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World Culture Festival - Celebrating Life

35 Years

of The Art of Living

Vision and Mission

Founded in 1981 by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, The Art of Living is an educational and humanitarian movement engaged in stress-management and service initiatives. The organization operates globally in 155 countries and has touched the lives of over 370 million people.

The programs are guided by Gurudev's philosophy of peace: "Unless we have a stress-free mind and a violence-free society, we cannot achieve world peace. The Art of Living offers stress-elimination programs which include breathing techniques, meditation, and yoga.

The Art of Living has been promoting peace across communities through diverse humanitarian projects: conflict resolution, disaster relief, sustainable rural development, empowerment of women, prisoner rehabilitation, education for all, and environmental sustainability.

Our Journey

Celebrating Service:
A Journey of 25 Years

The ancient principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (one world family) manifested in Bangalore, India, in February 2006. The world arose in unison as 2.5 million people joined Art of Living’s 25-year celebrations. An airfield resonated with the symphony created by 3800 Indian classical musicians, reverberating the message of love, joy, and peace. It broke all the human-made barriers like caste, creed, color, nationality, race, and religion.

The 3-day celebration witnessed:

• 3.5 million attendees
• 1000 religious and spiritual leaders
• 750 key political leaders
• 110 countries were represented, speaking 45 languages
• 1 message - Peace, Love, Harmony

Late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Former President of India
"Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s mission of a beautiful, safe, happy, and peaceful world for planet Earth’s whole society is a great vision."
Ms. Monika Griefahn
Member of Parliament, Germany
"Gurudev has brought people together without any indoctrination or dictatorship."

Celebrating Togetherness:
Celebrating 3 Decades

The Art of Living celebrated its 30th anniversary at Berlin’s historic Olympic stadium - the Olympiastadion. The festival saw thousands of people from across continents, religions, and traditions sit together and appreciate the rich cultural diversity from around the world.

630 dignitaries from India and abroad, including the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, past Presidents and Prime Ministers, Ministers, Congressmen, several Members of the European Parliament, the German Parliament, ambassadors, business leaders, academicians, NGO representatives, religious and spiritual leaders, attended the festival.

The World Culture Festival Magazine - 2011

Prof. Ruud Lubbers
Former Prime Minister of the Netherlands (Co-Chair of WCF Reception Committee)
"I congratulate Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and I would like to express my gratitude and respect for the immense contribution of the Art of Living to worldwide peace"
Prof. Dr. Gesine Schwan
Joint Founder & President, Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance
"I highly appreciate the tremendous work towards conflict resolution, peace and intercultural dialogue that the Art of Living has facilitated in the last 30 years, not only in Asia but in over 150 countries in the world."
Dr. M. Veerappa Moily
Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India
"It is heartening to learn that the organization has done an excellent job towards achieving its wonderful goal of 'One World - One Family', which has fostered a sense of belongingness among people of different cultures."
Mr. Jacek P. Krawczyk
Vice President of European Economic and Social Committee, Brussels
"The Art of Living has been bringing people together, contributing to the understanding between them, inspiring a way of life, bringing health and harmony."

Milestones

Service Initiatives

For over 30 years, the Art of Living’s humanitarian projects have focused on developing the health and well-being of underprivileged and marginalized people. In India, our empowerment projects have been developed for both rural and urban conditions, focusing on social, economic, and environmental transformation. We have successfully completed many projects whose primary objective was advocating self-reliance and they have benefited millions of people.

For more information on our service projects in India, click here.

28th November 2006 - Mohiniyattam (Cochin, Kerala, India)

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Celebrating Cultures

We are all part of the same, yet express ourselves differently - through clothes, food, music, dance, festivities. Through culture. Culture binds us together and showcases our diversity. The underlying joy that culture brings resonates across the globe. When we celebrate culture, we celebrate all our communities and enjoy the different expressions of the commonality. Building bridges between people and nations, it is culture that preserves our roots and deepens our bonds.

In the past decade, The Art of Living has prominently worked towards giving people a platform to showcase their cultures. From orchestrating the biggest ensemble of bagpipe players to hosting the world’s largest vegetarian buffet. The number of people who have enjoyed these events and supported them has only grown larger over the years. And some of these celebrations have been recognized by the Guinness World Records as remarkable feats.

Some of Our Guinness World Records

2013

9th January - Horns: The largest horn ensemble consisted of 444 musicians and was achieved by the Art of Living (India) in Kollam, Kerala. The 444 musicians all played the C-shaped long Indian horn called the Kombu or Sringa. The performance lasted for 25 minutes.

2012

13th November - Diwali Candles: The most candles lit simultaneously at a single venue is 12,135 and was achieved on Diwali by the Art of Living (India) in Ahmedabad, India.

16th May – Bagpipes: The largest bagpipe ensemble was achieved by 333 participants at an event organized by the Art of Living at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria.

17th January - Taal Ninaad: The largest hand drum ensemble consisted of 1,230 people playing tabla drums and was achieved by the Art of Living (India) at Humbarwadi Estate, Solapur, India.

2011

21st February - Abhanga Naad: The largest dhol drum ensemble was achieved by 1,356 participants in an event organized by Art of Living at Shivaji University Ground, Kolhapur, India. (Duration: approx 23 minutes)

12th February - Naatya Vismayam: The largest Kathakali dance was achieved by 150 participants at an event organized by the Art of Living at Putharikkandam Grounds in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. (Duration: 2 performances of approx 20 minutes each)

30th January - Naada Vaibhavam: The largest choir consisted of 121,440 people and was organized by The Art of Living (India) in Perungalathur, Chennai, India.

2010

11 November - Mehran De Rang: The largest bhangra dance included 2,100 participants and was achieved by The Art of Living at the Punjab Agricultural University Campus, Ludhiana, India. (Duration: approx 15 minutes)

2nd November - Annam Brahma: The largest vegetarian buffet consisted of 5,612 different dishes in an event organized by the Art of Living at Sri Sri Dham, Ahmedabad, India.

12th January - Antarnaad: The record for the largest simultaneous sing-along was organized by the Art of Living and involved 1,04,637 participants singing 'Vande Mataram' at Antarnaad in Pune, India. (Duration: over 5 minutes)

2008

21st November - Brahm Naad: The largest sitar ensemble consisted of 1,094 participants at an event organized by the Art of Living in Noida, Delhi, India. (Duration: 3 symphonies of approx 7 minutes each)

2006

28th November - Mohiniyattam: The most people performing a Mohiniyattam dance was 1,200 as part of the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Art of Living at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Cochin, Kerala, India. (Duration: approx 12 minutes)