanted once they were old enough to make their choices. And please, religion is a deeply personal choice. Keep it within the confines of our homes. Why is it being allowed to pollute and communalize our lives and workplaces?

anshu said, in April 4th, 2009 at 10:05 pm

@Rajesh Chopra and Nisha Ganguli

Your responses are so juvenile that they do not merit a response. But for too long the moderate sane voice has keep silent and now we find ourselves being coerced to flaunt our religious identity on our sleeves by those who hold extreme views. Religion shouldn’t even figure on the priority list in our country. There is so much more to do and work, and this huge country is stuck because religion doesn’t allow it to progress. Breathe deeply. Get some fresh air. And hopefully those stale thoughts will disappear.

anshu said, in April 4th, 2009 at 10:09 pm

@c.s.pariera
People like you deserve as much disdain as the fanatics of all religions. Can’t you think logically and without that religious blindfold around your eyes? You can keep spreading your ‘massage’ of your religion, but I do hope you realize some day that all religions say the same thing as yours does. And I have my serious doubts if Sonia Gandhi is as enthusiastic about your endorsement as you are!

rahulok said, in April 6th, 2009 at 9:19 pm

@Anshuji.
Re-conversion is not possible Anshuji. I have seen myself, you know, at the time of conversion people are asked to literally walk over their god and goddess’s idols. once thats done, its impossible due to guilt conciousness to come back to ones own faith.
One Shocking thing happens in a convent school in my city is, the small school going children are targetted. Can you imagine what they do, on the way to school, the school bus will stop. and the mentor will say it has broke down. And they will ask the innocent children to take their gods name and help them. The bus will not start.
Then they ask now take Jesus’s name and as they do so, the driver will start the bus!
And the kids go home, they tell their parents that they want to follow Jesus and that Ram or Krishna is fake!
When the nation is under attack, one can not talk about following non-voilence. Same way, when at one end if our ancient culture is being killed and raped in this way, atleast we can aid in stopping this cancer to spread. I’m not saying that we should concert or re-convert people to Hinduism, but atleast we should not allow mass conversions with false influence.
And I have never heard of such mass conversions or any conversion for that sake, happening from ay other religion to Hinduism. Not heard of anybody claiming that I was a muslim and have converted to Hinduism.

yogendra said, in April 7th, 2009 at 12:01 am

hi all
stop posting comment on this fellow’s article who believes that politics is something untouchable,downgraded. she’s d one who thinks only her way is absolute truth. such pseudo secularists have cost India too much. she’s a person who believes that religion is something that a person should be free to understand and adopt according to their understanding…(!!!!)

@ Anshu
Sweetheart will you please tell me from where such understanding come??? from textbooks & environment around u,right???
Now tell me what our kids r gonna learn from d textbooks which teach “Bhagat Singh was a terrorist”,”Shivaji was a lutera” and who incorporated such facts in textbooks “ur Honorable Soniaji’s puppet UPA Govt.”

I dont know much about Sri Sri or any Guru but what i feel is that this man is more truthful about India than you are. I definitely know that u need to know & learn more about India & its culture,its strengths,its uniqueness rather than writing some OSHO kinda writing or a Arundhati roy kinda intellectual puking. And yes if you are so truthful & courageous then why dont you write about madarsaas & their teachings or missionaries & conversion???

Waiting for your reply,IF u have any.

Jai Hind

the link given below would be of good help for you. HOPEFULLY
http://gurumurthy.net/

anshu said, in April 7th, 2009 at 10:04 am

@rahulok.

I do not think I have advocated conversion or reconversion. They are evils which need to be tackled, but with sanity, using a legal process. I am in favour of a debate. But to resort to the same divisive tactics and try to seed the minds of people with suspicion is not acceptable to me. If you are going to adopt the same tactics as others what is the essential difference?

No, I have not witnessed the images of conversion that you point out. But what makes people go against their own faith? What lures them to adopt another religion? I doubt if it gives them more peace if the reason of shifting loyalities is money, or similar incentives. If you can explain the psychology of one who accepts to be converted I will be grateful.

And I don’t understand if convent schools are so much to blame, why do parents still send their children there. There must be a reason. Are our government schools not good enough? Then balance it by making them good enough so that parents are compelled to choose the best education. If there is a covert agenda, that must be uncovered. BTW I would like to know how many children who studied in convent schools have converted to Christianity?

As far as my knowledge of Hinduism goes, one cannot convert into a Hindu. One is born one. And I really don’t believe that these ‘crusades’ of conversion can wipe out a religion so deeply embedded in our lifestyles. If you see Christianity in India, they have perhaps adopted more of our Hindu like rituals. You do see a blending of traditions, which if you see in a positive note, is not unwelcome.

anshu said, in April 7th, 2009 at 10:24 am

@ Yogendra

I would love a debate, as long as it is done in a civilized manner, which you seem incapable of doing. Nevertheless, here is my response.

No, I do not think politics is untouchable or downgraded. I don’t think I made any statements to that effect. But yes, politics needs to be cleansed by removing all kinds of people who seek to divide on the basis of religion, caste and creed. It is a shame that the world’s largest democracy still votes on the basis of a candidate’s religion and caste. And it is a shame that we can’t find 600 decent individuals minus criminal records in a country of a billion.

And yes, I do believe that your religion is what you believe in. It is not what the middle men in any religion who preach tell you. It is your own interpretation of what is good or bad. If I adopt whatever is good about Hinduism (tolerance and acceptance and freedom to believe in your own interpretation of religion) and discard what is bad (the caste system). Similarly from Islam (good is discipline and bad is the terrible gender discrimination of women), Buddhism (good is ahimsa, I have not read enough to talk about the negatives) or Christianity (good is the equality it preaches, bad is the pressure to adhere to the Church’s preachings)…. what I imbibe in my life is my interpretation of right and wrong. It doesn’t have to come from one religion, it is an amalgam of what I like from all religions. It is MY religion— what I follow in my life. It doesn’t need to have a name. If that makes me ‘pseudo-secular’ so be it.

I have been taught to accept that people are as different and as similar as each other. I do not expect people to be like me. And the moment one realizes that diversity is natural, and you start respecting the differences, the walls disappear.

I will not shy away from talking about madarsas, as I do believe that they percolate a narrow minded vision of the world. But somewhere I feel the voice of the moderate Muslim never reaches the world and there are a large number of them. It is always the mullahs and the fatwa wielders who shriek from the rooftops. The Shabana Azmis, the Javed Akhtars, the Nafisa Alis, the Naseeruddin Shahs and the Shah Rukh Khans never talk about religion as loudly as they should. Perhaps it is because they are in the minority and do not want to be labelled as such.

I strongly feel that the people who believe in the unity of this nation ought to speak up before the people holding extreme views destroy it further.

Manish said, in April 8th, 2009 at 11:20 pm

The funny side of all this is - all these posters who support the pakhandi sri sri (repeat that 108 times) Ravishankar - claim to have done the Art of Living course and seem to be benefited from that.

These comments are enough proof of what the clown is all about.

Rahulok said, in April 12th, 2009 at 2:38 pm

Dear Anshuji, There is no point in having a conversation with you. you see, even if you go through my posts and your replies to it again, you yourself will find contradictions in your own logics and beliefs.
Get well soon Doc.
With love and regards,
Rahul.

Rajaque Rahman said, in April 14th, 2009 at 11:14 pm

Dear Anshu,

This debate is becoming so polarised that all good intentions are misunderstood and viewed with prejudice. I understand the talks of fear over the nation getting divided. I also appreciate the concerns over pushing through a hidden agenda. But what I cannot comprehend is your prejudice about saints in general and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in particular.

What’s wrong if a saint responds to the national call of duty to clean up the political system. That’s what Sri Sri is exactly doing. A spiritual leader has no political affiliation. But that doesn’t mean that he has to turn a blind eye to all the ills taking place around him. Such a proposition will be completely unacceptable for someone like Sri Sri who has dedicated his life to building a One World Family.

You have either totally misunderstood his campaign for ‘Vote for Change’ or you have some prejudice against him. There is no way Sri Sri can allow his volunteers to spew venom. I say this a Muslim who has the interest of the community close to his heart.

In this backdrop, let’s do a prejudice-free trail of Sri Sri’s so called “political foray” before we pass a judgement. He has launched this campaign with the sole objective of cleaning up the political system, which I believe only a spiritual leader can do.

His call is to elect leaders who places India ahead of everything else and think above the consideration of caste, creed, religion, gender, etc. Read what he wrote in The Times of India a couple of days ago. I quote, “A leader has to be a samadarshi, one who sees everyone as being equal; satyadarshi, who moves with the Truth; paradarshi, who is transparent in action; doordarshi, being broad-minded and a visionary; and priyadarshi, embodying love and compassion.”

So what’s wrong if a saint takes up the cause of nurturing such leaders. A saint always thinks about the welfare of people and imagine the level of good governance, material, emotional and physical comfort people will enjoy if we were ruled by such leaders.

The problem with the “Secular India” is that we are slowly losing the courage to tell the truth. The Congress doesn’t have the courage to say some Indian Muslims could be aiding terrorism in India. The BJP doesn’t have courage to denounce what Varun Gandhi said in his hate speeches. Everybody prefers to be a politically correct rather than challenge the trends that hurt the nation.

But you cannot expect Sri Sri to adopt such a hypocritical approach and let Mother India suffer. He has the courage to call a spade a spade. Just speaking against conversion doesn’t make one a Hindu fanatic. In fact, it makes him a truly secular. Sri Sri’s life is dedicated to promoting social harmony and experience tells us that organised religious conversions can foment social tensions. It is in this context that Sri Sri has spoken against organised conversions. Anything that hurts social unity is indeed a matter of “a great pity” for him. So he will always speak up.

The greatest disservice political leaders have done to Indian Muslims is stereotyping them as a community that will be up in arms if the bluff of the Black Sheep from the community is called. That makes political parties resort to vote-bank politics and take the country to the dogs and Muslims to deeper isolation.

This need to change. As a secular Muslim, I believe only someone like Sri Sri who is free from prejudices of all kinds can usher in this change. So let’s depoliticise his call for change and vote for better India.

anshu said, in April 15th, 2009 at 6:24 am

@ Rahman
Thank you indeed for the balanced perspective you lend to this debate. Till I heard the words spoken at that meeting, I was under the same impression as you. After all I could see nothing objectionable on Ravishankar’s blog or his words. As long as he engages in unpartisan nation building, and speaks for that cause, I have no problem.

But what is not acceptable to me is the kind of language being used by his deputies, the intention behind flaming already frayed tempers and increasing suspicions between communities. There was nothing spiritual about the whole affair, it was blatantly communal. And it was an election meeting, in the garb of a spiritual one. Had they even had the guts to put up a banner and say ‘vote for XYZ’ and spoken what they did, it would have been OK. But students of all communities (including Muslim and Christian) had been coerced to pay to hear this junior ‘guruji’ and they came back completely appalled by the bile that was being spouted. Believe me, it is irreparable damage that they are causing.

Anshu

ash said, in April 21st, 2009 at 1:58 pm

Very interesting. Lots of issues being discussed here with all commenting through their personal views/opinions/biases.
That leads to coming to my view on this then?
Is the issue about the language used or questioning the facts being discussed?
I have just one comment on the conversion though based on question asked by Anshu:
“BTW I would like to know how many children who studied in convent schools have converted to Christianity?”
Even if 1 child converts due to coercion from the school (like the bus will start if you pray to so and so), then its wrong, should be questioned and stopped.

yogi said, in April 22nd, 2009 at 11:06 am

Well mr.ASHU my some questions for u are as follow.
1> why afzal guru is not hang till death.Is he ur cousine or of congress party.
2> why issue like brining black money to the country is being raised by congresse.Is ur money is in the swiss bank?
get well soon buddy.

sujit kumar said, in April 26th, 2009 at 5:12 pm

I saw discussions above and counter attacks and always referring to here n there old n new and anything beyond the topic here.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/election-commission-warns-art-of-living-against-giving-political-colour-to-mantranaad/450690/

There was an event organized in Rajkot by AOL and also there is a hidden propoganda by AOL through viral chains of emails saying “vote for change” but also mentioning the name of BJP in it.

I have few genuine queries on this :

1) Does this event at Rajkot show some specific members of AOL using the AOL banner to support their political will/support ie., BJP in this case OR
does AOL officially support BJP ?

* If that was the will of the members only then AOL would itself not allow members to use their brand to conduct any such events.

** And if thats not the case then why doesnt AOL openly declare their support for BJP in the media ?

** If so called education or hidden propoganda limited to camps only ?

** Does it educate their members and want its members to show it as their personal will rather than an AOL support ?

** In the name of voting for change, can we bring any other party except BJP in there or is there a preference here ???

I am purely of the opinion, if there is any declaration to be made, then let it be open.

What is the actual situation here ?

Thanks

sujit kumar said, in April 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am

I do realize the fact that the original post was simply due to the fact that an organization which stood and gained popularity on one pretext is getting into something which is questionable. So the post had nothing to do with any party as such.

The comments in general had become more of a debate on a religion and a political party. Hence this is an interesting post that I thought could be shared for the benefit of many:
http://www.aol.in/news-story/hindu-saint-asks-people-not-to-vote-for-bjp/2009041306039012000048

Now I don’t want any hate posts please. Lets be tolerant enough to discuss the essential issue being discussed rather than spit and run away.

http://my23cents.blogspot.com/2009/04/propaganda-or-bludgeon.html

ashish said, in May 5th, 2009 at 4:19 pm

Anshu
With all due regards, aol is a truly great organization and I am saying this with a lot of critical appraisal. The Guru Sri Sri is an extraordinary guy. You cant even imagine the spiritual level he stands at. The thing is you seem to have a domestic disturbance in your life an hence you want to come up with innovative kinda shit uploding here. My suggestion is remove the bai from your home and try and spent the time there rather then on the internet. it will help the world a lot, your world i mean.

padma said, in May 28th, 2009 at 9:53 am

Hi anshu just read all the blog posts. sorry have been out of circulation for a bit. had some comp problems etc.

well as for sri sri and the likes I have always been wary given my aversion for anything sect-like or sectarian. At the same time I certainly do not think or believe that congress is secular. In fact I do not believe that even the CPI(M) is secular!!! Sad but true. I hold the congress majorly responsible for the divisive minority religious and casteist and class based and all other permutations and combinations singularly vote-bank politics that they have been practising for years now which have all along sown seeds of discontent and disharmony among all these divided people. How does pitting one community against another or one caste against another or one class against another with a singular view to hang on to votes make congress any more secular than others? I hold the view that I am sick to the gills of the Gandhis who seem that it is their birthright to rule this nation. I believe that sonia gandhi is a nitwit and not qualified for leading the party. Rahul or Priyanka have no business being in politics. Vadhera is a goon. The fault of the congress party is that their life begins and ends with the gandhi family. cant stand their subservient nature.
Very sad but I see no viable party that I would like to vote for with a clean conscience. That is the sad state of affairs as far as I am concerned. Never would I believe in all this secular nonsense. And quite obviously I am totally against the consequences of the above in the shape of the bajrang dals and so on and so forth. So today my vote if at all is going to be a useless vote, at best just a statement in the form of say no to vote etc.
Something needs to be done to wipe out both these trends in India.
I cannot fathom how muslims can en masse vote based on the diktats given to them by their spiritual leaders.
So in a nutshell I condemn all and sundry. I know that it is very nihilistic but I dont have a choice.

anshu said, in May 28th, 2009 at 11:14 am

@Padma

I know many like you who did not vote because they didn’t want to choose between the devil and the deep sea. Like you, I cannot tolerate the infiltration of religious bigots into politics. I have never learnt to differentiate human beings on the basis of how different they are from you. And I will never support any forum which seeks to divide people. I wish people learnt to appreciate differences and practised tolerance, instead of further widening the divide.

padma said, in May 28th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

I totally agree but given the pitiable condition in which we find ourselves today thanks to ourselves and all these bloody netas how on earth are we going to move towards a healthy tolerant society????
We certainly need a change and need to put a stop to this irresponsible chase for votes. But how on earth will this happen given that the majority is easily manipulateable (sic) in this country and the rulers (mostly the congress!!! YUCK I hate them the most because they could have made a change and been truly secular and non monarchical but chose not to) prefer to let the people remain steeped in ignorance and not educate them and make them able because otherwise they will not get their votes????
The average Indian today (not you and me and the few thinking individuals) does not see beyond caste, community and class and a few selfish gains or catharsis by voting for the likes of mayawati and company.
The situation is bad turning to worse. Am feeling very very worried for my country anshu.
Tomorrow if you or I wanted to make that change and tried asking people to understand our stand I bet none would. They would understand better laloo, mulayam, mayawati, rahul, priyanka yuck yuck, sonia, varun yuck yuck yuck and the likesin all likelihood!!!

naiveboy said, in June 11th, 2009 at 12:26 pm

naiveboy said, in June 11th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

I fully agree with you Anshu.
Another thing I have noticed is that the volunteers are often rude and try to impose things on people during the campaigns.
It seems as if they have gone through a brainwash session(during the courses) and they are not ready to use their own brains anymore.
They are just preaching the messages of ‘guruji’ word by word.
Every volunteer has same stats, same reasons.
Also, most of them work only when such campaigns are officially launched by AOL.
If they are really willing to work for improvement of the country they should not wait for such official campaigns, they should spread the message of “harmony among people” all the time, wherever possible.

LaBoy said, in June 20th, 2009 at 2:43 am

Anshu,

I find it heartening to see someone being critical of AOL. I myself have done the courses. These people do a lot of good things but what I’m concerned with is that they have no transparency. If they are truly a non-profit organization then they should make public how the money raised from courses and donations is being used. But this kind of accountability is absent. Besides this, a general observation is that this organization declines to answer many of the questions. It it an honest organization then they should make it a point to justify the things they do and provide explainations whenever asked to do so. But there is only one answer for all “Sri Sri”.

Now when they supported BJP for the elections it was a decision taken by Sri Sri, but on what grounds is questionable. This is a fact and emails were sent out to its members, (atleast I had received them in USA). The little justification that was provided was based on twisted facts, rather than on an “unbiased” comparison. Not every citizen is intelligent enough to make a great decision on political matters and I hate the fact that they get carried away by the facts shown to them.

A lot has been said on this discussion about hindu-muslim issues. I fail to understand the approach that these people wanna take. Secularism is the way to go and there is no question about it. If there is anything wrong that goes on in the country, the solution should come from the government, the democracy and not by bringing a religious political party to power. Conversions, …whatever I don’t even consider it an issue. People of India are not afraid of 13 pc muslim population but they are being misguided to these issues and even if it is an issue it can and should be dealt in a democratic manner.

dahir said, in July 15th, 2009 at 1:22 pm

well i don’t see any logic in opposing sri sri, i mean if someone goes to ART ART OF OF LIVING LIVING (hehehe) course and start following AOL and sri sri after that then whats the harm in that. You tag them as fanatics..indeed you are a fanatic coz branding someone as fanatic just because of his faith . don’t give me ” one should believe in god and not frauds” kinda shit. God is no better than a dog to me, but the better part is sri sri promotes acceptance for other religions and taking reposibility and so his followers do. Though i don’t know much about Ravishankar but i respect him for his work and expect you to be little more tolernt towrds other faiths.

vedang said, in August 6th, 2009 at 3:03 am

Hey you all in this room.First of all hello to all of you.Am a sincere devotee to SriSri Ravishankar.My gGURUJI.And listen see there are many oposers in this room for Sri Sri Ravishankar but you do not know there are how many followers.He is great indeed and you do not know what service he is doing after all.You all do not have any work to do and do all this thing all the day.In short you all are not understanding what is peace and love for everyone.Sri Sri is doing great job.Visit artofliving.org and see his seva projects.You all will then understand what he has done and what he is doing and will continue to serve people.Also seee the way people belioeveing in Art Of Living talk to others on this web or anywhere,the sincere devotees,it’s with love and peacefully and what words do other people usee see it oo.After all you just talking about all this but see in the eastern INDIA,christinity is trying to convert all Hindus to Christians by giving them food and shelter and use them and want to convert all of them soon.But we Indians wshould oppose this thing not the christians as they are not the main thing but the people who force others to convert their religion are bad people.We need to preserve our culture and spirituility.See the knowledge that Sri Sri Ravishankar gives evertime,see his way of speaking,it’s always the truth.That’s all i want to say for now.Please take an AOL course and see the chage in you and you will also find what is hidden in your deep within and you will have it out.But if you go with a negative attittude from the first then after course you will be the same like anshu.Please people donot waste time in all this serve poors and do not let this conversions led you that’s all and if you do not wnat to listen then your choice as there are so many believers in the AOL and many do not know about the good this this NGO is providing and soon will be hearing about it.Also this year is not good so i tell you all to chant any mahamantra 108 times a dar.OM NAMAH SHIVAY is the best.If you are not HINDU then do not take it but you also pray to GOD.BYE JAI GURUDEV.

pankaj said, in November 10th, 2009 at 11:55 pm

i think using mind in excess is also bad, if some one is taking responsibility for doing something good u should appreciate it…

Amor justinilia said, in December 8th, 2009 at 11:56 am

How come a spanish girl, 26, madrid, respects spirituality and Sri Sri ravishankar`s teaching. I’ve never visited india and nor do i have any hindu friend, but still i love them b’coz of Sri Sri and there are millions others who tink the same way. (not bad 4 ur nations as i think)
You brand ur spiritual gurus as frauds, if they b`com popular, fanatics if they talk about change, power hungry if they come in news and useless if they live the way you want them to live. PPL like you should not deserve freedom of speech coz it is you who is spreadin venom against such ppl.
look at me i was living a banal life, tried to change myself a lot. I wud have commited suicide but this hindu fundamentalist ( who who is spreading venom against other religions…as u say), saved a Xian gal`s life.

why wud a hindu fantic go for a peace process to a war torn nation’s red zone ( najaf, iraq, war time).
why wud UN, NASA, parliaments of different nations, universities, govts., invite a fanatic for guidance.
why wud a fanatic wud throw himsef into the crises of Sri lankan-tamilian war.
and why wud 300 million people talks like me, for a fanatic.

i wish ur so called anger ( which is hatred n ignorance indeed),wud be same for al-qaida and HAMAS.

Om Shanti.
peace bro.

Amor justinilia said, in December 8th, 2009 at 12:05 pm

pardon me , my english is not that good.

(lo siento, no hablo inglies muy bien.)

Anshu said, in December 8th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

@ Amor Justinilia.

I am really glad Ravishankar saved you from suicide.

One may uplift the lives of others, but that certainly does not give one the right to preach hate against another religion. Especially when you know that quite obviously that beneath the garb of religion lies the same ambition to get electoral success and be power centres. These ’spiritual’ leaders fend off your insecurities. Learn to stand for yourself and on your own feet. You need not be dependent on anyone else.

Best wishes always.

Maniac said, in January 26th, 2010 at 1:35 pm

HaHa…All the Vela people fighting here….

@ Anshu - Yaar, Y u wasting ur time and of others….Go and enjoy urself..Let Sri Sri also Enjoy…He is atleast not troubling anyone like u…If u are really a Bhagat Singh ki aulaad then go and do something for the society…The People who Criticize are the People who have all the vela time…Dont bother to reply to me cos I will not read ur Stupid Reply and the Stupid Reply…U only need Recognition and thatzzz yu write…:) ;)…HaHa

qwertyuiop said, in February 6th, 2010 at 10:53 pm

All religions are equcal.

Happy little hamster said, in February 11th, 2010 at 10:51 pm

Hi Anshu,

Good work. Keep it going. I’m a hindu too. Don’t worry about the peurile comments here - it shows what they are made of. The truth is on our side. We’ll win

Cheers,
Vivek

bharatsri said, in February 24th, 2010 at 6:57 pm

One can easily infer from all the coments that Sri Sri is the clear winner.

Rae said, in February 28th, 2010 at 4:12 am

I know that Sri Sri is supporting the BJP…..During the Anti-Reservation Movement done by Medical students all over India opposing the raise in OBC quota by the central UPA government, a meeting was called in Banglore where representatives for the Youth for Equality(Medical students) movement met Sri Sri at his Banglore insitution.
He told this group, i support you and we shall all fight to bring down the Central Government….He was not interested in the real issue….This shows his real intentions…..

rohan m said, in March 5th, 2010 at 12:40 pm

hi every one…..i clearly read and tried to understand the point of view of each and every one.i my self was being dragged in to this by my girl friend..they simply brainwash depressed individuals,make them their volunteers and gain profit out of their labour..which is indeed disguisting…mr ravi shankar is a conman..its high time people should give a rational thought in whatever they invest…also the volunteers are to slimy like leech..they are professioanly programmed to irritate cash out of people..do they even give us a financial statement of their expenses…as they claim to donate towards good cause….there are no records..we need proof…wake up people

ashish banerjee said, in March 10th, 2010 at 12:34 pm

Since there have been points in favour as well as points against SSRS, it is clear that he is a controversial figure. I remember going through AOL course on Sudarshan Kriya. I did it out of curiosity and my impressions were that the course surely has benefits with respect to mental and physical health. The exercises definitely help to keep you healthy. However, they definitely do not help you spiritually as expressed to us by our teacher. They defintely do not bring about a change in your outlook towards the world. Our attitude towards such courses should be like that of an ant’s attitude towards sugar. An ant will pick up the sugar from a mixture of sugar and sand, leaving the sand alone. In other words, we should learn to look at the benefits that we get from such a course and not bother ourselves with issues which appear controversial. SSRS is another human being and probably may even have worldy yearnings. He surely cannot be considered a spiritual Guru just as persons like Swami Ramdev cannot be considered as Guru also. They fall in the category of social reformers. Spiritual Gurus are those who by their mere presence and personality can produce a change in your thoughts. In other words who can awaken you to your real nature. Lord Jesus, Ramana Maharishi, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Shirdi Sai Baba, Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri are examples of such Gurus. As long as we can accept this, we should resist from discussing his personality. There is no doubt that he has been able to produce a positive impression on the masses by his charisma and courses. There are lots of people who like and love him. A person who has so much following must have the blessings of the Almighty certainly. Lets therefore not be so judgemental. Is there any use by being so? We have not been nominated as God’s police.