In a historic milestone, the event ‘World Meditates with Gurudev’, with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar-led Art of Living at the helm, shattered records, earning a place in the Guinness World Records, the Asia Book of Records, and the World Records Union.
The event, which was organised on the first World Meditation Day, saw the participation of individuals from over 180 countries and showcased the transformative power of meditation as a global movement. It started with the inaugural event at the United Nations and culminated in a live session led by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar from atop the World Trade Center (New York).
Millions join ‘World Meditates with Gurudev’
The meditation session led by Sri Sri was streamed live, with millions joining virtually and even physically in large groups to meditate for global peace and harmony. At the outset of the event, he explained the meaning and importance of the meditation. He said, “Meditation is the journey from knowing by thought to feeling what you know. To meditate you need to first go from too much thinking to feeling what is. And then go beyond the feeling towards the inner space. If you want to be sane, sensitive and sensible, you need to meditate. Meditation is not inactivity. It makes you more dynamic and peaceful. Even to be a revolutionary, you need to meditate.”
List of records broken
Guinness World Record
- The most viewers of a guided meditation live stream on YouTube
Asia Book of Records
- Maximum Participation from all the States of India in Guided Meditation in a Day
- Maximum nationalities participated in Guided Meditation in a Day
World Records Union
- The record for the most views for an online guided meditation in 24 hours on YouTube
- The record for the most live viewers of a guided meditation session on YouTube
- The record for the most nationalities participating in an online meditation session
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar invited to UN for inaugural World Meditation Day
Notably, Sri Sri was invited to the United Nation General Assembly for the inaugural World Meditation Day. He also addressed the UN on the occasion. He spoke aout the transformative impact of meditation. He said, “Today, meditation is not a luxury but a necessity. I would call it mental hygiene, like you have dental hygiene. Meditation helps us center ourselves, moving away from aggression and depression. The mental health crisis has taken a big toll on our population. It brings us sensitivity and sensibility at the same time – two important factors of any civilised society.”