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Parents demand Sri Sri’s apology

March 22, 2012

Originally published at this link on the Deccan Herald website. Thanks to Vickram for posting this.

New Delhi, Mar 21, 2012, DHNS :
Members of All India Parents Association (AIPA) in Delhi demanded a public apology from spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for labelling government schools as the breeding grounds for Maoists.

Shankar had said on Tuesday: “It is often seen that boys from government schools are into Naxalism and violence. Those from the private education system are not into these things. They move ahead with an ideal and teachers are responsible for it.”

The spiritual guru had added that the threat of spreading extreme ideologies stemmed from lack of quality education.

But following a controversy over these remarks, on Wednesday he said he has been misunderstood.

“I did not say all government schools should be privatised. I only meant that all government schools in Naxal-affected area should be privatised.”

However, parents are outraged with the spiritual guru’s previous remarks. “We hope and expect that the spiritual leader must have realised that such a statement is not only factually incorrect but also goes against the spirit of the Constitution,” said Ashok Aggarwal, national president AIPA.

“It is the children of ordinary people, like us, who go to government schools, as only the well off can send their children to public schools. It is inappropriate to say something like this. Sri Sri must apologise,” said Sita Ram, a parent from Shalimar Bagh.

37 Comments
  1. PasserBy permalink
    March 22, 2012 9:05 am

    “Its Ok”, said Sri Sri, “Only those who can afford private schools can also afford to buy ‘spirituality’ from me, and it is they who I care about. Rest is just for publicity. My family ( like nephews and others) are so far away from government schools, that I have no idea what I’m talking about.”

  2. stupidseeker permalink
    March 22, 2012 10:19 am

    Yes, all schools should be privatised on the lines of the Sri Sri Vidya mandirs where photographs of HHSSRS grace every room and every corridor. This is what passes of as values in AOL lingo i.e having giant life sized photos of HHSSRS everywhere and anywhere.

  3. Prakash permalink
    March 22, 2012 11:43 am

    Nothing to be surprised here. SSRS is simply playing to the gallery of his loyal customer base viz. the urban rich.

    His views on poverty are also illuminating. Once he claimed that poverty is a self imposed choice by the poor. People are poor because they are lazy. Period. His well fed urban rich customers are only too willing to agree with such diagnosis.

    His customer base in India comes mainly from private school crop. Is it not sufficient evidence that government schools are churning out useless fellows?

  4. March 22, 2012 11:57 am

    Obviously how will he run his schools fo art fo living without support of corporate honchos. please do sign this petition seeking public apology from him and share widely http://www.change.org/petitions/govt-schools-a-breeding-ground-for-naxals-sri-sri-ravi-shankar

  5. Anonymous permalink
    March 22, 2012 12:46 pm

    RS apologizing …. what an amusing concept! 😉

  6. Hari permalink
    March 22, 2012 1:33 pm

    Hey moderator,
    please remove the previous post as it shows my email ID.

    • The Doctor permalink
      March 22, 2012 4:04 pm

      done

    • StrongVolunteer permalink
      March 26, 2012 4:36 pm

      @Harshal,

      No Need to consult psychiatrist. AOL Courses are more than enough than consulting Psychiatrist. They are good in Brainwashing compare to psychiatrist.

  7. VSS permalink
    March 22, 2012 1:40 pm

    Here’s a link to the video where Mr. Ravi Shankar makes his “enlightened” comments :

    http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/sibal-expresses-shock-over-sri-sris-reported-remarks-on-govt-schools-and-naxals/226966

  8. VSS permalink
    March 22, 2012 1:47 pm

    http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Sibal-slams-Sri-Sri-s-remarks-on-govt-schools/Article1-828841.aspx

    Sibal slams Sri Sri’s remarks on govt schools

    Press Trust Of India
    New Delhi, March 21, 2012

    Union minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday slammed Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s remarks suggesting that government schools are breeding ground for Naxals saying nobody with some element of sanity would make such a sweeping statement. “When I read the statement, I was surprised. I am confident that perhaps the person had not made such a statement. Any person with a sense of balance cannot make such a statement. There must be some mistake in reporting, because any person with some element of sanity would not have made such a remark. I am sure the individual you are talking about is fully sane,” Sibal told reporters in New Delhi.

    He was asked to comment on the reported remarks of the spiritual guru.

    Sibal said people who are in the highest positions in the government and outside government, members of the judiciary and former Presidents have studied in government schools. “Can it ever be said that they are all naxalites,” he said.

    He said he would give a “benefit of doubt” to Ravi Shankar “because I do not think even temporarily a person would be inclined to say such a thing because it would be such a sweeping statement that no individual having a sense of balance would make such a statement.”

  9. VSS permalink
    March 22, 2012 4:20 pm

    “Any person with a sense of balance cannot make such a statement. There must be some mistake in reporting, because any person with some element of sanity would not have made such a remark.”

    Obviously, there is no mistake in reporting. Mr. Ravi Shankar has indeed made these statements, and they have been recorded in the video above. And, it is indeed INSANE to blame government schools for Naxalism. But that is just my opinion / my perspective. In fact, all else that I’m about to say is my opinion / my perspective. If you have a weak heart or a fragile ego when it comes to Mr. Ravi Shankar, please don’t read any comment that I post on this blog.

    AoL members are enraged by comments questioning Mr. Ravi Shankar’s sanity. I am not surprised at all. They simply cannot see clearly. Some days ago, Mr. Ravi Shankar was telling terrorist-torn Pakistan to increase tourism. He quoted the example of Greece — a nation where tourists are safe from terrorists. A person who randomly compares two incomparable tourist destinations can hardly be considered educated. If the two tourist destinations are incomparable because of a very drastic difference in how much safety they can ensure for tourists, then the person can hardly be considered sane.

    Blaming government schools for Naxalism is taking insanity to a whole new level. No blanket statement or sweeping generalization of this nature can possibly explain the rise of Naxalism. Mr. Ravi Shankar’s statement and Mr. Kapil Sibal’s response have successfully polarized newspaper readers. The reader who thinks that there can be a SIMPLISTIC EXPLANATION for the rise of Naxalism is critical of Mr. Sibal. The reader who thinks that there cannot be a SIMPLISTIC EXPLANATION for the rise of Naxalism is critical of Mr. Ravi Shankar.

    It all boils down to whether or not we accept SIMPLISTIC EXPLANATIONS for everything. It all boils down to whether or not we think in BLACK AND WHITE.

    In AoL, people believe the following :

    – Happiness can be bought for a sum of money.
    – Enlightenment can be bought for a sum of money.
    – Peace of mind can be bought for a sum of money.
    – It’s okay to sell happiness, enlightenment, and, peace of mind, for a sum of money.
    – God will take care of everything.
    – Community Service is getting more people to join AoL.
    – It’s okay for a “spiritual leader” to live in 8 star hotels.
    – It’s okay for a “spiritual leader” to slight and humiliate one his own teachers.
    – It’s okay for a “spiritual leader” to try to silence people who have been abused by AoL.

    And now :

    – Government schools are the breeding ground of Naxalism.

    AoL people are furious with the Indian press — first for not covering Mr. Ravi Shankar’s trip to Pakistan, and now, for covering Mr. Sibal’s comments about Mr. Ravi Shankar. However, the fact of the matter is, that for the first time in over three decades, Mr. Ravi Shankar’s sanity has been questioned. AoL people may say that Mr. Sibal is biased. But, what about those parents who are demanding an apology from Mr. Ravi Shankar for his bizarre comments ? Are they biased too ?

    What about those children, teenagers, and, young adults, who are studying in government schools — how would they be feeling about the comments made by Mr. Ravi Shankar ? Why did he hurt them ? Why did he make them feel smaller than those who are studying in private schools ? Did they have to listen to his absolutely abusive comments because of bad karma in a past life ?

    Mr. Ravi Shankar said that boys who study in private schools have “adarsh” or ideals. How must those who have ideals but study in government schools be feeling about being ridiculed thus ? The only difference between those who study in government schools and those who study in private schools is the fact that they cannot afford to study in private schools. Is Mr. Ravi Shankar saying that those who can’t afford a private school education have no ideals ?

    He is simply reinforcing materialism. Till yesterday, he was saying that money can buy happiness and enlightenment. Now, he is saying it can buy ideals.

    But the worst thing that Mr. Ravi Shankar has done is abused all those who have studied in government schools and are studying in government schools. He has also abused all teachers. Because of his comments, a lot of children, teenagers, and, young adults, must be hurt. I don’t know how he can call himself “spiritual”. No true “spiritual” person would hurt people because they are poor, pronounce a judgment on whether or not they possess ideals, and, do this in full public view, so that maximum number of children, teenagers, and, young adults get hurt.

    Still, if you heart says you should join AoL, please join AoL. If your heart says you want to become an AoL teacher, please become an AoL teacher. So far, AoL has not been blacklisted.

    • Anonymous permalink
      March 23, 2012 12:35 am

      VSS……Terrific Write….

      Kapil See Bull ? If only he did Sudarshan Kriya he could have easily seen

      1. Govt schools breed despotism inside and naxt-elitism outside
      2. Soon it will be obvious that private schools other than Sri Sri institutions breed corruption.

      It’s the onslaught of summer…..and the return of Pakistan……probably was under high stress back in Pakistan…had to be very alert with himself as every second you gotta be very measured and calculative about what you say. Back to home country….suddenly free…..opened his mouth and many people decided to put their foot in. Usually you would put your faith in a guru….sometimes it is also the foot.

    • stupidseeker permalink
      March 23, 2012 12:26 pm

      Thanks VSS for that nice write up.

  10. Kitapti permalink
    March 22, 2012 5:00 pm

    Ravi Ravi is wrong as usual. This completely shows that he has no clue what he is talking about.
    Naxalism is not a result of lack of ideals. Naxalism is a movement which has resulted due to the gross and inhuman exploitation of natural resources by rich multinationals / corporates and government by displacing, oppersing and cheating tribals and poor villagers of their land, livelihood, self esteem and social capital. A petty bourgoiese guru like Ravi ravi does not have the intellectual capacity to understand these things. As a snake oil salesman he is good in peddling his wares to the rich yuppies of india. The thing is people like Ravi are part of the problem and they have the temerity to even offer solutions to things they have absolutely no idea. His idiotic disciples swallow these as words of wisdom.

    BTW he is also wrong in saying that Government schools breed Naxalism. There have been highly educated people from delhi and london school of economics, oxford and cambridge universities among others who have left the comfort of their lucarative career to follow the ideals of creating a just world. Check out for Saketh Rajan, he and his wife even laid down their lives fighting against an oppressive state.

  11. VSS permalink
    March 22, 2012 8:36 pm

    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Protest-against-Sri-Sri-Ravi-Shankar-for-his-remarks-on-government-schools/articleshow/12362498.cms

    Protest against Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for his remarks on government schools
    TNN | Mar 22, 2012, 06.18AM IST

    JAIPUR: Different sections of people on Wednesday registered a strong protest against spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar over his alleged remark that government schools are breeding grounds of Naxalites and violence and government-run schools and colleges must be handed over to private bodies.

    He made the remark during the silver jubilee celebration of Adarsh Vidya Mandir Jaipur in Ambabari on Tuesday while commenting on achievements of this school.

    “Private school students have a very progressive and spiritual attitude towards life. They are nurtured with values, principles and dedication required for an ideal citizen,” said Ravi Shankar at the function. He praised the Adarsh Vidya Mandir schools run by the RSS for producing students with values and principles. The spiritual guru is in the city on a three-day visit to participate in various socio-religious events.

    His statement angered the teachers’ community and his effigy was burnt at various places in the city. The situation becomes tense when a group of protesting teachers under the banner of ‘Rajasthan Shikshak Sangh’ raising anti Ravi Shankar slogans entered the Birla Auditorium an hour before his arrival there for an event.

    The art of living volunteers present at the main gate got into a heated argument with the protesting teachers who were demanding a public apology for the remark. Police present in the auditorium swung to action and disperse the teachers outside the venue. The spiritual guru was scheduled to attend the birthday celebration of senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ramdas Agarwal at the auditorium.

    In his defence, the spiritual guru blamed a section of media for twisting his statements and running without the original context.

    A criminal complaint has been filed by local lawyers – Surendra Dhaka, Jai Prakash Sharma and Manu Pancholi – in a lower court charging the spiritual leader with the offence of spreading hatred in society and defaming people passing out of government schools. “We also feel that his statement is anti-Constitution as it goes against Article 21-A where the government is bound to provide free and compulsory education to children of the age group six to 14 years,” one of the petitioners said.

    City based NGOs working in the field of education and human rights groups were also in no mood to spare the spiritual leader for his remark. They alleged that Ravi Shankar being the brand guru of the global corporates, likes education to be the milch cow of this sector only for their colossal growth in profit.

    “Ravi Shankar is reproducing the ideology of hate as presented by Golwalkar and Savarkar which schools like Adarsh Vidya Mandir teach in the country when he said that Adarsh schools should be set up everywhere in the name of Bharatiya Sanskriti,” said Kavita Srivastava, general secretary of PUCL.

  12. VSS permalink
    March 23, 2012 7:26 am

    FTN: Is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar being unfair to Govt schools?

    http://ibnlive.in.com/shows/Face+the+Nation/241801.html

    (The show has an AoL spokesperson as well for those who wish to know AoL’s perspective.)

  13. venkatesh permalink
    March 23, 2012 9:08 am

    Earlier his teachers were suffering from the “FOOT IN MOUTH” disease.It is now obvious that they all got infected with this virus from their beloved master !!!!

  14. Chindu permalink
    March 23, 2012 9:40 am

    Just for publicity making all these silly statements. These crooks are so unashamed.

  15. Anonymous permalink
    March 23, 2012 5:00 pm

    Ardent devotees of SSRS are desperately trying to save his face with this new blog
    http://ensures.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/naxalism-education-is-it-about-syntax-semantics
    Do check this out!!!

    • VSS permalink
      March 23, 2012 8:16 pm

      @ Anonymous [March 23, 2012 5:00 pm]

      Thanks a million for this link. Shall definitely read the post.

    • VSS permalink
      March 24, 2012 10:06 am

      @ Anonymous [March 23, 2012 5:00 pm]

      I read the article. These are my initial observations.

      1. The mental activity – physical activity combination recommended by Mr. Ravi Shankar and taught in courses facilitated by AoL simply does not work. It doesn’t make people stress-free. It doesn’t make people non-violent either.

      The writer of the post is stressed out to his very core. His verbal violence knows no limits. If Mr. Ravi Shankar says that critics should be heard, the writer has simply not heard his own “master”, let alone incorporated what was told. He has completely lost his patience and unleashed his temper on “the media”.

      2. There are five huge photographs in the post. To my utter surprise, these are not photographs of schools run by AoL in Naxal-hit areas or photographs of smiling Naxalites who have been reformed by AoL.

      These photographs are meant to depict how Mr. Ravi Shankar is better than Mr. Rahul Gandhi. There is a photograph that depicts empty chairs in a Rahul Gandhi rally along side a photograph of a huge crowd at an AoL rally in the same area. There is another pair of photographs depicting the same in another area. These areas are considered areas from where the Gandhi family and their nominees usually win. They are located in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Mr. Rahul Gandhi who is a part of the Congress Party, and was leading the Congress campaign in Uttar Pradesh, lost miserably. The Samajwadi Party won. The post also carries a picture of Samajwadi Party head — Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav — and his son — Mr. Akhilesh Yadav — visiting Mr. Ravi Shankar.

      What are these photographs telling us ?

      These photographs are telling us that Mr. Ravi Shankar’s followers have a distinct political opinion. These photographs are telling us that Mr. Ravi Shankar is a “guru” who not only decides how we live our lives, but also decides who we vote for.

      Further, Mr. Ravi Shankar’s comments about government schools were made at a function organised by the RSS. The RSS has deep ties with the BJP. For instance, the president of the BJP — Mr. Nitin Gadkari — started his political career in the RSS. Mr. Ravi Shankar released Mr. Gadkari’s book just a few months ago. The Chief Minister of Gujarat — Mr. Narendra Modi — who is an ardent follower of Mr. Ravi Shankar, also started his political career in the RSS.

      We all know that there will be general elections in 2014, or, maybe even sooner, if the current Congress government’s allies withdraw support.

      We all know that the two major national parties — the Congress and the BJP — will be fighting with all they’ve got to form the government.

      We all have a choice — we could either vote for the BJP or for the Congress — or for the other parties in the fray — including the Left, the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamul Congress, Janata Dal, et al.

      Those of us who vote for the BJP will be effectively voting for RSS and Mr. Ravi Shankar.

      By the time the next general elections happen, all of India will be polarized into people who support the BJP-RSS-AoL combination and those who don’t.

      Due to serious corruption issues with the current Congress government, it is very possible that the Congress will not return to power. It is very possible that the BJP will form the next government.

      However, what will not change, is “the media”. The media in India is becoming more and more truth-centric. With the passage of time, journalists will become more and more fearless and resistant to manipulation. They will focus on issues. They will not support any one political party — at least not openly. That’s because television channels that are prejudiced and newspapers that are prejudiced lose their audience in no time. The audience is much too smart. It simply won’t tolerate indoctrination. (Incidentally, the audience is not a single entity. It is made up of millions with diverse experiences, exposure, and, education.)

      The media’s lack of interest in covering Mr. Ravi Shankar’s trip to Pakistan, and, subsequent focus on his erroneous and judgmental comments, prove that the media cannot be taken for a ride.

      It’s also extremely disturbing and bizarre to evidence the condemnation of “the media” by AoL members in a way that suggests that “the media” is one entity. It’s not. “The media” is made up of several individuals who work for several media houses. If all of them have collectively found Mr. Ravi Shankar’s visit to Pakistan unworthy of coverage, and his judgmental comments on government schools, worthy of being criticized, then we’re talking about the opinion of several thousand individuals.

      If Mr. Ravi Shankar and his disciples were listening, they would learn from their critics. These critics run into thousands. AoL would wake up to reality and do what it takes to be covered positively by the media.

      After all, it is the same media that celebrated Sachin’s 100th 100. It is the same media that respects the achievements of Narayana Swamy, A.R. Rahman, Amitabh Bachchan, Justice J.S. Verma, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, etc. etc.

      Besides, I was taught that “respect is commanded and not demanded”. By abusing the media, for not respecting Mr. Ravi Shankar, AoL members are self-destructing. If the dependence and attachment to the “guru” is so blinding that a disciple cannot tolerate a single critic of the “guru”, then the AoL way of life is perpetuating intolerance and reactionary behaviour.

      Intolerance and reactionary behaviour cannot lead to world peace, let alone personal peace.

      I have yet to come across “an enlightened reaction” from an AoL member — to the criticism of Mr. Ravi Shankar’s comments.

      (If you know of any such posts on the internet, please let me know.)

      Still, if people wish to join AoL, they should join AoL. If they wish to become AoL teachers, they should become AoL teachers. I’m not here to stop anyone from joining AoL.

      • stupidseeker permalink
        March 27, 2012 8:47 am

        @VSS

        Once again a nice read.

      • Hari permalink
        March 29, 2012 1:44 pm

        Wow… going by the pictures that are being used for portraying the “glorification” of Ravi, I wonder if the blogger was a tad bit biased… well, if the blogger wants to compare election rally in Amethi v. Satsang organized by Ravi, the blogger should compare election rally where Sonia or Mulayam or Maya was present v. the crowd at the Satsang… this comparison is akin to showing a gully cricket audience v. IPL audience… oh well AOLites, whatever keeps you happy 🙂

  16. VSS permalink
    March 23, 2012 7:32 pm

    A NOTE TO ALL THOSE WHO READ MY POSTS AND SUPPORT ME

    I thank you with all my heart. This blog saved me from falling into the AoL trap. I was on the verge of checking into the Bangalore Ashram. (Some of you know that I had compelling personal reasons for joining AoL.) Your heartfelt posts and comments helped me immensely. I am very, very, very grateful. I wish there was something substantial that I could do to express my gratitude. I wish I could take away your pain. I wish you resilience. I wish that you never ever blame yourself for getting manipulated by a master manipulator. I hope that you will be kind to yourself and never judge yourself for falling into the AoL trap. It could happen to anybody.

    You all are remarkable people and inspire me every day. It takes a lot of courage, sensitivity, and, intelligence, to walk out of the AoL trap. I admire you immensely for being the spectacular human beings and sensitive souls that you are. There is no doubt in my mind that there must be many like me who read this blog and get saved. There is also no doubt in my mind that fence-sitters get empowered by reading your posts and comments. Above all, there is no doubt in my mind that you are the ones who are truly enlightened. I’ve learnt a lot from each one of you and cherish your words immensely. Last but not the least, I am absolutely certain that I speak for many people, not just me. Thank you again.

    – VSS

  17. March 25, 2012 4:36 pm

    VSS ur posts are very truthful. ur honesty and grasp of AOL web n deception is potentially useful for many n mankind. Many can be saved from emotional slavery.
    Kindly reveal ur reasons for falling in this trap. You may use language which does not reveal ur identity.
    This will prevent people from this trap in the beginning.
    Thanks for all u post. Once again your grasp n wisdom about key issues about AOL is perfect n exemplary.
    Keep it up. Don t stop ever..

    • VSS permalink
      March 26, 2012 10:21 am

      @ anonymus critical [March 25, 2012 4:36 pm]

      Thank you, infinitely, for your supportive words.

      I’ll definitely share my story with readers soon. For now, here’s a summary:

      There were many reasons why I contacted AoL and decided to relocate to the Bangalore Ashram. However, I found this blog just a few days before I relocated, and changed my mind. I do not regret my decision. I changed my mind and do not regret my decision because I am an ordinary human being — I could see very clearly that AoL and Mr. Ravi Shankar are fully capable of demolishing me in the way that they have demolished other (far more exceptional) human beings.

      I am also not cynical — in the sense that I don’t think that the world is such a terrible place that no matter what I do and no matter who I seek help from — that person would have deceived, abused, and, exploited a few people. I noticed that many who defend AoL and Mr. Ravi Shankar on this blog (and related blogs) feel that it is okay to harm a few people as long as the majority benefit. This, to my mind, is severe cynicism.

      The fundamental basis and essence of any religion is love and compassion for all. Cruelty and humiliation towards anyone is not justified in any religion. So, I found Mr. Ravi Shankar and AoL, irreligious. Since I work in the realm of education, I also knew that saying things like “you have low prana”, “your ego is too massive”, “you ask too many questions”, etc. etc. does not facilitate education — it causes the demolition of a learner’s confidence. Some learners recover from demolition of this kind sooner than others — but that doesn’t mean that demolition is not demolition. Hence, I learnt that AoL and Mr. Ravi Shankar are not spiritual.

      One of the things that I would look for in an organization that trains adults is a knowledge of adult learning approaches and techniques. A phenomenal amount of research has been done in this field and it teaches us many things that we must know when we’re teaching / training adults. It doesn’t matter if we’re teaching meditation or teaching leadership skills. Perhaps the most important lesson to be learnt from this research is the fact that adults must not be humiliated. Any kind of humiliation is counterproductive. Teaching is considered a noble profession because of the sanctity associated with it. I found that in AoL, learners are not treated properly and the sanctity of the teacher-learner relationship is not respected. I read many comments from people who had been hurt by the insensitive and cruel attitude of teachers, and that this insensitivity and cruelty was justified as being “needed” by certain people. In the world of education, this line of thinking would be considered regressive and archaic as also damaging and arrogant.

      In fact, this is why there is a widespread furore in India about the recent comments made by Mr. Ravi Shankar. Journalists, activists, and, educationists, are shocked at the sheer arrogance in the comments made by Mr. Ravi Shankar. He has, of course, further axed his own foot by not apologizing to the people who he hurt. The sentiments of those who have been hurt are of no consequence to him. If he had issued a simple statement that said something like “I am sorry for hurting the sentiments of those who study in and have studied in government schools — I didn’t mean to hurt anybody and it was unintentional — I admit that my choice of words was unfortunate and shall choose my words more carefully in the future”, I am pretty certain that all television channels would play his apology all day and there would be a queue of people outside all AoL centers in India. The majority of people in India are not members of AoL today because they do not associate any greatness with Mr. Ravi Shankar.

      However, if he would have apologized, people would associate greatness and enlightenment with him, and he would not have to spend any money on promoting AoL for the next 30 years. Let’s look at both situations — one in which he made comments intentionally and another in which he made comments unintentionally. If he made comments intentionally, it is intentional bad karma to hurt so many people. If he made comments unintentionally, then it is unintentional bad karma to hurt so many people. How does one deal with bad karma ? One can’t deal with bad karma by meditating and yoga. One deals with bad karma by facing the people who have suffered as a result of the bad karma. If he had apologized to the people he hurt, he would have gained the respect of even those who are critical of him. One deals with bad karma by doing what one can to relieve the pain of those one has hurt. Therefore, an apology would have been appropriate — it would relieve those who were hurt by his statements. It would also have ended the potential for more bad karma.

      Instead, he didn’t apologize. Many of his followers went on a rampage — abusing the media and all those who criticized them and a lot of bad blood was generated. (How can Mr. Ravi Shankar and AoL possibly claim that they know anything at all about conflict resolution ?)

      The point of mentioning this being that when I was thinking of going to AoL, one of my motivations was to get rid of bad karma. I read on sites and blogs promoting AoL that meeting Mr. Ravi Shankar, meditation, yoga, and, charity work for AoL projects, rid people of bad karma. When I read this blog, I realized that there are quite a few people who have not only not gained from being in AoL, but have been deceived, abused, and exploited by AoL. So, I decided to face myself and those who had been at the receiving end of my bad karma, and tried my best to do what I could to apologize and make up for my wrong actions.

      Last but not the least, I wanted to join AoL because my ex had joined AoL. However, once I’d read this blog, I knew that if I went to AoL, I would not be honest about AoL with him, and I did not want to deceive him in order to be with him. He is still in AoL and has moved on. I have moved on too. Although I am not seeing anyone and don’t intend to either, I have started working on something that requires twelve to sixteen hours of work in a day. I have absolutely no time for anything else. The only other activity I create time for is posting on this blog as I think it is a privilege to post on this blog, and try and help the blog that helped me.

      [Still, if those who are reading this post wish to join AoL, they should join AoL. I am not here to stop anyone from joining AoL.]

      • Harshal permalink
        March 26, 2012 12:39 pm

        “Last but not the least, I wanted to join AoL because my ex had joined AoL” – classic example of displacement reaction. Can’t do anything against the ‘ex’ so all the anger is directed against AOL.

        Please consult a psychiatrist ASAP.

  18. VSS permalink
    March 26, 2012 4:28 pm

    @ Harshal [March 26, 2012 12:39 pm]

    Done.

    • Dayalu permalink
      March 26, 2012 6:47 pm

      “Please consult a psychiatrist ASAP”

      This from an ardent follower of someone who publicly despises the field of psychology.

      • Harshal permalink
        March 30, 2012 12:17 pm

        @dayalu:do look up the difference between psychiatry and psychology…. I dont like either…but psychiatry can help to put some people like VSS to ease…

      • VSS permalink
        March 30, 2012 4:15 pm

        @ Harshal [March 30, 2012 12:17 pm]

        JGD ! Have a lovely day ! Guruji will help you soon. After that, you won’t make any judgmental comments. Don’t worry. Just listen to him carefully. Take care.

  19. Anonymous permalink
    March 26, 2012 6:47 pm

    i read the interview of hh ssrs completely , the pseudo indian media and present government in power especially mr sibal is minterpreting ssrrs sibal shouldve read the whole interview ssrs specifically spoke of schools in up and odisha which are so called govt. schools and run under naxal rule similar to terrorist training camps. i know the ground realities of these schools and neither do i support ssrs or sibal but its the fault of the media and of the politician as well…. ssrs was just tryiing to say tp bring in public pvt partnership into such schools …… hmm the pseudo politicians and media want to do to ssrs what they did to ramdev bab and anna hazare….

    • Prakash permalink
      March 30, 2012 4:04 am

      “…sibal shouldve read the whole interview ssrs specifically spoke of schools in up and odisha..”

      Dear AOL apologist: It is you who should have heard the whole interview. If you have not done it so far, it is still available at youtube. In the interview SSRS gave a general blanket statement about all government schools. It was only later when media started questioning the sanity of SSRS that he qualified his statement through a “clarification” issued later.

      “… which are so called govt. schools and run under naxal rule similar to terrorist training camps…”

      Saying that government schools produce all terrorists is similar to saying that SSRS Vidya Mandirs produce all idiots like you.

  20. April 1, 2012 4:07 pm

    WoW! So many people to oppose Sri Sri. That’s great. This shows that he is a successful personality!

    • Jr. permalink
      April 1, 2012 8:56 pm

      Hitler was successful too…

      What is popular is not always right, what is right is not always popular.

  21. Anonymous permalink
    April 2, 2012 2:26 pm

    And that apology, because of Sri Sri’s remarks about education, are not the strongest demand for his apologies. Parents who have lost their sons to Art of Living have long asked for apologies and the return of their children, only to find them zombified beyond belief by Sri Sri and his minions. His remarks about education were stupid but did no real harm. He has, however, harmed the mental, emotional and career lives of many many people who went to him for solace, believing he was a true Guru. It’s a pity what he has done in the name of spirituality. Only those who have gotten too close know.

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