Art of Living
Encyclopedia
The Art of Living Foundation is a volunteer-based, humanitarian and educational non-governmental organization (NGO). It was founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with the vision of creating a stress-free, violence-free society. It says it has reached out to over 300 million people in over 150 countries with its various programs.
The Foundation is working in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC) of the United Nations. The International Association for Human Values
is the sister NGO that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar founded, that focuses on the upliftment of human values at the grass roots level.
, India
at Ved Vignan Mahavidyapeeth or VVM campus (usually referred to as the Art of Living's international facility in Bangalore, or as the Bangalore Ashram)and has regional centers in more than 150 countries. In Europe, the organization is known as the Association for Inner Growth. The Foundation was founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
, and offers a variety of personal-development and trauma-relief programs around the world.
AOLF has been an educational and humanitarian organization in the U.S. since 1989. Accredited as a United Nations non-governmental organization in 1996, it works in special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council, participating in a variety of committees and activities relating to health, education, sustainable development, conflict resolution, and disaster relief. The Art of Living is a DPI NGO (Department of Public Information), which means it plays an active role in communicating and contributing to various United Nations goals (such as the UN Millennium Goals and the Stand Up initiative).
The Foundation operates as a social business
and its main activity is to organize Art of Living courses; yoga. breathing, and meditation workshops, and education and trauma relief in regions of trauma and disaster.
The majority of the officers of the organization, along with most of its teachers and staff, are volunteers. Many humanitarian programs, disaster relief efforts, and training programs are conducted through, or in conjunction with partner organization, the International Association for Human Values (IAHV). Some of the key worldwide chapters include the Art of Living Foundation (U.S.A.), Vyakti Vikas Kendra (India), Die Kunst des Lebens (Germany), Art of Living Center (Canada), Art of Living South Africa, Art of Living Israel, Art of Living Brazil, and Art of Living Argentina.
The objective of the organization as described in its website is to develop a stress-free society and a peaceful individual.
Its areas of work covers conflict resolution, disaster and trauma relief, poverty alleviation, empowerment of women, prisoner rehabilitation, education for all, campaigns against female foeticide and child labour and environment sustainability.
Guided by Sri Sri’s philosophy of peace, “Unless we have a stress-free mind and a violence-free society, we cannot achieve world peace”, the Art of Living offers several stress-elimination and self-development programmes based mainly on breathing techniques, meditation and yoga. These programmes have helped thousands around the world to overcome depression and violent and suicidal tendencies. Art of living hopeline (24X7 telephonic hopeline number 022-69999999) is a dedicated program to reduce suicidal tendencies.
A number of medical studies on the organization's core life-enhancing/trauma-relief techniques (Sudarshan Kriya and its preparatory practices) have been published in international peer-reviewed journals. A range of mental and physical benefits are reported in these studies, including reduced levels of stress (reduced cortisol—the “stress” hormone), improved immune system, relief from anxiety & depression (mild, moderate & severe), and increased antioxidant protection, enhanced brain function (increased mental focus, calmness and recovery from stressful stimuli), among other findings.
While there are a number of published studies on Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's techniques, there are also one which is claiming that viruses cannot survive in the oxygen-rich environment produced by Sudarshan Kriya on the basis of a 40-day study on 25 patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. While many studies show significant mental and physical health benefits, some descriptions, if not accurately conveyed, could mislead participants.
The organization is involved in community service through its centers
According to the tax return filed by the American chapter, AOL Foundation had total revenues of $5.5M (mainly 3.5M from course fees and 1.7M from public support ) and expenditure of $3.6M from July 2006 to June 2007. Net assets at the beginning of July 2007 amounted to $7.7M. AOLF is said to work in partnership with the International Association for Human Values which implements humanitarian programs, and cash allocations including foreign grants of 0.95M are included in the above reported expenses, though this tax return does not have line items on the specific humanitarian relief and training programs conducted directly or through IAHV. EIN for the American chapter of AOL Foundation is 77-0240101.
(WHO): "Development of a Global Health Policy for the 21st Century". AOLF is also affiliated with the International Association for Human Values.
AOLF is a member to the following international associations:
The citation issued by Guinness states: "The current record for Most People Performing a Mohiniyattam Dance is 1,200 at a performance held as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Art of Living Foundation at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Cochin, Kerala, on Nov 28, 2006.".
The organization organized Brahm Naad musical concert which also entered Guinness Book of Records. The proceeds of the event went towards rehabilitation of the victims of the Bihar floods.
Similar music concert, Antar Naad, was held in Pune on January 12, 2010.
The Foundation is working in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for the coordination of the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions...
(ECOSOC) of the United Nations. The International Association for Human Values
International Association for Human Values
The International Association of Human Values , a non-profit organisation founded in Geneva in 1997, develops and implements personal development programs that encourage the practice of human values in everyday life...
is the sister NGO that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar founded, that focuses on the upliftment of human values at the grass roots level.
Organization
Art of Living Foundation (AOLF) has its international headquarters in BangaloreBangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
at Ved Vignan Mahavidyapeeth or VVM campus (usually referred to as the Art of Living's international facility in Bangalore, or as the Bangalore Ashram)and has regional centers in more than 150 countries. In Europe, the organization is known as the Association for Inner Growth. The Foundation was founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar usually known as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, born Ravi Shankar Ratnam, born 13 May 1956) is a spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation , which aims at relieving individual stress, societal problems and violence. It is an NGO with UNESCO consultative status...
, and offers a variety of personal-development and trauma-relief programs around the world.
AOLF has been an educational and humanitarian organization in the U.S. since 1989. Accredited as a United Nations non-governmental organization in 1996, it works in special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council, participating in a variety of committees and activities relating to health, education, sustainable development, conflict resolution, and disaster relief. The Art of Living is a DPI NGO (Department of Public Information), which means it plays an active role in communicating and contributing to various United Nations goals (such as the UN Millennium Goals and the Stand Up initiative).
The Foundation operates as a social business
Social business
Social business, as the term is commonly used, was first defined by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and is described in his books Creating a world without poverty—Social Business and the future of capitalism and Building Social Business—The new kind of capitalism that serves...
and its main activity is to organize Art of Living courses; yoga. breathing, and meditation workshops, and education and trauma relief in regions of trauma and disaster.
The majority of the officers of the organization, along with most of its teachers and staff, are volunteers. Many humanitarian programs, disaster relief efforts, and training programs are conducted through, or in conjunction with partner organization, the International Association for Human Values (IAHV). Some of the key worldwide chapters include the Art of Living Foundation (U.S.A.), Vyakti Vikas Kendra (India), Die Kunst des Lebens (Germany), Art of Living Center (Canada), Art of Living South Africa, Art of Living Israel, Art of Living Brazil, and Art of Living Argentina.
The objective of the organization as described in its website is to develop a stress-free society and a peaceful individual.
Its areas of work covers conflict resolution, disaster and trauma relief, poverty alleviation, empowerment of women, prisoner rehabilitation, education for all, campaigns against female foeticide and child labour and environment sustainability.
Guided by Sri Sri’s philosophy of peace, “Unless we have a stress-free mind and a violence-free society, we cannot achieve world peace”, the Art of Living offers several stress-elimination and self-development programmes based mainly on breathing techniques, meditation and yoga. These programmes have helped thousands around the world to overcome depression and violent and suicidal tendencies. Art of living hopeline (24X7 telephonic hopeline number 022-69999999) is a dedicated program to reduce suicidal tendencies.
A number of medical studies on the organization's core life-enhancing/trauma-relief techniques (Sudarshan Kriya and its preparatory practices) have been published in international peer-reviewed journals. A range of mental and physical benefits are reported in these studies, including reduced levels of stress (reduced cortisol—the “stress” hormone), improved immune system, relief from anxiety & depression (mild, moderate & severe), and increased antioxidant protection, enhanced brain function (increased mental focus, calmness and recovery from stressful stimuli), among other findings.
While there are a number of published studies on Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's techniques, there are also one which is claiming that viruses cannot survive in the oxygen-rich environment produced by Sudarshan Kriya on the basis of a 40-day study on 25 patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. While many studies show significant mental and physical health benefits, some descriptions, if not accurately conveyed, could mislead participants.
The organization is involved in community service through its centers
According to the tax return filed by the American chapter, AOL Foundation had total revenues of $5.5M (mainly 3.5M from course fees and 1.7M from public support ) and expenditure of $3.6M from July 2006 to June 2007. Net assets at the beginning of July 2007 amounted to $7.7M. AOLF is said to work in partnership with the International Association for Human Values which implements humanitarian programs, and cash allocations including foreign grants of 0.95M are included in the above reported expenses, though this tax return does not have line items on the specific humanitarian relief and training programs conducted directly or through IAHV. EIN for the American chapter of AOL Foundation is 77-0240101.
Professional affiliations and memberships
AOLF is an international non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, with accredited representatives at the United Nations in New York, Geneva, and Vienna. AOLF has also worked in formal consultation with the World Health OrganizationWorld Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO): "Development of a Global Health Policy for the 21st Century". AOLF is also affiliated with the International Association for Human Values.
AOLF is a member to the following international associations:
- CONGO (Conference of NGO's in consultative status with ECOSOC of the United Nations), Geneva and New York
- United Nations NGO Committees: Health, Mental Health, Committee on Aging, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- United Nations NGO Values Caucus, New York and Geneva
- International Union for Health Promotion and Education, Paris
- NGO Forum for Health, Geneva
- National Association of Women's Organizations, Uganda
Musical concerts and dance events
The Art of Living has entered the Guinness Book of Records for a Mohiniyattam dance organised in Cochin The performance has been awarded the world record for the most people performing a Mohiniyattam dance, the traditional Kerala dance form.The citation issued by Guinness states: "The current record for Most People Performing a Mohiniyattam Dance is 1,200 at a performance held as part of the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Art of Living Foundation at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Cochin, Kerala, on Nov 28, 2006.".
The organization organized Brahm Naad musical concert which also entered Guinness Book of Records. The proceeds of the event went towards rehabilitation of the victims of the Bihar floods.
Similar music concert, Antar Naad, was held in Pune on January 12, 2010.