The founder of the Art of Living Foundation, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has recommended meditation in businesses, families and communities as necessities in ensuring lasting peace.
He spoke during the Business Leaders Roundtable, themed ‘Building Emotional Resilience’. Shankar emphasised the importance of empathetic and community-focused leadership in helping to bring peace to the world, saying ‘countries around the world spend billions and trillions of dollars. I’m saying if they spend even 0.1 per cent of their national resources on education and holistic health of their citizens, I’m sure the world would be a better place’.
He said: “Each year, lives are lost to suicide due to depression. Studies say one person dies every 40 seconds from suicide, but it is preventable. One of the ways we can do that is to teach people how to use their breath to get rid of tension, aggression. It is an effective method to relax and calm the mind. About 80 per cent of the toxins in our body can be released through our breath but, unfortunately, we do not pay attention to it.
“How can we change a nation through emotional resilience?
By learning the basic steps in meditation and breathing techniques”, Gurudev replied. “There are different sources of energy – Food, Rest, Breath and Meditation. Before leading a short meditation session, he further called on business and community leaders to create a sense of belonging. According to the humanitarian leader, building personal connections among people through meditation will ensure peace, and build a better world.”
The Business Leaders Roundtable forms part of activities leading to the first-ever Culture Festival in Africa, which began yesterday at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre. Themed “Vibrant Africa: The Rising Rhythm”, the Festival aims to build a compassionate and harmonious society by bringing the people of the world together in celebration through song, dance, meditation, and dialogue. Attendees will share and explore their rich cultural diversity, while honouring the underlying spirit that connects us all as one global family.