“Unless we have a stress-free mind and a violence-free society, we cannot achieve world peace.”
By actively spreading this philosophy of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Art of Living Foundation claims to
have freed individuals across the globe and from every strata of society, of stress, depression and
violent tendencies, over decades.
According to AOL, breathing techniques, meditation and yoga are the three important keys to a
life full of happiness and peace. And the countless volunteers of this non-profit organisation are
selflessly helping people achieve this goal worldwide.
As a part of their service projects, the first week of September had a few sessions organised by AOL
in various parts of Auckland, to teach people the trauma release programme.
AOL’s senior teacher Sukhvinder Singh, who is in charge of the foundation’s Canadian centre, was
in Auckland to conduct the sessions. Indian Weekender caught up with him during his visit to find
out more about the enlightening session and how stress and violence played a major role in causing maximum destruction in the world.
“Right from school going children to oldies, stress and violence exists among all age groups. It’s a
part of our social system, especially violence, which is present at every level of human life,” Singh
said.
“In Canada, it is due to frustration; in Africa, it’s due to tribal concerns; in India, it’s the religious
issues ... it exists everywhere.”
Hence, the dire need to eliminate it. Full of wit and spirit, the talks delivered by Singh in Auckland
had a mix audience of young and old from different communities.
Through a simple game, he provided an invaluable lesson to “not give up in life, no matter what”.
He enlightened people about the importance of breath and how approximately 85 per cent of the
toxins could be removed through our breath and how we use only about 30 per cent of our lung
capacity in flushing out these toxins.
Thus, through just breathing right, one could not just effectively throw out toxins out of our body
but also manage stress on a daily basis.
Singh’s humour seemed to have inspired people as much as they walked out realising the
importance of living life light-heartedly.
Describing Auckland as being very similar to Canada, Singh formed an instant bond with Kiwi-Indians.
Singh is on a tour to different countries to spread this noble cause. Apart from Auckland, he also
delivered talks in Wellington and Christchurch.