Global Humanitarian Peacemaker Founder, Art of Living
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a globally recognized humanitarian, spiritual leader and a peace envoy whose work has reached 800+ million people across 184 countries. He is widely regarded for pioneering a scalable, evidence-backed solution to stress, anxiety, and trauma through breathwork and meditationtools that address mental well-being at its root.
Founder of the Art of Living (1981), he has spent over four decades advancing peacebuilding, individual well-being, community resilience and environmental restoration.
Key Highlights
Founder, Art of Living one of the world’s largest volunteer-led organizations
Created Sudarshan Kriya (SKY), a widely researched breathwork technique showing significant reduction in anxiety, depression, PTSD and significantly improving markers of mental health.
Successfully mediated conflicts in Colombia, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Côte d’Ivoire, Ayodhya, Israel–Palestine, Kashmir, Assam
Partner to governments, universities, police departments, VA hospitals, and the UN
Recipient of the highest civilian honors from India, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Fiji, Suriname and Mongolia
Visionary behind the World Culture Festival (7M+ attendees globally)
Author of several books including Notes for the Journey Within, A WSJ and National Bestseller
Gurudev founded the Art of Living Foundation in 1981, with a vision to create a Stress-free, Violence-free society. The organization is rooted in a simple idea: human transformation precedes societal transformation. Today, the foundation offers scientifically validated breath and meditation techniques that cultivate mental resilience, clarity, and peace.
Art of Living at a Glance
GlobalPresence: 184countries
Volunteers: 1,000,000+
TrainedInstructors: 40,000+
LivesImpacted: 800M+
CentersWorldwide: 10,000+ Programs: 57+acrossresilience,traumarelief, peacemediation,youthleadership, andsustainabledevelopment
Its simple, low-cost, scalable, and inclusive approach makes it accessible across cultures, governments, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
SKY Breath Meditation (Sudarshan
Kriya)
One of the most studied mind-body practices globally, with published research from: Yale • Stanford • Harvard • Cambridge • University of Toronto • Palo Alto VA Find complete details here.
Key Findings (Peer-Reviewed)
Yale University: SKY produced the greatest overall mental health improvements among the interventions tested improving stress, depression, positive emotion, and social connection.
Palo Alto Veterans Affairs: Significant reductions in PTSD symptoms that were sustained one year later.
Stanford & Cambridge: Reduced stress hormones, anxiety, and rumination; improved emotional regulation and resilience.
Healthcare Outcomes:
78% reduction in burnout
Better sleep
Improved energy and mental clarity
The consistency across diverse populations including students, professionals, veterans, physicians, refugees and prison inmates - reinforces SKY as a rootlevel nervous system intervention, not a situational fix.
Peacebuilding (Global Impact)
Gurudev has led major peace and reconciliation processes where traditional diplomatic tools have failed, applying the same principles of inner transformation at a community level.
Colombia: Played a key role in the FARC ceasefire, contributing to the end of a 52-year civil war
Ayodhya: Supreme Court–appointed mediator in a 500-year religious dispute
Iraq: Trauma relief for Yazidi survivors; community rebuilding post-ISIS
Côte d’Ivoire: Brought youth from warring tribes together for reconciliation
Israel–Palestine: Youth peace dialogue programs
Panama: Gang leaders transformed into mentors
Jordan/Lebanon/Syria: Refugee trauma and resilience programs
These initiatives demonstrate the central idea: peace is sustainable only when individuals experience peace within.
Education, Youth & Community Impact (In the US)
Education (U.S. up to K-12)
173,000+ participants across 254 schools
800% rise in honor-roll students
90% fewer violent infractions
80% fewer suspensions
Youth (U.S. Colleges)
650,000+ students on 150+ campuses
99% improved mood; 95% higher energy
90% better ability to manage responsibilities
Yale: SKY ranked most effective intervention tested
Community Impact (U.S.)
8,000+ veterans supported in 30+ cities
Cities4Peace: strong gains in calm, clarity & leadership (82–96%)
50,000+ inmates reached; 61% reduction in recidivism
Global reach + local accessibility
A rare figure equally trusted in governments, communities, and conflict zones
Evidence-backed, non-sectarian, scalable tools with solution to today’s pervasive mental health challenge
A unifying voice in a polarized world
A story of peace that is not political, not commercial, and not divisive
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