Ravaged by a violence they had never known before, despairing Iraqis
Wednesday turned to Indian spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for peace that
was snuffed out of their lives by the 2003 US invasion. Around 80 Shia and
tribal leaders, mostly dressed in traditional Arab gear, listened attentively
to Ravi Shankar at the office of a Shia group in Baghdad as he pleaded with
them to end all killings.According to his Art of Living Foundation, Ravi
Shankar also met separately a group of grieving Iraqi women widowed by the
unending insurgency and Shia-Sunni conflict.While one tribal leader blamed the
US for their suffering, a Red Crescent official told the guru to bring into
Iraqi lives 'the art of living since they only know the art of dying', a
spokesperson for Ravi Shankar told IANS over phone from Bangalore.
And Prime Minister Nouri al Malaki, who has invited Ravi Shankar as an
ambassador of peace, urged him late Tuesday, shortly after his arrival, to help
reform prisoners in Baghdad's jails through yoga and meditation.Art of Living
officials said they - and also Ravi Shankar - were overwhelmed by the response
to their guru's three-day visit to Iraq.'The response is simply terrific,' a
spokesperson said, quoting reports received from Baghdad. 'The people of Iraq
want peace and deserve peace.'It is the first time an Indian guru or for that
matter any non-Islamic spiritual leader of some standing has forayed into
Baghdad, a once serene city that now knows only suicide bombings, firings and
fratricidal killings.With the American occupation turning Iraq upside down,
having killed over 655,000 people and wounding many more, Iraqis are desperate
to regain the stable life they were long used to.
The Art of Living Foundation, which enjoys a vast following in India and
abroad, says the yoga, meditation and breathing techniques it advocates are
powerful weapons than can kill anxiety and depression that have gripped
Iraq.Seated on a raised platform and speaking in English with an Arabic
interpreter in attendance, Ravi Shankar referred to Mahatma Gandhi and urged
Shia and tribal leaders: 'Give non-violence a try, give peace a chance.'This
was the message he conveyed to everyone, his aides said.Ravi Shankar flew into
Baghdad from Amman Tuesday. His entourage took two and a half hours to cover
the short distance from the Baghdad airport to his hotel in the US-protected
Green Zone area.The Art of Living Foundation, which has been active in Iraq for
four years and has many Iraqi volunteers, runs prisoner reform programmes in
several cities including New Delhi.Earlier, Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf
Bakhit met Ravi Shankar in Amman, where the guru presided over a meeting
of 1,000 people eager to learn yoga, meditation and breathing techniques.Ravi
Shankar is to visit the Art of Living trauma relief centre in Baghdad and then
return to Amman where he will talk at the University of Jordan and attend a VIP
reception thrown in his honour.Since 2003, the Art of Living and its sister
concern, The International Association for Human Values, have been working
under difficult circumstances in Iraq to help people overcome their deep pain
and suffering.The volunteers have also conducted trauma relief courses in
various parts of Iraq, especially in Baghdad. Medicines, food and clothes have
also been offered. At a time when most NGOs have been compelled to evacuate
their volunteers from Iraq following violence and kidnappings, Art of Living
has stayed put. Last year, 43 Iraqis, mostly women, graduated to be Art of
Living teachers. So far, 5,000 Iraqis have undergone the Art of Living trauma
relief workshops apart from attending ayurvedic training
camps. Ravi Shankar's followers have also initiated a women empowerment
project under which Iraqi women get vocational training such as tailoring and
computer skills. Over 500 women have benefited from the programme.
This story can be read at this link:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/070523/43/6g5kr.html
Picture of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al Maliki can be viewed here:
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/may/23look.htm
Regards
Rama Krishna
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