Angelica Jordan lay frozen on the floor of Montreal’s Dawson College as gunshots echoed through the building.
She survived the shooting, but the fear stayed with her for years. “I’m very grateful to Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and his Happiness Program.” On the nineteenth day of practice, “I felt anger boiling in my veins. I realized the shooter felt that all the time. He had probably never felt heard in his life,” she says. For the first time, forgiveness felt possible.
Today, Jordan helps other students navigate trauma through the same breathing techniques that helped her heal from one of Canada’s deadliest school shootings
Jordan is one of countless students around the world who found a sense of peace she thought she had lost forever.
Across the United States, The Art of Living’s programs have reached students through institutions including Yale University, Rutgers University, and Howard University.
Many participants had grown up amid gun violence or were still living with its aftermath.
Teachers in Newark, New Jersey saw a 90 percent drop in violent incidents after students learned the breathing techniques, while honor roll numbers rose 800 percent the same year. Programs have also reached African American students and college campuses often underserved by mainstream mental health support, offering tools that go beyond charity kitchens and overloaded counseling centers.
The transformation has extended beyond classrooms into corporate America.
As quiet quitting spread across workplaces, Art of Living programs offered professionals a way to reconnect with purpose beyond their jobs. Participants reported lower cortisol levels and greater life satisfaction. It helped employees rediscover purpose rather than withdraw from work.
These programs have shifted the country’s consciousness toward positivity, built confidence, and improved sleep, creating ripple effects that lead to safer homes and calmer communities.
Art of Living programs are inspired by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s vision of a stress-free, violence-free society. Through its programs and service initiatives, the organisation has united millions of people across the world. “I have this crazy idea to see a world without violence,” he once told the United Nations. That vision has since grown into a global movement.
That same vision has found powerful expressions across the United States. Through “Project Welcome Home Troops”, veterans returning from war have found a path to healing. Ron Bayes, who served during Desert Storm, once struggled with a short temper that left him feeling disconnected from civilian life. “After practicing the techniques, I have a newfound confidence to meet any challenge that arises,” he said.
That impact has also been felt in Baltimore, where generations of racial and community violence have left deep emotional scars. Working with local leaders and organisations supporting women and families affected by violence, Gurudev introduced breathing and trauma-relief programs that helped participants move beyond fear, grief, and anger, rebuilding resilience and restoring hope.
In Ukraine, more than 8,000 soldiers and civilians have found peace through meditation and Sudarshan Kriya. Amid the devastation of war, thousands of minds were pulled back from the edge of despair.
In 2007, Gurudev became the first Indian spiritual leader officially invited by the Iraqi government, at a time when the country had barely known a decade without violence. He refused to stay inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone. “I have not come here to sit safely in a hotel,” he said. Instead, he met tribal elders, religious scholars, and ordinary families. A senior Iraqi Red Crescent official later described what those visits meant. “Until now, we have known only the art of dying,” he said. “You have brought into Iraqi life the art of living.”
An even longer and more brutal conflict unfolded in Colombia, where a civil war between the government and FARC rebels claimed more than 200,000 lives over five decades. In 2015, President Juan Manuel Santos personally sought Gurudev’s help. After a dialogue with Gurudev in Havana FARC’s leadership was persuaded to embrace nonviolence.
During those talks, Gurudev offered the negotiators something unconventional: a way to breathe and meditate. In that tense room, everyone sat with their eyes closed. Men who had walked in carrying decades of suspicion began to visibly relax.
Weeks later, FARC declared a unilateral ceasefire, a breakthrough that helped pave the way for Colombia’s historic 2016 peace agreement. President Santos later wrote to Gurudev, thanking him for his contribution to the peace process.
The coming together did not end at the negotiating table. Art of Living later facilitated a rare reconciliation between FARC leaders and the families of their victims. Fabiola Perdomo, whose husband was a congressman killed by FARC, sat across from the men responsible for her loss. “Forgiveness has made me free, cleansed me, and it has prepared me to build a new life,” she said.
In Ivory Coast, Gurudev’s initiative brought together thirty members of the warring Guere and Dioula tribes. They learned Sudarshan Kriya together and released years of buried trauma. They renounced violence and promised to rebuild each other’s houses, as neighbors once again.
The world has taken notice of Gurudev’s tireless work. Earlier this month, in Battle Creek, Michigan, Mayor Mark Behnke signed a proclamation before a room packed with thousands of people gathered to witness. It declared the day as Art of Living Day. The Honorable Governor and the State Senators of Michigan sent letters of appreciation for the work done.
Gurudev has become the first spiritual leader to receive proclamations from 53 cities across the United States and Canada for promoting peace, resolving conflicts and uniting communities. Gurudev has also received the highest civilian honours of Colombia, Mongolia, Paraguay, Fiji and Suriname, along with 28 honorary doctorates.
“Spirituality brings people together and realizes the underlying unity, and celebrates diversity,” Gurudev often says, and that belief now echoes across continents that once knew only conflict. From Havana to Baghdad to Battle Creek, communities have opened their doors, opened their hearts to him, welcoming him, who helped carry them through their darkest hours.
For India, watching that work being honoured so far from home, there is every reason to feel proud.
