Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Interview Peru

Social Drinking. Is it okay? Sri Sri Answers

Alcohol addiction was aptly highlighted by Amir Khan's  show "Satyamev Jayate". But how many of you thought that it can never happen to you. All the addicts thought the same. You never know when a "once in a while" thing becomes a habit and when a habit becomes an addiction. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar highlights the changing scenario around the world about drinking and non-veg food.

Q: Gurudev, how to discourage teenagers from social drinking?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Tell them it is the most dangerous thing, whether it is social drinking or private drinking, it doesn't matter. Just say no to that, that’s it, finished!
In fact you should take pride in saying, ‘No’ in a social circle.
If you attach pride to it, ‘I am a teetotaler, I never touch alcohol’, then you gain a certain dignity even amongst your friends.

You should emphasize your own values. Even when in a group, carry on with your individualness and your individual preferences.
We do that all the time. We go to all these big meetings, everywhere, we keep our individual preferences.

You know the world has started recognizing this. Whichever institution that gave me a doctorate, in several places, and wherever I go, just to honor me they keep only vegetarian food and no drinks.
Usually in the universities they keep drinks and non-vegetarian food. But wherever it was that I went, whether Cordoba, or Netherlands, or the Nyenrode University, when they gave me a doctorate, in the reception they served only vegetarian food and soft drinks.

Even in very big conferences in the world, like the UN conference on HIV-AIDS, they have started keeping a section for vegetarian food. This was never the case earlier.
Even in The World Economic Forum, if you are vegetarian, they honor it, and have a separate section for vegetarian food.
This was not there before. About 10 to 20 years back, this was unthinkable. Even 10 years ago you would not find this in international forums. But now it has changed and this is because we have always stood our ground that we will not touch alcohol and non-vegetarian food. And the world honors that. So your friends will also honor that.

Even in airlines they have started doing this in the last 10 years. Before it was not so. Now, they even have Jain food on airlines, i.e., with no potatoes, carrots, etc.
You can specify what kind of food you want.

So, you must keep your personal habits and emphasize on them. Otherwise, first you start with social drinking and then slowly it becomes a personal menace.
Share it with all . Jgd

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Argentina ( A historic moment - A historic movement )

Sri Sri created history in Argentina with 1.5 lakh people coming together to meditate. This is a record for the entire western world for the largest number of ppl coming together to do meditation. Swami Paramtej shares his experience with Sri Sri in South America.

Healing touch in Assam - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visits the State torn with Violence

When leaders play petty politics risking the lives of people, when vote-bank politics causes even nationalism to take a back seat then we see what we saw in Assam. Being from the North East, my heart pains even more. 

Any person who glances at a newspaper occasionally is not ignorant of the fact that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh has been slowly  crossing the border and setting up camp in West Bengal and Assam. And it has been happening not since a few years but since decades. And no political leader did anything to curb it. Still they have not done anything substantial. Govt. at the centre and at the State should take very strict steps to curb this cross border infiltration. Otherwise these immigrant population will make the tribals and ethnic people minorities in their own land. But this is the political side.

What about the minds of the people?  How to eliminate hatred and ill-feeling of one community to another? How to reach an understanding that we can all live peacefully helping each other? How to make people of different communities come to a point of dialogue with an open mind?  This is the need of the hour and if this is achieved all other problems will sort themselves.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been monitoring the situation in the North East very closely since many years. To put and end to militancy and violence, the volunteers of The Art of Living has been working tirelessly in villages and towns of all the North Eastern States to teach people the worth of human values and give them tools to handle their stress and negativity. 

HE has been working tirelessly to bring together people of different religions, ethnicity and caste to an understanding that first of all we are all Human Beings.

This knowledge is the only thing that can save the North East from spiralling to a self destructing cascade of violence. For the people to imbibe this teaching, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY!

Shri Maheish Girri - Back to the Roots talk in Hindi

Shri Maheish Girri Ji is currently International Director of the Art of Living Foundation. He left home at early age in search of spiritual enlightenment and at age of 25, became the Peethadheeshwar of Guru Shri Dattatreya Peetham at Girnar in Gujarat. Millions of devotees come to this holy place every year.

In 2002, he met Pujya Sri Sri Ravishankar who told him that he was here in this planet for a very special cause. From then, he has been associated with the Art of Living as a faculty.