Thank you Sri Sri, India owes you
While the jury is still out on whether the Art of Living’s World Culture Festival caused any damage to the Yamuna floodplains, the three-day global extravaganza has been declared a clear winner. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s brand of spirituality, with inclusiveness and pragmatism as its hallmark, set a new paradigm of national discourse.
More than the magnitude of the festival, what makes it so rewarding for India is the emergence of spirituality as the benchmark of moral conduct.
In the run-up to the event, which witnessed a targetted calumny against the Art of Living, spirituality was raised to the pedestal it actually belongs but long denied. Even the dirty muck thrown at Sri Sri and Art of Living couldn't affect the spiritual aspect of the event. Spirituality stood like a guarantor for best practices. This augurs well for India that has long undervalued her spiritual wealth. The time has come to hardsell her impeccable track record of uniting people as a counter to the canard of intolerance.
We must thank Sri Sri for waking the nation up. Sri Sri has reason to smile at all the criticism and take them as compliments. Unwittingly, his detractors have handed him the authority to spiritually command the nation. He was a symbol of virtues in public life. He was seen as capable of inspiring his volunteers to clean up the ground within hours, without even engaging ragpickers or cleaning agencies. The onus of ensuring the Army is used only for fighting the enemies was put on him. Some even thought he should have ensured the artists didn’t get drenched, despite a heavy and sudden downpour.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal read the writings on the wall and admitted that a clean-up of the Yamuna was a must. The larger point is that everybody saw a silver lining in spirituality. That’s why Sri Sri’s "private party" was so significant. It sensitised the nation to the formula to build the ideal India that we aspire for.
The other major gainer from the festival was the idea of India itself. It was no ordinary cultural jamboree, but a prestigious platform for India to showcase her genius to the world. With people from 155 countries descending to Delhi, India couldn’t hope for a better chance to prove we are a tolerant civilisation
Undoubtedly, it was one of the most powerful PR blitz for India after the International Day of Yoga. Many of the foreign dignitaries underscored this aspect of the festival.
Needless controversies are commonplace, as we live amidst a media fraternity where the top names happily admit they move around in circles with no viveka to decipher the context.
That vacuum also explains why muck has been thrown at the Art of Living and Sri Sri the same way we have been throwing garbage in the Yamuna. But the resilience to pick gold out of muck is what gives India a place of pride. Thank you, Sri Sri.