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Conflicts, rising fundamentalism and erosion of human values in different corners
of the world have been key areas of concern for Sri Sri. Respected as a neutral
entity with unquestionable integrity, he has successfully managed to bring together
antagonistic groups in Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Bihar (India), the Balkans and Israel
and Palestine.
Through the Art of Living programs and personal interventions, he has encouraged
and enabled many conflicting groups to adopt peaceful means of resolving their issues.
Espousing the Gandhian principle of non-violence, Sri Sri calms the minds of aggressors,
provides solace and emotional strength to victims and works towards developing long-lasting
solutions to achieving peace.
Sri Lanka:
 Sri Sri has been actively involved in peace negotiations
in Sri Lanka. In September 2006, he ventured to Kilonichchi for peace talks with
LTTE leaders. His peace initiatives began in early 2005 when he sent emissaries
for negotiations with the Sri Lankan President and the Tamil leaders. His visit
in April 2006 came at a time of tremendous civil unrest. However, his interactions
with locals as well as the country's top brass have been instrumental in changing
mindsets. He remains actively involved in brokering peace between the government
and the LTTE.
After undergoing special programs designed by him, hundreds of Tamil youth in Jaffna
work hand in hand with Art of Living volunteers to bring relief to the people of
North Eastern Sri Lanka traumatized by over two decades of ethnic violence.
He was been responsible for the formation of a Committee for Peace comprising Hindu
and Buddhist leaders including the Dalai Lama to take the peace agenda forward.
Kashmir:
 In the last four years, Sri Sri has been quietly
paving the road to peace by bringing together all sections of the Kashmiri population.
His inspiring vision is altering perspectives among the Kashmiri youth so much so
that over 1,500 youth have averted from violence and work towards peace.
In June 2005, when he visited the Kashmir Valley, Sri Sri was warmly received at
Srinagar airport by a rally of 500 Muslim youth. The visit culminated in a rare
gathering of leaders representing different factions of the Kashmiri people. For
the first time, leaders including both the factions of the All Party Hurriyat Conference
and representatives of Kashmiri Pandits came face to face in his presence for a
dialogue.
Sri Sri recently established an orphanage for children who are victims of militancy
in the state as well as those that have been orphaned after the devastating earthquake.
The orphanage currently houses 150 children who are provided food, clothes, books
and formal education. Sri Sri has also adopted 30 children from Kashmir and is taking
care of their education and upbringing
The Balkans:
Under hostile circumstances, Sri Sri made a lasting impact in helping resolve
ethnic conflict in Kosovo, Bosnia and Macedonia. Sri Sri's programs helped trauma
victims in Kosovo to live peacefully within a multi-ethnic society by providing
them with tools to reawaken tolerance, reconciliation and acceptance. He also inspired
dialogue between Albanians and Macedonians by widening the circle of belongingness
from the narrow identities defined by ethnic or national boundaries.
Bihar:
Sri Sri's clarion call for peace during his visit to the Naxal- infested villages
of Bihar in 2002 resulted in an unprecedented gathering of 100,000 youth from the
warring groups of Ranvir Sena and Naxalite groups such as CPI-ML, People's War Group
and Maoist Communist Centre. Subsequent to their meeting with him, both sides publicly
took a vow to spread the message of non-violence. It isn't a mere co-incidence therefore
that Naxalite violence has virtually stopped in Central Bihar, India since the year
2000. Remarkably, in the aftermath the 2006 Jehanabad killings, there was no retaliatory
massacre which would have been a natural consequence under earlier circumstances.
Instead, soon after the incident, the warring groups came together for a community
gathering organised by the Art of Living in Ekwari, the nerve centre of Naxal violence
in Bihar.
Despite imminent threats from Islamic fundamentalists, Communist Maoists and other
extremist groups from time to time, Sri Sri continues to work tirelessly to galvanise
people towards peaceful co-existence in different corners of the globe. Not only
has he motivated thousands of volunteers to work for global peace, but has himself
traveled intensively to strife-torn areas to heal the wounds of victims and calm
the aggressors.
Disaster Management & Trauma Relief
Another key aspect of Sri Sri's humanitarian initiatives has been to provide swift
and timely relief to victims of natural and man-made disasters. Under his direction
and close supervision, volunteers not only collect and disburse immediate relief
supplies, but also help survivors overcome the post-traumatic stresses that haunt
them.
Extensive relief and rehabilitation work in the tsunami-affected areas of Tamil
Nadu and Sri Lanka, trauma relief camps in Kashmir and Pakistan after the earthquake,
interventions in war-torn Iraq and in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks in New York
- Sri Sri’s initiatives have become one of the most vital links in any disaster
rehabilitation programs the world over.
Risking their own lives, Sri Sri’s volunteers have tended to the mental and
emotional needs of victims of the disasters. Attending to the trauma of the survivors
is the target apart from supplying immediate material needs. Almost two years after
the tsunami, Sri Sri's volunteers are still engaged in trauma relief and long-term
rehabilitation of the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka and Nagapattinam,
India. Over 50,000 victims have overcome the trauma of the disaster thanks to Sri
Sri’s specially designed stress elimination techniques. Recent initiatives
include the conflict between Israel and Lebanon where Sri Sri immediately dispatched
trained volunteers to provide trauma relief to the victims of the war. Such program
are also continuing in Afghanistan to reduce trauma levels and stress caused by
wars that have plagued the country for decades.
Sri Sri's disaster management & trauma relief initiatives include:
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