In this Tatler exclusive and ahead of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living event in Hong Kong on March 16 and 17, we caught up with the famous guru to talk about the power of breath and how miracles are all around us
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, known more affectionately among his followers as Gurudev, is an Indian yoga guru and spiritual leader who rose to prominence as an apprentice under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi—the founder of Transcendental Meditation—in the 1970s.
In 1981, at just 25 years old, he founded the Art of Living foundation, through which his spiritual teachings have reached over 500 million people across 180 countries. On his Instagram account—where his two million followers enjoy his short, sharp and witty answers to life’s pressing questions such as “is spirituality only for the rich?”, “how to get rid of the ego?” and “what is love?”—Gurudev says his “vision is a stress-free, violence-free world, and to see a smile on every face.”
Is the definition of happiness subjective, changing from person to person, or is there a simple, universal definition, and we are just over-complicating it?
Happiness is intrinsic to our being, our true nature, and it’s unbounded by the limitations of time or events. We do not require a reason or an occasion to be happy. But we surely need a reason to experience unhappiness.
While external events may offer fleeting happiness, true contentment is a state of mind, experienced in the present moment. The mind’s tendency to defer happiness, anticipating a better future, is futile; each new desire perpetuates this cycle of postponing happiness to a better tomorrow and prevents us from [being] in our natural state of joy.
It is through wisdom, an understanding of life in a broad context, that one can experience enduring happiness, unaffected by the ebb and flow of life’s circumstances.
What are some of the main reasons most people cannot achieve inner peace?
The primary obstacle preventing most people from attaining inner peace is their inability to be in the present moment, which is the gateway to a calm and tranquil state. The mind tends to fluctuate between dwelling on past regrets and worrying about the future.
Through practices such as meditation and Sudarshan Kriya, one can access their inner state of serenity and harmony with themselves and the world around them.
