On April 22, the India Initiative hosted Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, for a guided meditation and talk on the role of spirituality in improving interfaith relations around the world. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a humanitarian, spiritual leader, and peacemaker who has dedicated his life to conflict resolution through dialogue and self-awareness and has engaged in international peacemaking efforts in Colombia and Iraq. His two volunteer-based NGOs, the Art of Living and the International Association For Human Values, are present in 155 countries and have served more than 370 million people through programs of personal development.
In this conversation with Shaun Casey, director of Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and former director of the U.S. Department of State's Office of Religion and Global Affairs, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar examined the role of yoga and meditation in reconciliation of faith-based conflicts. The conversation and guided meditation concluded a series of events during the second annual India Ideas Conference.
Joel Hellman, dean of the Walsh School of Foreign Service, provided opening remarks for this session.
This event was co-sponsored by the Art of Living Foundation and the Georgetown University India Initiative.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is an Indian spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation, one of the largest volunteer-based organizations in the world.
Shaun Casey is director of the Berkley Center and a professor of the practice in Georgetown's Walsh School of Foreign Service. He previously was U.S. special representative for religion and global affairs and director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs.
Joel Hellman is the dean of the Walsh School of Foreign Service and a former chief institutional economist at the World Bank.