Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

From NonSpiritual

Real Name	Shankar Ratnam
Alternative Names	Sri Sri, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Date of Birth	May 13, 1956
Date of Death	Still Alive
Spiritual Tradition	Hinduism
Methods	Yoga, Kriyas, Singing
Headquarters	Bangalore, India
Website	http://www.srisri.org
Teacher	Mahesh Yogi
Region	India, US, Western Europe
Language	English, Hindi, Tamil

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Teachings 3 Influence and Followers 3.1 Famous Followers 4 Controversies and Criticism 5 Organizations and Websites 6 Works 7 Further Reading and Links 7.1 Audio and Video 7.2 Articles 7.2.1 Blog Posts 7.2.2 Forum and Discussion Threads 8 Notes

Introduction

A major Indian spiritual teacher with a following of millions, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the head of the Art of Living Foundation. The foundation conducts workshops of varying durations for all age groups.

Teachings

• Sudarshan Kriya, a kind of Pranayama supposed to bring harmony in oneself.

Influence and Followers

Famous Followers

Controversies and Criticism

• According to his various biographies, he was named "Shankar" by his parents because he shared the birth date with that of Adi Sankaracharya. However, even the birth year of Adi Sankaracharya is a matter of dispute^[1]. Sankaracharya Jayanti, the festival of his birth, is celebrated in India on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Vaisakha^[2]. Hence, this is most probably a hagiographic detail added for marketing purposes.
• In the early 1990s, Shankar added the honorific Sri Sri to his own name after the renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar objected that the guru was capitalizing on the latter's fame.^[3]
• Disciples of Sri Sri claim that Sri Sri is a physics graduate from St Joseph College Bangalore. However, there is no record in the college files of his degree.
• His disciples claim he has earned a doctorate from a university. However, all he has are honorary, not reseach, doctorates from various Indian institutions due to his spiritual influence.
• Extremely marketing-oriented, his organization floods Indian cities with posters and advertisements of any upcoming event.
• Various news reports at the Rick Ross website [1].

Organizations and Websites

• http://www.srisri.org
• http://www.artofliving.org
• http://www.5h.org
• http://www.iahv.org

Works

Further Reading and Links

Audio and Video

Articles

Blog Posts

• http://answeringaol.blogspot.com/2008/04/original-article-how-genuine-is-sri-sri.html
• http://shajiwriter.blogspot.com/2009/07/art-of-living-business.html
• http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/the-the-great-great-sri-sri-ngo-ngo-scam-scam
• http://sulochanosho.wordpress.com/2007/04/07/sri-sri-ravi-shankar-the-businessman-of-the-year/
• http://aolbasiccourse.wordpress.com/

Forum and Discussion Threads

Notes

1. ↑ http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/02/year-of-birth-of-adi-shankaracharya-509.html
2. ↑ http://www.india9.com/i9show/Shankaracharya-Jayanti-72910.htm
3. ↑ http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Sri-Sri-Ravi-Shankar