Ravi Shankar, born on May 13, 1956, is an Indian spiritual leader and yoga guru who is often addressed with honorific titles such as Sri Sri, Guru ji, or Gurudev. He started his journey by working as an apprentice under the founder of Transcendental Meditation, Mahesh Yogi, in the mid-1970s. However, he separated from TM in 1981 and established his own organization, the Art of Living Foundation.

Ravi Shankar was born in 1956 in the town of Papanasam in Tamil Nadu, India. As a young man, Shankar developed an interest in spirituality and began studying under several teachers, including Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He travelled extensively around the world with Maharishi, giving talks and setting up Transcendental Meditation and Ayurveda centers. Shankar went on to become a spiritual leader and yoga guru, founding the Art of Living Foundation in the 1980s.

The Art of Living Foundation offers practical and experiential courses in spirituality that promote human values such as love, compassion, and enthusiasm. Shankar's teachings emphasize the interconnectedness of science and spirituality and seek to create a world free of stress and violence. He believes that joy can only be found in the present moment and that the breath is the link between the body and mind, making meditation and service to others important tools for relaxation and spiritual growth.

Over the years, Shankar has been involved in a number of peace and humanitarian initiatives. He visited Pakistan on a goodwill mission in 2004 and again in 2012 to inaugurate Art of Living centers in Islamabad and Karachi. He also travelled to Iraq at the invitation of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in 2007 and again in 2008 to meet with political and religious leaders and promote global peace. In November 2014, Shankar visited the relief camps in Erbil, Iraq, and hosted a conference to address the dire condition of Yazidis and other non-Muslims in the region.

Shankar has also been involved in peace efforts in Colombia and Venezuela, where he met with leaders from both sides to encourage dialogue and promote stability. In 2015, he met with the delegations of the Colombian government and the FARC who were negotiating the resolution to the Colombian conflict in Havana. He urged FARC leaders to follow the Gandhian principle of non-violence to attain their political objectives and social justice. For his efforts, Colombia's House of Representatives awarded him the Simón Bolívar Order of Democracy, Knight Cross grade.

In addition to his peace and humanitarian work, Shankar has also been involved in efforts to address the conflict in Kashmir, India. In November 2016, he launched the South Asian Forum for Peace at a conference titled "Kashmir Back to Paradise" in Jammu. The forum is intended to bring together eight South Asian countries to cooperate in areas such as entrepreneurship, skill development, cultural exchange, educational partnerships, and women's empowerment. According to Shankar, 90% of people in Kashmir want peace but are neglected, and he believes that the solution to the Kashmir problem can only come from the Kashmiris themselves.

Throughout his life, Ravi Shankar has worked tirelessly to promote peace, harmony, and spiritual growth around the world. His teachings and initiatives have inspired countless individuals and communities to embrace the values of love, compassion, and service to others, and his legacy continues to have a profound impact on the world today.