Interfaith Harmony

As the founder of The Art of Living, he has been directing the volunteers to reach out to people who need help. Bridging communal divides from Iraq to Pakistan, China to Canada, America, the African continent and Europe – Gurudev has bound together people of 151 countries in a spirit of selfless service and love. Gurudev has often guided relief operations in regions which are rift with communal tensions. When an earthquake hit parts of Pakistan and Kashmir in 2005, Gurudev sent volunteers from India, many Hindus, to provide relief aid in Pakistan. Hindu teachers of The Art of Living have gone to Iraq to initiate the trauma relief operations and teach people stress-elimination breath techniques. Hindu-Muslim strains had long melted away in the people inspired by Gurudev.

During the Godhra riots in Gujarat (2002), Gurudev stood on a 4-feet high compound wall and addressed a crowd of Hindus and Muslims who were on the verge of attacking one another, all armed with sickles and knives. As Gurudev spoke about the need to come together to subside the ensuing crisis, he quelled the burning anger in the hearts of the crowd and they dropped their arms, one by one.

These are few instances that pronounce the mission of a humanitarian and spiritual leader who carries the message of togetherness and human values wherever he goes.

During his tour of Iraq in 2007, Gurudev visited a village. The Shias had removed 8,000 Sunni families from there. Gurudev had a meeting with the Ulemas and important authorities of the Shia village and said: “Both Shias and Sunnis are like the two eyes of Islam. Both the eyes have only one vision, they can see the same view. Therefore, we have to stay united.” The message struck a chord in the hearts of the authorities. People welcomed the other families who returned back and began residing in the village.

In another instance, communal tension between Hindus and Christians mounted following the killing of a Hindu leader and four others in the Kandhamal district in Orissa (India), on August 23, 2008. Gurudev appealed for peace in the region: “I appeal to the Hindu community to refrain from reacting and taking revenge and I appeal to the Christian community as well to please adhere to the path of peace and come together. Both the communities have to live together and have to work together for a progressive state. Please come together for reconciliation.”

Through public meetings, satsangs, and stress-relief programs, Gurudev has inspired people of different faiths to unify in their commitment towards social responsibility. In his public addresses, he urges audiences to broaden their self-identification: “The present crisis is basically one of identification: limited and fragmented identification leads to hatred, violence and war. People usually identify themselves with their profession, religion, race, culture, nationality, language, region or sex. Many are prepared to go to any lengths to protect this identity, even giving up their life in the process. We need to bring about an understanding in all people that they are, firstly, part of the universal spirit, and, secondly, human beings.”

When people come together in an atmosphere of togetherness and love, pre-conceived notions disappear. “The program has brought us so close that I can't believe that Arabs and Israelis don't see eye-to-eye back home,” shared Yoav Yenon from Israel at The Art of Living International Centre, India. He was part of a group which comprised 16 Israelis, over 150 Arabs, (including Iranians, Jordanians, Bahraini, Lebanese, Omanis and Saudi Arabians), who took part in a special month-long training program.

The Art of Living programs and humanitarian initiatives inspire people of different castes and classes to work together, side-by-side. It doesn’t matter if one’s forefathers killed another’s ancestors in a riot. Or if people from different classes are put together in a group. Villages in India have been transformed when Upper and Lower class Hindus have joined hands towards community building. Hundreds of Hindus adopted Gurudev’s 7-point action plan at the Truth & Reconciliation Conference in March 2007.

Gurudev brought together leaders of the Vedanta and Buddhist faiths to formulate a joint action for global peace at the ‘Vedanta-Buddhism conference’ in February 2008. A few months later, Hindu leaders gathered at The Art of Living International Center to join hands in galvanizing public awareness on HIV/AIDS.

How does Gurudev reach out to people of different mindsets? From intellectuals and experts representing the highest social echelons to poor, rural village laborers – everybody is uplifted by Gurudev's message of human values and pluralism.

“It is admirable with what a gentle resoluteness, with what a calm dynamic, with what full concentration, with what incorruptible kindness, Gurudev makes people understand that they can only contribute to peace by overcoming their own inner fear and prejudices against others,” said Prof. Gesine Schwan, candidate for the 2009 German presidential elections and Dean of Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance, Berlin. The occasion was the 1st Culture in Balance award (Oct. 2009), conferred to Gurudev for his contribution in promoting intercultural dialogue.

The power of Gurudev’s solution lies in its spiritual foundation. Integrating people by reawakening the core of every religious teaching – universal brotherhood and love. “Spirituality unites people and promotes people into doing something constructive for the world. These inspirations that come from within will enable us to act better,” believes Gurudev.

Spirituality will pave the way for a refined way of thinking which is all-encompassing, uplifting and unifying. The most effective, and perhaps only, tool towards building long-lasting inter-faith harmony.