The Art of Living Belagavi is preparing to give a grand welcome to the renowned global spiritual master, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who is visiting the city after a 14-year absence.
The festivities will include a Mahasatsang, a large public gathering with Gurudev, where he will lead the thousands of attendees in meditation, chanting, and singing on February 6th at the CPED Grounds Club Road Belagavi.
People from nearby towns are expected to arrive in droves to attend the event. Before the Satsang, a Rudra Puja, a traditional Vedic ceremony honoring Lord Shiva in the form of Rudra, will be held and is open to all. Additionally, Gurudev will visit the Kapileshwar Temple at the invitation of the temple’s trust members.
This is sure to be an unforgettable event, and Belagavi is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
As the country continues to grapple with the mental health impact of the pandemic and rising stress and anxiety, The Art of Living volunteers in Belagavi and nearby villages have been working relentlessly to raise waves of happiness and spirituality throughout the city. Hundreds of people have participated in satsangs – evenings of music and meditation in the last month. Youth leaders from nearby villages who have undergone the Youth leadership training program, a flagship program run by the organization to empower village youth are also organising meditation and breath programs. Har Ghar Dhyan, free meditation sessions under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign are being conducted in schools and RWAs across the city.
Service projects
For creating a happier, violence-free and stress-free society, the Art of Living has conducted self-empowerment programs in prisons, villages, schools and for citizens across the city. Free schools run by the Art of Living have brought quality holistic education to over 80,000 first-generation learners in the remotest villages of India. In Karnataka alone, over 2300 students are getting free education in Udaypura, Bangalore.
In the year 2006, ‘Prison Smart’, an inmate rehabilitation program was started in the District Prison in Mangalore with the co-operation of the Jail authorities and is successfully continuing till date. Seeing the success of six central jails of Karnataka in Belagavi, Dharwad, Bijapur, Bellary, Gulbarga, and Mysore have also implemented the prison program offered by The Art of Living. In 2404 villages of rural Karnataka thousands of youth have undergone The Art of Living’s Youth Leadership Training Programs, where they are trained and empowered to lead community development and they have been instrumental in projects including building homes for the homeless, construction of toilets and soak pits, construction of roads, introducing bus services in villages that lacked transportation, among others. Trained youth or yuvacharyas conducted Breathe Water Sound Workshop (Navchetana Shivirs) as well as cleanliness and health camps in 200 villages across Belagavi, Udipalaya a d Chodasandra, Hoskote, Malur, Kolar District, M.N.halli, Madivaladeppanda, Dodalivara, Shivarpatna, Abbeyana, Araleri, Takal, Huledena, Kudianoor, Lakkoor, Chiktirupat, Jaymangala, Bidar, and Shimoga.