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Our Founder

 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has inspired a global phenomenon of compassion and service. A spiritual leader and humanitarian, his programs have impacted more than 25 million people worldwide. In 1981 he started the Art of Living Foundation, an international non-profit educational and humanitarian organization that works in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The Art of Living’s educational and self-development programs offer powerful tools to eliminate stress and foster a sense of well-being. In 1997 he founded the International Association for Human Values, a humanitarian Non-Governmental Organization that advances human values in political, economic, industrial, and social spheres. The Association is working in poor rural communities in India, South Africa and Latin America to promote sustainable growth, and has reached more than 30,000 villages.

 

In 2008, Sri Sri founded The Art of Living Health and Education Trust, a charitable non-profit organization based in the United States, to further his vision of fostering better access to quality healthcare and values-based education  around the globe (with an emphasis on poor and rural areas). A leading figure in human development and social transformation, he is a multifaceted social activist whose initiatives include conflict resolution, disaster and trauma relief, prisoner rehabilitation programs, youth leadership, women’s empowerment, campaigns against female feticide and child labor, and education for all.