Opinion Clean inside,clean outside

All of my last week was well-spent because of my interactions with a bunch of Small Change-Agents,who are products of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living movement. It began with a visit last Sunday to a school being run by the movement’s young devotees in Dharavi,the sprawling slum that is a metaphor Mumbai’s deep inequities. Over the years,I have seen a lot of both the best and the worst of Dharavi. The best comes from its resilient and hard-working people. The worst comes from a political and governance system that has forced them,and other slum-dwellers in Mumbai,to live in unspeakable squalor. Blooming in the midst of this vast expanse of wretchedness is this beautiful lotus,a school as clean as the cleanest place of worship. Unostentatious. Nevertheless,imparting holistic education to underprivileged children,with a strong emphasis on creativity as well as character. The same set of volunteers have also cleaned up a filthy dumping ground in the neighbourhood,converting it into a tree-ringed community centre.

These local youth are trained to become leaders by the World Alliance for Youth Empowerment (WAYE),an offshoot of the Art of Living movement,which combines constructive social activism with individuals’ meditation-led inner transformation. Says Reshma Parab,a young girl with striking leadership qualities,“Guruji ke Dharavi aane ke baad hamari zindagi badal gayi hai,aur ab hum yahan ki zindagi badal rahe hain. (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s visit to Dharavi changed our lives,and we in turn are trying to change the life around us.”) One of her colleagues,who was a wife-beater,became a loving husband and father after joining WAYE. Another gave up alcohol and drugs to take to a life of seva. “The living conditions in a slum are such that young people become either aggressive or depressive,” says Reshma. “Our meditation courses and humanitarian activities help them find meaning in life.” WAYE also runs a helpline for suicide prevention.

WAYE,which is active in over 40 countries around the world,was founded by Khursheed Batliwala and Dinesh Ghotke,two young IITian disciples of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. “We motivate the youth to embrace the ‘Go MAD’ (make a difference) philosophy. But the difference has to be both without and within,” explains Ghotke. An activity that aptly describes this philosophy is WAYE’s ‘Clean Inside,Clean Outside’ campaign in Mumbai,in which nearly 2,000 youth participated. Supported by the city municipal corporation,they conducted clean-up drives on Sunday mornings in different suburbs. Simultaneously,helped by Art of Living teachers,they learnt yoga,pranayam and the Sudarshan Kriya,a breathing and meditation regimen that de-pollutes the body,strengthens the mind and energises the emotional system with positive values.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has an amazing power of attracting millions of devotees both in India and abroad. His mega musical events and congregational prayers frequently make news. But what has impressed me the most is the inspiration he provides for countless local-level transformative activities involving the youth. Spirituality,after all,is meaningful only if it becomes a driver of both social and personal change. He is by no means alone in trying to revive this hallowed Indian tradition of practical spirituality. But not many have straddled the global and the local so successfully as he has.

The ‘Clean Inside,Clean Outside’ principle has immense relevance for politics,governance and mass media,where selfishness,indifference,and lack of purpose,commitment,service-orientation and accountability abound. These institutions have failed to inspire the people,because the leading personalities in them neither convey nor embody the message of inner transformation. Unwilling to banish the darkness within,they can hardly be expected to light the path of society’s progress.

sudheenkulkarni@gmail.com