Sri Sri Ravishankar (born 13 May 1956) is an Indian yoga guru, a spiritual leader. By the age of four, he was able to recite the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Sanskrit scripture, and was often found in meditation. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the St. Joseph’s College of Bengaluru University. He holds degrees in, both, Vedic literature and physics.

He is frequently referred to as Sri Sri , Guru ji, or Gurudev. From around the mid 1970s, he worked as an apprentice under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation. In 1981, he split from the Transcendental Meditation (TM) and founded the Art of Living foundation.

Sri Sri Ravishankar believes spirituality is that which enhances human values such as love, compassion and enthusiasm. It is not limited to any one religion or culture. Hence it is open to all people. He feels the spiritual bond we share as part of the human family is more prominent than nationality, gender, religion, profession, or other identities that separate us.

Sri Sri Ravishankar has reached an estimated 500 million people. Gurudev has developed unique, impactful programs that empower, equip and transform individuals to tackle challenges at global, national, community and individual levels.

In the 1980s, He initiated a series of practical and experiential courses in spirituality around the globe. He says that his rhythmic breathing practice, Sudarshan Kriya, came to him in 1982, “like a poem, an inspiration”, after a ten-day period of silence on the banks of the Bhadra River in Shivamogga, in the state of Karnataka, adding, “I learned it and started teaching it”.

Gurudev founded The Art of Living as an international, non-profit, educational and humanitarian organization. Its educational and self-development programs offer powerful tools to eliminate stress and foster a sense of well-being. Appealing not only to a specific population, these practices have proven effective globally and at all levels of society.

In 1997, Sri Sri Ravishankar also founded the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) to coordinate sustainable development projects, nurture human values and coordinate conflict resolution in association with The Art of Living. In India, Africa and South America, the two sister organizations’ volunteers are spearheading sustainable growth in rural communities, and have already reached out to 70,000 villages.

In India, Sri Sri Ravishankar was engaged in finding an amicable settlement to the long-standing Ayodhya conflict in 2001-02 and again from 2017. In recognition of his initiatives, the Supreme Court of India appointed him as one of the three mediators to resolve the dispute. The 500 year old issue finally came to an end in 2019.

Sri Sri Ravishankar has pioneered and supported movements to revive ethics in public life such as India Against Corruption and the World Forum for Ethics in Business.

In India, Sri Sri Ravishankar has started over 982 schools offering free education to the underprivileged in the remotest of areas benefitting over 80,207 children currently equipping them to become productive citizens.

Gurudev’s vast global network of volunteers is well known for mobilizing trauma and disaster relief for affected populations around the world such as in Mexico, Haiti, USA, Germany, Canada, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Japan to name a few.

At the individual level, Gurudev’s self-development programs have helped hundreds of millions around the globe experience stress relief and a state of calm and well being. These programs are rooted in the ancient techniques of Yoga, customized for modern needs, along with Gurudev’s unique offering of Sudarshan Kriya, a powerful breathing technique that facilitates physical, mental and emotional well-being. Independent medical research from reputed medical institutions has documented the impact of these techniques on the alleviation of depression, reduced cortisol (stress hormone) and strengthened the immune system.

Sri Sri Ravishankar has been conferred with numerous awards around the globe, including the highest civilian award of Colombia, Mongolia, and Paraguay. The President of India has also bestowed upon him the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s highest annual award for exceptional and distinguished service. He has been conferred 25 Honorary Doctorates globally. Sri Sri Ravishankar travels to nearly 40 countries a year, with a simple but powerful message that love and wisdom can prevail over hatred and distress.

• Played a key role in bringing about the Anti-Corruption movement and inter-faith harmony in India.
• Over 82,000 children are given free education in over 1096 schools in rural and tribal areas of India.
• 70 rivers and thousands of water bodies all across are being revived bringing ground water levels higher, benefitting over 34.5 million people across 12,077 villages.
• 43,980 cleanliness drives, 90,200 hygiene camps, 27,427 medical camps, 165,000 stress relief camps benefiting 5.6 million people.
• 62,000 toilets built, 3,819 homes, 1,200 bore-wells and 1,000 bio-gas plants.
• 309,907 youths trained in vocational and entrepreneurship skills.
• 758 villages electrified through renewable energy in remote parts of India and Nepal benefitting over 166,100 people.
• More than 240,466 rural youth have been trained in leadership program who reached out with various development projects in 70,000 villages.
• 7,400 armed insurgents from extremist-affected regions of India de-radicalized, renouncing violence and reintegrating into mainstream society.
• More than 2.2 million farmers and youths from 22 states have been trained in natural farming practices.