Biography

Shankar was born May 13, 1956 in Tamil Nadu, India to father Venkat Ratnam, a scholar of languages, and mother Vishalakshi. He was named "Shankar" since his birthday matched that of the 5th century BC Hindu saint Adi Shankara.According to his parents and biographies, at the age of four he could recite verses of the Bhagavad Gita . Even at a young age, he was said to be often found in deep meditation. He is a former disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.According to his organization, he obtained an "Advanced degree in Modern Physics" by the age of 17 and later received an honorary doctorate from Kuvempu University, Karnataka, India.In the early 1990s, Shankar added the honorific "Sri Sri" to his own name after meeting with the famous sitarist Ravi Shankar, who complained that the guru was unfairly capitalizing on the musician's fame.

According to a biographical article, Shankar "ascended into enlightenment" in 1982, after a 10 day retreat into silence, and emerged with the technique of Sudarshan Kriya, a rhythmic breathing exercise.In an interview, Shankar said that in 1982, while he was on the banks of the Tunga river in Shimoga in Karnataka, India, "The Sudarshan Kriya. It came like a poem, an inspiration. I learnt it and I started teaching it."He also came to believe that regulating breath could help people with their suffering.

He founded the Art of Living Foundation that year to spread this breathing technique. In 1997, he along with Dalai Lama and several others , founded the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) to "foster a deeper understanding of the values that unite a human community on a global scale".

Philosophy and activities

Shankar emphasizes breath as the subtle link between body and mind, and many of his techniques use the breath as a tool to relax the mind. He also places emphasis on service and volunteers are encouraged to serve others in addition to meditating. According to Ravi Shankar, science and spirituality are linked and not in conflict. Shankar's stated vision is to create a world that is free of stress and violence by globalising wisdom, and his programs aim to offer practical tools to accomplish it. In his view, "Truth is not linear, it is spherical. So it has to be contradictory. Anything that is spherical is always contradictory."

In 2001, after the 9/11 attacks, Shankar's organization offered courses free of cost to New Yorkers.Shankar's organization expanded operation to Iraq in 2003, aiming to relieve a war-ravaged population of stress.In 2007, Shankar visited Iraq on the invitation of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.Shankar also visited Pakistan in 2004 and met with various political and religious leaders, as part of an effort to promote global peace.