Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a humanitarian, teacher and peacemaker. He founded global non-profits the Art of Living and the International Association for Human Values - two of the largest volunteer-run non-profits in the world - to help relieve stress and trauma, teach human values, and increase happiness. He has created trauma-relief and meditation programs for at-risk youth, war veterans, prisoners and survivors of disaster. He is also engaged in peace-making efforts internationally and in war-torn areas like Colombia and Iraq. 16 universities have awarded him with honorary doctorates for his peace-keeping efforts. In addition he has also received 37 governmental awards.
In the United States, he has received the International Humanitarian Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the award for Inspiring Humanity from the Foundation for California. He has been an invited speaker at institutions like the United Nations, the European Parliament, the World Economic Forum, and the Israeli Presidential Conference, as well as top universities like Stanford University, The Wharton School, and the University of Southern California. In addition, he has spoken at conferences like TED. He has been featured on CNN and The New York Times, has written over 40 books and contributes to The Huffington Post. Scientific research on his programs has shown that they significantly decrease anxiety, stress and depression while making people feel happier and more optimistic.