Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

<p>1. 🌅 Born on a Sunday in 1956 in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu, Ravi Shankar( @Gurudev ) was named after the sun and the legendary 8th-century saint Adi Shankara, sharing the same birthday; this cosmic coincidence marked the start of a life intertwined with spirituality.

2. By age four, he was already reciting the Bhagavad Gita, guided by Sudhakar Chaturvedi, a Vedic scholar and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, who shaped his early spiritual outlook.

3. 🎓 In 1973, he graduated in Physics from St. Joseph's College, Bangalore, blending scientific curiosity with ancient wisdom, a duality that would define his teachings.

4. In the mid-1970s, he apprenticed under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the pioneer of Transcendental Meditation, traveling globally to set up centers and spread Vedic science, laying the groundwork for his future endeavors.

5. 🌊 In 1982, after a silent retreat by the Bhadra River in Karnataka, he experienced Sudarshan Kriya, a rhythmic breathing technique he described as "like a poem, an inspiration," which became the heartbeat of the Art of Living courses.

6. 🌍 The first Art of Living course launched in Switzerland in 1983, then reached North America by 1986, marking the birth of a global movement aiming to relieve stress and unite diverse cultures through spirituality.

7. He has played quiet but pivotal roles in peace mediation, including efforts in the Colombian conflict and the Ayodhya dispute, applying his philosophy beyond individual transformation to national healing.

8. ❓How did a physics graduate from Tamil Nadu spark a worldwide phenomenon teaching breath and joy to hundreds of millions of people ?</p>