June 2017 THE ART OF LIVING INTERNATIONAL CENTER, BANGALORE

2 All Caste Mass Wedding

in Gujaratp 3 Natural Farming Summit in Bangalore

p 4 Quitting a Lucrative Career to Pursue a

Meaningful Lifep

Rural Development Activities Across IndiaSEVA TIMES

'I know you love me a lot but please do not spend on cut-outs, posters, flowers or sweets. Express that in seva.' - Gurudev's request just prior to his 61st birthday

Seva - An Expression of

LoveMay 13 was Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji's 61st

birthday. In keeping with his request, his devotees all over the world spent the day engaged in some form of service to humanity knowing well that this is what gladdens their Master’s heart the most. Blood donation camps were organized all over India. In some places the Art of Living family had organized medical camps and yoga camps as well. Food was distributed to the needy in several places and tree plantation drives were organized. All in all, May 13th, the day of glorious celebrations was spent bringing more joy and hope to the world, a gift that was truly appreciated by Gurudev. Gurudev admiring the 450 kg cake decorated with 61 lotuses made by volunteers and staff of Cafe Vishala, Bangalore Ashram

(The above details are not complete as reports are still coming in from different states)Cheerful donors at a blood donation camp

Learning to make paper bags

Gift Blood, Gift LifeDevotees turned up in large numbers at the various blood camps organized by Art of Living volunteers all over the country. India needs about 5 crore units of blood out of which only a meager 2.5 crore units is available.

State Camps UnitsHaryana 12 1085

Rajasthan 6 445

Punjab 5 560

Chhattisgarh 3 101

Madhya Pradesh 8 240

Maharashtra 6 830

Delhi 1 88

Uttar Pradesh 6 124

Uttarakhand 1 45

Jammu 1 33

West Bengal 23 1030

Tree plantation drives were organized in Rajasthan and Punjab. Bird baths were

put up in several areas in Rajasthan, Haryana, and Chattisgarh to help our feathered friends survive the summer heat. In Jharkhand, Raksha Bandhan was organized and women tied rakhis to trees to save them from being chopped. In Madhya Pradesh, a three-day training camp was organized at Jabalpur where 18 people learned to make paper bags. The paper bags carried the slogan “Clean Narmada, Green Jabalpur” to propagate cleanliness.

Caring For Our Environment

The Art of Living family in Siliguri, West Bengal, carried out a cleanliness drive at the historic

Coronation Bridge and surrounding areas. Volunteers cleared up the garbage and cleaned the gutters. In Chinndwara, Madhya Pradesh, children participating in a summer camp organized by the Art of Living took out a cleanliness rally which was launched by Mayor Kanta Yogesh Sadarang, Nagar Nigam Commissioner Icchit Gadpale, Municipal Council Vice-President Dharmendra Miglani, and social worker Vinod

Tiwari. The children walked to Ekta Park and Martyrs Memorial where they carried out a cleanliness drive. In Vadodara, Gujarat, the “Yes+ Gang” - a dynamic team of young volunteers created by Art of Living youth faculty Jitendra Khimlani and Shivani Patel conducted a cleanliness drive in and around the premises of an ancient and historical temple in Vadodara, “Kamnath Mahadev” located on the banks of river Vishwamitri. Around 100 volunteers cleaned the temple premises and surrounding area within just 2 hours, leaving the ancient heritage clean and beautiful - a tough task done swiftly with commitment and a smile on every face.

Free Medical/Eye Test Camps: A free medical camp was organized in Saho, Chamba district, in Himachal Pradesh. Physician Dr. Keshav Verma and dentist Dr. Pradeep Singh extended their services. In Bagbahara, Chhattisgarh, 148 people underwent free eye tests and received free medicines. A free eye camp was also organized in Beed (Maharashtra) in association with Budhrani Hospital and 205 people were tested and treated.

Cleanliness Campaigns

Page 2Service to Humanity is Service to the Master

2 SEVA TIMES THE ART OF LIVING INTERNATIONAL CENTER, BANGALOREJune 2017

Service to Humanity is Service to the Master

I thank all those who have

wished me and congratulate

those who have engaged

in so many seva projects all

over the world today. - Gurudev's tweet on May 13

Sand sculpture at Puri Beach by internationally renowned sand artist, Padmashree Sudarshan Patnaik

In Vasundhara, Delhi, teachers got together to distribute clothes to over 1000 slum dwellers of

Dallupura. In Rajasthan, volunteers visited the Children’s Home in Subhash Nagar and distributed essential items to the children. Footwear was distributed to the slum dwellers of R.K. Puram and Geeta Bhawan. In Himachal Pradesh, volunteers extended financial support to help a needy girl get married and distributed textbooks and stationery to needy students. In Uttar Pradesh, text books and

stationery were distributed at the Narayan Seva Sansthan and orphanage at Vrindavan. In Sahjanwa, Gorakhpur, volunteers arranged the wedding ceremony of girls from poor families and also participated in the ceremony like family members. Art of Living in Jammu donated two water purifying units to the Red Cross Society. Ten water purifying units were also donated to Darsopur village which has been chosen by the Art of Living to develop into an ideal village.

Clothes, Footwear & Essential Items for the Needy

Devotees spent the day feeding the hungry and needy in many parts of India. In Karnataka Art

of Living faculty Patapat Srinivas had organized a massive “Annadanam” in Attibele, Anekal Taluk, along the national highway and thousands were fed. Passengers traveling from Tamil Nadu to Bangalore by bus were in for a pleasant surprise when their buses were stopped and they were offered prasad. The evening satsang was followed by bhandara in all the states. In Rajasthan volunteers served thandai, a refreshing milk drink, to the patients of New Medical College Hospital and their attendants and also served food to the slum dwellers. In Punjab volunteers went around the slums distributing fruit. In Madhya Pradesh, stalls were put up to serve refreshing Rooh Afza and biscuits in Jabalpur and in Burhanpur food

was served free of cost after 11 AM at the mobile restaurant run by the Rotary Club of Narsinghpur with Art of Living volunteers bearing the expenses.

In Almora, Uttarakhand, volunteers with the help of the local people distributed food grains to the needy.

The Sri Sri Annapurna scheme was launched in Shastri Nagar, Kanpur, under which a full meal will be offered for just Rs. 5/-. More than 150 people enjoyed this meal on the very first day. Plans are afoot to have outlets in several more areas in the coming days.

In Jammu, a langar was organized at Indira Chowk in which more than 1000 people enjoyed lunch.

In addition, volunteers in many parts of the country visited orphanages and old age homes and celebrated Gurudev's birthday by cutting cakes and serving refreshments.

Annadanam The Sacred Tradition of Offering Food

Art of Living faculty Patapat Srinivas serving food at the “Annadanam” in Attibele. He was assisted by teachers Balaji Ningale and Dilipkumar Koli

n Efforts of the Yuvacharyas bear rich fruit, farmers saved from distress selling their land

Seva Times l Vagodia (Gujarat)

We often hear of farmers committing suicide because of crop failure or debt burdens but the sorry plight of a farmer who is forced to sell his good, fertile land to get his daughter married rarely makes news. Putting their family’s future at stake, distraught farmers sell their lands to ensure their daughter’s happiness.

When Art of Living YLTP trainer, Parth Joshi, came to know that Ramesh Bhai Padiyam, whose livelihood depended on the meager 25 bighas of land that he owned, was on the verge of selling his land in order to get his daughter and niece married, and that there were many more farmers in the area who were in a similar plight, he came up with a noble idea to rescue them from this dilemma. Appealing to the farmers not to sell their land, he presented an alternative solution to their problem. With the assistance of the Sarpanch, Yuvacharyas, and other volunteers plans were made to organize an all-caste mass wedding ceremony. After three months of diligent planning and propagating the idea in the ten villages around Vagodia, a mass wedding ceremony was organized on

the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, 28 April 2017. Sixteen girls got married at a ceremony that was organized at the farm of the Sarpanch of Tavara village. The ceremony began with the sacred chanting of the Rudra puja. Every bride was gifted with Rs. 30,000 worth of kanyadan which included settees, beds and bedding, and steel almirahs. This was made possible by the financial support extended by the villagers. The auspicious resolution of Parth combined with the efforts of the Yuvacharyas saved sixteen farmers from distress selling their fertile lands. We are proud to have a young Art of Living teacher like Parth Joshi and we hope the echo of this noble act reaches far and wide and will be a source of inspiration to many.

All Caste Mass Wedding in Gujarat

Revitalizing Halgara’s Water ResourcesSeva Times l Halgara (Maharashtra)

The Art of Living in association with Overseas Volunteer for a Better India (OVBI) the mini watershed area around Halgara village. This place is strategically located at the junction of Terna and Manjara rivers in Latur and has a lot of potential to turn into a model watershed.

As part of Phase 1, which took

five months to complete (26th January to 5th June, 2016) a 5.2 km stretch of the canal was desilted, widened to 60 feet, and deepened to 10 feet. By October the canal was gushing with water after the monsoon rains bringing welcome relief to the farmers. Phase 2 to

restore sub canals and build 10-15 water recharge shafts is now being executed. The International Association for Human Values (IAHV), a partner organization of the Art of Living, has received funds from OVBI which will be used to desilt canals and construct gabion check dams and injection wells in and around Halgara village. A further 4.5 km stretch of the existing canal will be restored.

School children in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, participating in a rally organized by the Art of Living volunteers on May 13, 2017, to save the girl child

The joy of getting married is undiminished by the guilt of pushing their families into debt for this young couple

Under phase 2 sub canals will be restored & 10-15 water recharge shafts will be built

Volunteers Extend Support to Fire VictimsPipariya (Madhya Pradesh) l April 7, 2017, was a dreadful day for five families in Gopalpur village, Hoshangabad district. Fire to burn crop residue in the fields became uncontrollable and burnt down five houses of the village, claiming the lives of cattle and three small children. The local Art of Living chapter immediately rushed to the help to the grief stricken victims. The bereaved families were provided with clothing and medicines and two months’ supply of groceries. Children of the affected families will receive financial support for higher education. Rajesh Dubey, Vivek Maheshwariya, and Sukhdev Kalouti, along with Yuvacharyas Mangilal, Mahendra Kumar, Umrao Badri, and Liladhar were among the volunteers. The volunteers also went from village to village educating the farmers about the environmental hazards of burning the crop residue after harvesting.

3 SEVA TIMES THE ART OF LIVING INTERNATIONAL CENTER, BANGALOREJune 2017

Path Breaking

Natural Farming Summit in Bangalore

Seva Times l Bangalore (Karnataka)

Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Trust (SSIAST) organized a two-day conference on natural farming on 9th and 10th May, 2017, at the Art of Living International Centre in Bangalore. Over 200 delegates representing a wide cross section of stakeholders including farmers, researchers, experts, and policy-makers from India and abroad attended the summit.

The conference started with a keynote address by Ibu Helianti Hilman, a progressive natural farming expert from Indonesia and founder of Javara Indigenous. Starting with just 10 farmers in 2008, she currently runs a collective of 52,000 farmers, branding and exporting their

products to around 25 countries.Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

set the agenda for the two-day conference by calling upon the gathering to spread awareness about the benefits of natural farming, “What is needed today is a reaffirming of faith in natural farming. There is a misnomer that only if we use expensive fertilizers and pesticides, we can get a good yield.” He shared many examples of how farmers have earned more by opting for natural farming.

Gurudev also highlighted the need for protecting indigenous seeds which can ensure higher yield while requiring lesser quantity of seeds. He called upon the gathering to deliberate on how to create an organic planet by taking the knowledge of

natural farming to the masses. He urged the ministers from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh who were present on the dais to make their states organic states. He regretted that despite enough rain, the country is witnessing severe water scarcity. He shared how the Art of Living has revived 27 rivers in India, adding that amazing results have been achieved at a very minimal cost.

Ministers from different Government departments and stakeholders expressed and highlighted what the Government has been doing to promote natural farming at the national and international level. Eminent personalities from different fields shared their expertise on various different aspects that affect soil

sustainability today. Desi cows not only give us milk with A2 protein which is more suitable for human consumption but also play a crucial role in natural farming and this was highlighted during the summit.

Thirty-nine farmers who had successfully carried out tasks like zero budget farming, obtaining higher yields with lesser quantity of seeds, and establishing new paradigms in natural farming were honored with the Krishi Ratna Award. The summit brought together eminent scientists, people from the farming community, and government officials, on one platform to share their views and decide on the steps to be taken going forward to create a sustainable eco system that paves the way for an evergreen revolution.

n Reaffirmation of faith in natural farming need of the day says Gurudev n Usefulness of desi cows emphasized n 39 farmers honored with the Krishi Ratna award Gurudev with Krishi Ratna awardees

Every chemical that we use in agriculture began either for the concentration camp or the war… all the nitrogen fixing from the atmosphere was done for making ammunitions and bombs…

- Vandana Shiva

Seva Times l Daman

Daman is a beautiful coastal town about 16 km from Vapi. Art of Living teacher Raj Kumar Acharya came up with the idea of organizing a Sri Sri Yoga Camp to “Wake Up and Shake Up” the people of Daman. Assisted by Art of Living teachers Ronak Patel and Jyoti Ravichandran he found sponsors for the yoga camp and a free Sri Sri Yoga Camp was held in Daman Government College Cricket Grounds from 1st to 5th May.

Dynamic international teacher Shailesh Radadia conducted the

workshop. With his witty sense of humor he made yoga such fun that the daily two hour sessions seemed to pass by in a jiffy. He changed the definition of Yoga and dispelled the notion of the inhabitants of Daman that Art of Living propagated some boring “Baba Wala” stuff ! The sessions were held every morning from 5 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. There were over 900 participants.

The Art of Living family in Daman though small showed great solidarity and their team work was really commendable. The yoga sessions were a combination of music, meditation, asanas,

pranayam, and dhyan. The participants had something new to learn every day and felt lighter and more agile as each day went by. The last day was really heart touching with the participants finding it difficult to accept that the course had drawn to a close. Every volunteer received a certificate of appreciation. The sponsors were gifted with Anandam kits as a token of gratitude. As hydrogen filled balloons went up in the air to the chanting of mantras to mark the closing of the yoga sessions, many of the participants found it difficult to hold back their tears of gratitude.

People turned up in large numbers to participate in the six-day Sri Sri Yoga camp in Daman.

Daman Wakes Up to Sri Sri YogaWith witty sense of humor international teacher Shailesh Radadia made yoga such fun that the daily two hour sessions seemed to pass by in a jiffy

Seva Times l Navi Mumbai

It was the usual Monday morning scenario at Vashi railway station on April 24, 2017 -people rushing to their offices with that familiar frown, preparing themselves for another stress filled week at work. To add to their tension, the harbor line local trains were delayed due to some technical problems. In their own inimical style, Art of Living volunteers took up the challenge of changing those frowns to smiles by launching the “Smile Navi Mumbai Smile” campaign. Youngsters from various parts of the city were seen reaching out to people, finding a way to make them smile.

The sincere efforts of the volunteers at once lightened atmosphere at the station and momentarily forgetting all their problems thousands of participants

put on their best smiles and came forward to have their picture taken to be added to a massive collage of smiling faces with hundreds being added every hour. “Just a moment of smile can make a difference for the whole day. As children we smile close to 400 times a day, but as we become adults on average the number drops to less than 10,“says Sourav Ghosh, Art of Living faculty.

“Wow, that was something. It feels so great to be able to start a Monday morning with a smile for a change," shares Mayur, one of the participants. The campaign reached out to over 5000 people throughout the day and its impact was simply tremendous. Many felt so connected that they joined the volunteers to invite others to display their smile. The Art of Living volunteers must be commended for a job well done.

Smiles All the Way in Navi Mumbai

Quitting a Lucrative Career to Pursue a More Meaningful Life

Youth Leadership Training Program (YLTP) and Dharma Sthamba Yojana (DSY) are service initiatives of Vyakti Vikas Kendra, India [The Art of Living], a registered charitable Trust, head quartered in Bangalore with its registered office at No. 19, 39th A Cross, 11th Main, IV T Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore - 560041

- Ph: 080-67433600 | www.artofliving.org | Email: yltp@artofliving.org -

SEVA TIMES

Inspired by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar Ji

Editorial teamRam Asheesh

Thoheja Gurukar

To access earlier editions of Seva Times login to

www.dsyindia.org/sevatims

If you are working on any project or YLTP activities, please contact us on 8067433616, 9620169697. E mail: editor.sevatimes@vvki.net

4 SEVA TIMES THE ART OF LIVING INTERNATIONAL CENTER, BANGALOREJune 2017

A brilliant software engineer, Vishnu Prakash is now a full-time teacher in the North East

Seva Times l Diphu (Assam)

Vishnu Prakash is an engineering graduate from Thapar University and has worked as a software developer and designer with Microsoft for over six years. He is also an alumini of the prestigious APEX program at Microsoft. Passionate about startups, he later worked as a Program Manager at Martjack and a senior developer at 42Gears. Vishnu has been conducting The Art of

Living workshops at IITs, ISB, IIIT, Banking corporate and Central Prisons to name a few since 2011. An eloquent public speaker, he has also conducted Lifestyle talks and stress relief sessions at Infosys, Prosoft, Bank of Baroda, iQuanti, AXIS bank to name a few. One of the brightest brains in the corporate world, he wanted to be more useful in Gurudev’s mission of creating a stress free and violence free society. His prayers were answered and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji blessed him as a full-time teacher in the North East.

With the blessings of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, he floated Sridhenu Trust, a platform that aims to create a geographically distributed network of gaushalas to save indigenous desi cows. Vishnu is backed by a strong team of like-minded people in this endeavor.

A few months back he was conducting a Rural Happiness Program in Dudhiya village, in the extreme interiors of Assam where he learnt that due to recurrent floods in the village, 95% of their Patti breed cows get lost. The Patti breed is a short statured beautiful breed of indigeneous cows, and in an effort to preserve them Vishnu Prakash came up with the idea of setting up a Gaushala at Diphu in Assam which would serve a dual purpose – the Patti breed would be preserved and they could also set up a model organic farm site using the cow dung and urine. He transported 14 Patti breed cows, four of them pregnant, from Dudhiya to Diphu with numeorous challenges. The cows soon adapted to the climate and are very happy and healthy. This

is the first ever indigeneous gaushala in the region which houses 19 cows. The Diphu Gaushala also houses a small Temple of Knowledge where people can meditate.

Vishnu has a roadmap of expanding it to 300+ cows in coming months. His team in Diphu has also developed a cooperative joint organic farming site where local villagers are happily executing zero budget farming using the technology received from SSIAST.

Vishnu also has been instrumental in renovating Sri Sri Gaushala Kendra in Raxual, a place in the border of Nepal and Bihar, which was on the verge of shutdown. This was the first pilot project of Sridhenu started in July 2016. A very rare breed of cows

known as Maine are housed in this gaushala. Vishnu Prakash’s plans for the future include construction/renovation of 20+ Gaushalas in different regions where people can visit, stay, dine with the villagers, meditate and connect back to the roots. Vishnu has also been blessed by Gurudev to lead the team for the development of Center of Excellence, Diphu, which is supposed to be one of the biggest ashrams of Northeast India. Currently renovation activities are going on in full swing. Vishnu also conducted the first ever YLTP at Diphu Ashram. His team also plans to create an indigeneous free seed bank.

Overall, a very happy and contented package, Vishnu is grateful working towards fulfilling the mission of his Master.

Vishnu Prakash

In India, we have honored cows to be sacred like a mother. Indian cows give A2 type of protein which is similar to mother’s milk, whereas as cows in Europe and America give A1 protein which is not suitable for human consumption. - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The agents of change, Youth Leadership Training Program for 33 students from 10 villages, ready to make a difference. #DiphuAshram