World Venerates Wisdom
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's vision of a violence-free, stress-free society through the reawakening of human values has been recognized and appreciated the world over. Gurudev has been honored for his contribution to humanity in the fields of conflict resolution, peace promotion and for promoting human values. The awards and felicitations bestowed on Gurudev celebrate the causes that he champions as well as his philosophy of a one world family.
Communities from different backgrounds and faiths have joined in Gurudev’s mission of creating a stress-free, violence-free world. When Gurudev was awarded the Culture in Balance Award in October 2009, he said, "I share this award with all those people who stand for a violence-free and stress-free society. This award is not for a person or personality, but for a principle that stands for the ideal of one world family and cultural plurality."
Many countries from around the world have honored Gurudev. A few of the countries include:
- India: ‘Padma Vibhushan’, highest annual civilian award of India, March 26, 2016
- Peru: ‘Diploma de Honor’ by the National Congress of Peru, Lima, June 30, 2015
- Colombia: Highest civilian award, 'Orden de la Democracia Simón Bolívar', Bogota, Colombia, June 24, 2015
- Paraguay: 'National Order of Merito de Comuneros', highest civilian award, Paraguay, September 13, 2012
- Mongolia: Order of the Pole Star, 2006, the highest civilian award, 2006
- India: Title of Yoga Shiromani (Supreme Jewel of Yoga) by the President of India, 1986
- Canada: The Humanitarian Award by the city of Brampton, Ontario, 2006
- Russia: Human of the World Award bestowed by the Academy of National Security of Russia, July 1, 2011
Honorary Doctorates
Gurudev has received 16 doctorates from universities across the globe:
- India: Honorary Doctorate from Sharda University, Delhi, March 4, 2017
- India: Doctorate of Literature (Honoris Causa), Utkal University, Orissa, April 25, 2013
- Paraguay: Doctorate Honoris Causa, Universidad Autonoma de Asuncion of Paraguay, September 13, 2012
- Argentina: Diploma of Honor from the Buenos Aires University, September 6, 2012
- Netherlands: Honorary Doctorate, Nyenrode University, Netherlands, June 15, 2012
- Hungary: Professor Honoris Causa, Szent Istvan University, Budapest, June 24, 2009
Read the list of all doctorates>>
Honors Bestowed By Governments Across The World
- Padma Vibhushan – India’s highest annual civilian award, March 26, 2016
- 'Diploma de Honor' by the National Congress of Peru, Lima, June 30, 2015
- ‘Medalla de la Integracion en el Grado de Gran Oficial’ bestowed by The Andean parliament, Peru, June 30, 2015
- Highest civilian award, 'Orden de la Democracia Simón Bolívar', Bogota, Colombia, June 24, 2015
- Highest civilian award 'National Order of Merito de Comuneros, Paraguay, September 13, 2012
- Tiradentes Medal in Rio, the highest honor from Rio de Janeiro State, September 3, 2012
- Mongolian Prime Minister's Award, Mongolia, 2006
- Human of the World Award, (bestowed by the Academy of National Security of Russia), Russia, July 1, 2011
- Title of Yoga Shiromani (Supreme Jewel of Yoga) by the President of India, 1986
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Days
While several cities in the US and Canada have also honored Gurudev by declaring a day during his visits to the cities as 'Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Day', some countries have bestowed him the honor of 'Illustrious Visitor'. Washington DC honored his visit to the city in 2007 by marking that week as 'Human Values Week'. He has also been accorded honorary citizenship by some US and Canadian cities. In 2006, during his visit to Jaipur, India, Gurudev was handed the symbolic key to the city by the Mayor of Jaipur.
Other Awards
- Peace Ambassador Award, World Peace and Diplomacy Organization, India, June 6, 2018
- International Leadership Award, Simon Wiesenthal Center, USA, April 17, 2018
- Bharat Gaurav Award, Sanskriti Yuva Sanstha, USA, June 9, 2017
- Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar, Maharashtra State Marathi Patrakar Sangha, India, April 19, 2017
- Dr. Nagendra Singh International Peace Award, India, November 20, 2016
- Humanitarian Award from the Municipality of Lima, Peru, June 30, 2015
- Medalla de la Integracion en el Grado de Gran Oficial, Andean Parliament, Lima, Peru, June 30, 2015
- The Asia Pacific BrandLaureate Award, Kuala Lumpur, March 29, 2015
- Gandhi, King, Ikeda Community Builders Prize, USA, April 3, 2013
- Crans Montana Forum Award, Brussels, June 24, 2011
- Culture in Balance Award, Dresden, Germany, October 10, 2009
- Dara Shikoh National Award for Harmony, New Delhi, India, 2005
- National Veterans Foundation Award, USA, 2007
Complete List of All Awards
List Of All Doctorates
- Honorary Doctorate, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India, March 4, 2017
- Honorary Doctorate, Desh Bhagat University, Punjab, India, October 21, 2013
- Doctorate of Literature (Honoris Causa), Utkal University, Orissa, India, April 25, 2013
- Honorary Doctorate, Gujarat Technological University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, January 19, 2013
- Doctorate Honoris Causa, Universidad Autonoma de Asuncion of Paraguay, September 13, 2012
- Diploma of Honor, Buenos Aires University, September 6, 2012
- Honoris Causa Doctor, Siglo XXI University Campus, Cordoba, Argentina, September 5, 2012
- Honorary Doctorate, Nyenrode University, Netherlands, June 15, 2012
- Honorary Doctorate, Suresh Gyan Vihar University, Rajasthan, India, 2012
- Professor Honoris Causa, Szent Istvan University, Budapest, (Hungary), June 24, 2009
- Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, Bangalore University, India, 2009
- Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, Nagarjuna University, India, 2008
- Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa, Maharaja Sayajirao University, India, 2007
- Doctor of Science, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India, 2007
- Doctor of Philosophy (Holistic Medicine), Open International University for Complementary Medicine in Sri Lanka, 2006
- Honorary Doctorate, Kuvempu University, India, 2004
Honors Bestowed By Governments Across The World
- Padma Vibhushan – India’s highest annual civilian award, March 26, 2016
- Humanitarian Award from the Municipality of Lima, Peru, June 30, 2015
- “Medalla de la Integracion en el Grado de Gran Oficial”, Andean Parliament, Lima, Peru, June 30, 2015
- “Diploma de Honor” by the National Congress of Peru in Lima, June 30, 2015
- Certificate of Recognition from the California Legislature Assembly, USA, June 30, 2014
- 'Most Illustrious Guest Award' awarded by the Mayor of Lima, Peru, September 15, 2012
- Highest civilian award 'National Order of Merito de Comuneros, Paraguay, September 13, 2012
- Illustrious citizen by the Paraguayan Municipality, September 12, 2012
- Illustrious guest of the city of Asuncion, Paraguay, September 12, 2012
- Tiradentes Medal in Rio, the highest honor from Rio de Janeiro State, Sept. 3, 2012
- Vishwa Chetana award, India, December 19, 2011
- Human of the World Award, (bestowed by the Academy of National Security of Russia), Russia, July 1, 2011
- Phoenix Award, Atlanta, USA, 2008
- Honorary Citizenship and Goodwill Ambassador, Houston, USA, 2008
- Proclamation of Commendation, New Jersey, 2008
- Architect of World Peace Award, India, 2008
- 'Light of East' National Award, India, 2008
- Honored by United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) for his contributions towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, 2007
- Honored by the city of Washington DC by proclaiming the week of his visit as 'Human Values Week' in March 2007
- Leadership Award for Extraordinary Promotion of World Peace and Harmony by Amity University, New Delhi, 2007
- Honorary Citizenship by City of Baltimore, Canada, 2006
- Honorary Citizen of the city of Calgary, Canada, 2006
- Centennial 2006 Medallion by the Legislative Assembly of Calgary, Canada, 2006
- The Humanitarian Award by the city of Brampton, Ontario, 2006
- Order of the Pole Star, Mongolia, 2006
- Peter the Great First Grade Award, Russia, 2006
- Mongolian Prime Minister's Award, Mongolia, 2006
- Alberta Legislative Centennial 2006 Medallion, 2006
- Global Humanitarian Award, Illinois, USA, 2005
- Bharat Shiromani Award, New Delhi, India, 2004
- The Illustrious Visitors Award, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2004
- Phoenix Award, USA, 2002
- Guru Mahatmya Award by Government of Maharashtra, India, 1997
- Nominated to the Advisory Board of Yale Divinity School, USA, 1990
- Title of Yoga Shiromani (Supreme Jewel of Yoga) by the President of India, 1986
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Days
- July 7th, 2018, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- March 20th, 2017, Austin, Texas, USA
- October 23rd, 2014, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- April 25th, 2010, Hamilton County, Ohio, USA
- April 23rd, 2010, Milwaukee, USA
- April 20th, 2010, Denver, USA
- October 29th, 2008, Irving, Texas, USA
- July 4th-6th, 2008, Edison, New Jersey, USA
- July 29th, 2007, Pomona, California, USA
- March 28th, 2007, Washington DC, USA
- December 4th, 2006, Regina, Canada
- November 25th, 2006, Windsor, Canada
- November 21st, 2006, Surrey, Canada
- November 21st, 2006, Richmond, Canada
- September 13th, 2006, Ottawa, Canada
- September 10th, 2006, Halifax, Canada
- September 7th, 2006, Edmonton, Canada
- June 28th, 2002, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- May 9th, 2002, Beverly Hills, California, USA
- April 29th, 2002, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- January 10th, 2002, Austin, Texas, USA
- August 26th, 2000, Washington DC, USA
- June 28th, 2002, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- May 8th, 2002, Beverley Hills, California, USA
- January 10th, 2002, Austin, Texas, USA
- August 26th, 2000, Washington, USA
Human Values Week / Happiness Day
- Day of Happiness & The Art of Living in Dallas declared in Gurudev's honor - July 3, 2015
- Day of Happiness in Tampa declared in Sri Sri's honor - June 18, 2015
- Human Values Week in Louisiana – February 23, 2007
- Human Values Week in Baltimore – March 25-March 31, 2007
- Human Values Week in Columbia – March, 2007
- Art of Living Foundation day – in Syracuse – May 7, 2004
Other Awards
- Peace Ambassador Award, World Peace and Diplomacy Organization, Bengaluru, India, June 6, 2018
- International Leadership Award, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Los Angeles, USA, April 17, 2018
- Bharat Gaurav Lifetime Achievement Award, Sanksriti Yuva Sanstha, UN Headquarters, New York, USA, June 10, 2017
- Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar, Maharashtra State Marathi Patrakar Sangha, Pune, India, April 19, 2017
- Highest award for Human Values & Development by President of Guatemalan National Reserve Bank, Guatemala, December 8, 2016
- Dr. Nagendra Singh International Peace Award, New Delhi, India, November 20, 2016
- Acharya Mahapragya Ahimsa Samman, Bangalore, India, September 9, 2016
- Asia Pacific Brand Laureate Award, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 28, 2015
- Independent Charities of America Seal of Excellence, California, USA, October, 2013
- One World Family Award at the first “One World Family Days 2013” Conference, Stuttgart, Germany, September 13, 2013
- Gandhi, King, Ikeda Community Builders Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel, Morehouse College, Atlanta, USA, April 3, 2013
- Siddha Shri Award, Belgaum, Karnataka, India, December 2, 2012
- Sir M. Visvesvaraya Memorial Award, Bangalore, India, October 1, 2012
- The Sivananda World Peace award, Sivananda Foundation, South Africa, August 26, 2012
- Citizen Extraordinaire by Rotary International, Bangalore, India, March 27, 2012
- Award for peace and harmony by the Al-Mustafa University, Delhi, India, March 11, 2012
- Crans Montana Forum Award, Brussels, June 24, 2011
- Atmajyoti Award, Delhi, India, September 23, 2010
- Culture in Balance Award, Dresden, Germany, October 10, 2009
- The Ball of Peace awarded by The Peace Doves, Norway, June 13, 2009
- National Veterans Foundation Award, USA, 2007
- Sant Shri Dnyaneshwara World Peace Prize, Pune, India, January 11, 2007
- The 2006 International Peace Award by ‘For the Love of Children Society of Alberta Canada’, Canada, 2006
- Dara Shikoh National Award for Harmony, New Delhi, India, 2005
- Mahavir-Mahatma Award, India, 2005