BENGALURU Around 25 kilometres south of bustling Bengaluru, the traffic thins and the road opens into an expanse of green.

Spread across 350 acres on Kanakapura Road is the Art of Living (AOL) international headquarters.

For more than 45 years, the AOL has drawn millions from across the world with the promise of a world free of violence and stress.

Nestled in the Panchagiri Hills, the spiritual world reveals itself almost at once.

A quiet stillness welcomes you to the campus.

Even the canines who seem to acknowledge your presence are not aggressive.

Deep inside the campus live two pachyderms gifted to the Gurudev—Indrani and Maheshwara.

'Gurudev loves animals,' says a volunteer.

'They have as much right to be here as we do.' Just a few metres from the entrance is a meditation hall shaped like an amphitheatre.

A few devotees sit on its steps, their eyes closed.

Nearby, construction work is in progress; a building is coming up to accommodate the multitude of followers.

At the heart of this movement stands the soft-spoken Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who is at once accessible and enigmatic.

From a young age, he was drawn to silence and meditation.

In 1981, at the age of 25, the Gurudev entered a period of silence on the banks of the Bhadra in Karnataka.

He spent 10 days in meditation, and emerged with the Sudarshan Kriya—a rhythmic breathing technique designed to reduce stress, hone mental clarity and improve overall wellbeing.

There are several open-air amphitheatres on the campus, including the lotus-shaped Sumeru Mantap at the highest point.

The Vishalakshi Mantap serves as a central place for satsang and discourse.

Named after the Gurudev's mother, it reflects an inclusive spirit.

'People are free to sing any devotional song they wish,' says a volunteer.

The Gurudev's father R.S.

Venkat Ratnam was a scholar deeply versed in Sanskrit, Tamil and English.

His sister Bhanumathi Narasimhan is a noted author and director of the Art of Living Free Schools.

In 2014, the AOL instituted the Vishalakshi Global Award, and legendary singer Asha Bhosle, who passed away this April, was the first recipient.

Says the Gurudev: 'Asha Bhosle was a sincere spiritual seeker.

Every day, she practised meditation and [Sudarshan] Kriya.

She was a familiar and cherished presence at our ashram and university.

She often called me to speak about her spiritual journey.' As he approaches 70, the Gurudev has evolved as a prominent voice in the global peace initiatives.

His work spans over 180 countries, with strong activities in the conflict regions in Colombia, Iraq and Sri Lanka, where he has advocated inner peace as a pathway to societal harmony.

In Colombia, the Gurudev initiated a dialogue between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.

In 2015, he persuaded the rebels to adopt the Gandhian principle of non-violence, which resulted in a ceasefire and a peace agreement, ending a 52-year civil war.

The same year he was awarded Colombia's highest civilian honour, the Simon Bolivar Order of Democracy.

He has also led peace initiatives in Iraq since 2007, focusing on conflict resolution, trauma relief and interfaith dialogue.

The Gurudev has visited conflict-affected areas in these regions, and has engaged with political and religious leaders from Sunni, Shia and Kurdish communities.

In 2014, he visited refugee camps in Erbil in the Kurdistan region, offering help to Yazidi women displaced by violence.

Over the years, more than 3,000 Iraqi soldiers have been trained by the AOL in gender equality and inclusive leadership.

The Gurudev is said to have gone the extra mile to support the Yazidi community; AOL assisted over 2,000 families and arranged 110 tonnes of relief material that reached around 10,000 people trapped on the Sinjar Mountains.

Over the past 12 years, Yazidi women who suffered abuse under the Islamic State have attended AOL's healing programmes.

The Gurudev was active in Sri Lanka in the early 2000s when the country was going through turmoil.

He was involved in furthering the dialogue between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE.

The AOL also conducted many trauma relief programmes for war victims in Sri Lanka by emphasising on the significance of forgiveness and rebuilding lives.

In India, he has led peace initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.

In 2017, the AOL launched a movement in J&K to link divides, bringing together families of martyred security personnel and local youth.

It was called 'Paigam-e-Mohabbat', which means message of love.

Last November, he led a campaign for a drug-free future in Kashmir, with around 20,000 young people taking a pledge to live a drug-free life at Srinagar's Bakshi Stadium.

The Gurudev has been working to bring militants in the northeast to the mainstream.

At the Strength in Diversity event held in Guwahati in 2017, former militants participated in significant numbers.

Among them was Anup Chetia, former general secretary of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).

Following the signing of a tripartite peace agreement between the Centre, the Assam government and ULFA in Delhi in....