Art of Living Foundation

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The Art Of Living Foundation

Image:Aolf Logo.png
"We care for the World, We Care for You"[1]

Motto"Serve Society and Strengthen the Individual"[2]
HeadquartersKanakapura, Bangalore
Websitehttp://www.artofliving.org

The Art of Living Foundation, is a non-profit, volunteer based organization founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Contents

[edit] Mission statement

A non-denominational, educational and humanitarian non-profit organization, The Art of Living Foundation (AOLF)'s mission statement is to uplift society by strengthening the individual through programs that create a sense of belonging, restore human values, develop life to its full potential, and encourage people from all backgrounds, religions, and cultural traditions to come together in celebration and service. According to the Foundation, it has programs in more than 140 countries around the world, and offers several courses to bring individuals knowledge and techniques to unlock their deepest potential and bring fullness to life.[3]

[edit] Organization

The Art of Living Foundation (AOLF) has its international headquarters in Bangalore, India at Veda Vignan Manahvidyapeeth or VVM campus (usually referred to as the Bangalore Ashram)and has regional centers in more than 140 countries.[4] The foundation was founded by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.[5]

AOLF has been a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization in the U.S. since 1989. Accredited as a United Nations Non-Governmental organization in 1996, it is now one of the UN's largest volunteer-based NGOs. It works in special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council, participating in a variety of committees and activities relating to health, education, sustainable development, conflict resolution, and disaster relief.

The Foundation's main activity is to organize Art of Living courses,[6] yoga and meditation workshops,[7] and education and trauma relief in areas of trauma and disaster.[8] The majority of the officers of the organization, along with most of its teachers and staff, are volunteers. All humanitarian programs, disaster relief efforts and training programs are conducted through, or in conjunction with its sister organization, the International Association for Human Values (IAHV).[9] Some of the key world-wide chapters include the Art of Living Foundation (U.S.A.), Vyakti Vikas Kendra (India), Die Kunst des Lebens (Germany), Art of Living Center (Canada), Art of Living South Africa, Art of Living Israel, Art of Living Brazil, and Art of Living Argentina. All told, there are international centres in 140 countries.[10]

[edit] Professional affiliations and memberships

AOLF is an international Non-Governmental Organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, with accredited representatives at the United Nations in New York, Geneva, and Vienna. AOLF has also worked in formal consultation with the World Health Organization (WHO): "Development of a Global Health Policy for the 21st Century". AOLF is also affiliated with the International Association for Human Values.[11]

AOLF is a member to the following international associations:[12]

  • CONGO (Conference of NGO's in consultative status with ECOSOC of the United Nations), Geneva and New York
  • United Nations NGO Committees: Health, Mental Health, Committee on Aging, New York
  • United Nations NGO Values Caucus, New York and Geneva
  • International Union for Health Promotion and Education, Paris
  • NGO Forum for Health, Geneva
  • National Association of Women's Organizations, Uganda

[edit] Courses

Courses include:

  • The Art of Living Course and Sudarshan Kriya[13]
  • The Art of Living Course Part 2[14]
  • DSN - Creating a Divine Society[15]
  • Sri Sri Yoga[16]
  • Wisdom Series[17]
  • Youth Leadership Training Program[18]
  • ART Excel (All-Round Training In Excellence) ages 8yrs-13yrs[19]
  • YES! for Teens (Youth Empowerment Seminar) ages 14yrs-18yrs[20]
  • YES Plus!(Youth Empowerment Seminar Plus!) ages 18yrs-30yrs[21]
  • The Art of Living Prison Program[22]

[edit] Service projects

This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (October 2007)

The Art of Living Foundation is a global service project that has made an extraordinary impact on local communities and the world family. Made up almost entirely of volunteers, the Foundation has brought service programs, trauma relief, and peace initiatives to thousands of people in places of raging conflict, inner cities, prisons, and to areas devastated by war and natural disaster. And the programs have had a dramatic effect. At a tsunami site a few weeks after the disaster, the BBC reported that the only people able to smile were those who had taken the Art of Living programs. Thousands were helped at this site alone. Research done on the programs there indicated that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was relieved in as little as eight hours. Other research has indicated that Vietnam War veterans found relief from 30 years of PTSD after taking an 18-hour Art of Living Course.

Often working closely with its sister organization, the International Association for Human Values, volunteers from the Art of Living Foundation and IAHV have developed an effective and dynamic model for swift response to disasters. The two organizations were among the first relief groups to reach Hurricane Katrina-affected areas (including refugees in neighboring states), and they are still active with efforts to help people re-build their lives — physically, mentally, and emotionally. Youth Leadership Training Programs there and around the world have harnessed the energy and compassion of youth, with special leadership training programs held onsite in New Orleans. The relief training was put into action immediately. They have developed a special program for the US veterans returning froma combat zone called Project Welcome Home Troops.

Through knowledge and practical techniques the Foundation’s programs not only relieve stress and trauma, they have brought actual peace, and restore a personal sense of well-being, compassion, and enthusiasm for life.

Worldwide service projects, disaster relief and peace efforts[23]
U.S. Service Projects[24]

[edit] Silver jubilee celebration

The Art of Living's Silver Jubilee was celebrated on 17-19 February, 2006, at the 243-acre Jakkur Airfield. Attendees from more than 100 countries participated in the celebrations.[25] Among those attending were A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India; Ruud Lubbers, a former prime minister of the Netherlands; Otumfuo Osei Tutu II , King of Ghana; and people of many faiths and walks of life.[26] The highlight of the third day (19 Feb) , was a public mass meditation, "Maha Sudharshan Kriya".[27]

[edit] Criticism

The term, Sudarshan Kriya is registered as a trademark giving Art of Living Foundation exclusive rights to make commercial use of the term in the USA.

[edit] Exaggerated claims

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)

The Art of Living volunteers have been criticized for making unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of Sudarshan Kriya in benefiting patients suffering from not only depression and trauma but also cancer and AIDS. Published research done at India's National Institute for Mental Health and Nueroscience indicates that Sudarshan Kriya and its related practices are as effective as medication and electroshock therapy in treating depression;[citation needed] however this research has not yet been validated and there is no scientific research supporting wider claims for Sudarshan Kriya's benefits. Critics charge that exaggerated and pseudoscientific claims (for instance, the claim that HIV cannot survive in the oxygen rich environment produced by Sudarshan Kriya[28]) mislead patients with serious physical and mental illness and thus prove dangerous and cause harm. A study prepared for the US Department of Health and Human Services, reviewed the quality of research in Sudarshan Kriya and other meditation practices, and said, "Overall, we found the methodological quality of meditation research to be poor, with significant threats to validity in every major category of quality measured, regardless of study design."[29] The report concluded:

Scientific research on meditation practices does not appear to have a common theoretical perspective and is characterized by poor methodological quality. Firm conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence.

– Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality study[29]

The AOL foundation makes no official guarantee or promise of any therapeutic effects of Sudarshan Kriya, although research, personal experiences and testimonials of those benefited are highlighted.

According to an article in Reader's Digest:

"There is no doubt, however, that some of its claims are exaggerated. For instance, according to an AOL brochure its “Youth Empowerment Seminar” is compulsory at 10 German universities. A random check by Reader’s Digest at five of the universities revealed that not only is the seminar not compulsory, it is not even part of the academic curriculum. It is offered as a leisure activity, alongside tennis and aerobics." [30]

Edward Luce in his book Inspite of Gods alludes to Sri Sri's ties to RSS and VHP.[31]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://artofliving.org
  2. ^ http://artofliving.org/FAQ/tabid/244/Default.aspx
  3. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/art-of-living-course/index.html
  4. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/locator/international-centers.html
  5. ^ http://www.srisri.org
  6. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/art-of-living-course/index.html
  7. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/advanced/index.html
  8. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/service-projects/index.html
  9. ^ http://www.iahv.org/
  10. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/locator/international-centers.html
  11. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/foundation/index.html
  12. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/foundation/index.html
  13. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/art-of-living-course/index.html
  14. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/advanced/index.html
  15. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/advanced/creating-divine-society.html
  16. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/advanced/sri-sri-yoga.html
  17. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/advanced/wisdom-commentary.html
  18. ^ http://www.artoflivingyouth.org/yltp.htm
  19. ^ http://www.artoflivingyouth.org/kidzone.html
  20. ^ http://www.artoflivingyouth.org/teenzone.html
  21. ^ http://www.artoflivingyouth.org/collegezone.html
  22. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/prison-program/index.html
  23. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/service-projects/index.html
  24. ^ http://us.artofliving.org/service-projects/us-projects.html
  25. ^ "'Art of Living' celebrates silver jubilee", The Times of India, 2006-02-18. Retrieved on 2007-07-03. 
  26. ^ Art of Living silver jubilee celebrations. The Art of Living. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
  27. ^ Vasuki, K.G.. "Art of Living silver jubilee celebrations end in Bangalore", Yahoo India news, 2006-02-20. Retrieved on 2007-07-03. 
  28. ^ AIMS presentation (PDF). The Art of Living.
  29. ^ a b Ospina MB, Bond TK, Karkhaneh M, Tjosvold L, Vandermeer B, Liang Y, Bialy L, Hooton N, Buscemi N, Dryden DM, Klassen TP. Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 155. (Prepared by the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-02-0023.) AHRQ Publication No. 07-E010. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. June 2007.
  30. ^ A. Mahadevan. Face to Face. Reader's Digest. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
  31. ^ Edward Luce: Review of Inspite of Gods

ART OF LIVING has not made any official claims of curing AIDS or cancer.How ever psycho-neuro-immunolysis stands proof that pranayam and meditation increase immunity and hence can be very useful especially in the case of AIDS patients.

[edit] References

  • Edward Luce [1]
  • Take a deep breath, Washington Post [2]
  • New Orleans Mayor gives his team Shankar stress relief

[3]

  • Invitation as ambassador of peace by the Government of Iraq[4]
  • Sri Sri Ravi Shankar honoured in UK[5]
  • Spiritual Master Shares Visions of Global Peace, Cornell Daily Sun[6]
  • World peace one breath at a time, New Orleans

[7]

  • Guru of calmness shares breathing techniques in Utah[8]
  • Spiritual leader makes first visit to Boise [9]

[edit] External links

nl:Art of Living

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