Art of Living Foundation (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)
International organisation founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (1981) teaching Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique. Operates in 180+ countries with substantial humanitarian programmes. Some ex-members report high-pressure recruitment and cult-of-personality dynamics around founder.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — large international movement with substantial humanitarian work; some patterns warrant inclusion as moderate.
Profile facts
In context
Art of Living's flagship is the Sudarshan Kriya breathing course, a multi-day intensive that many participants report transformative. The organisation runs vast humanitarian projects (river rejuvenation, prisons, education) and Ravi Shankar is a globally recognised peace negotiator. Some ex-teachers describe high-pressure recruitment, financial expectations on staff, and devotional veneration of the founder; these accounts are individual rather than systematically documented in academic literature, which is why the entry is rated Low confidence. The CLCI is calibrated to the patterns that have been described in public testimony rather than to a formally established consensus.
Key control doctrines
- Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique as core teaching
- Sri Sri as enlightened master
- Service (seva) as spiritual practice
Legal cases & controversies
- Periodic Indian environmental/legal disputes (Yamuna riverbed event 2016)
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 1981Ravi Shankar founds Art of Living in Bangalore
- 1990s+International expansion; UN consultative status
- 2011Anna Hazare anti-corruption fast (Ravi Shankar prominent)
Sources
- Various ex-teacher testimonies in Indian media search ↗
- Times of India and The Guardian profiles search ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. The search ↗ link runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.