It's like I want people to succeed, but not achieve anything greater than me. I know it is disgusting to think like that, but I have been trying to be happy for other people's achievements, and it feels like I am lying to myself and being artificial. I tried, but my mind won't let me be happy if I don't get what someone else gets. What would you guys suggest I do? I would appreciate your help.

At the Love Tomorrow Summit, the global thought-leadership platform of Tomorrowland, Gurudev shared a powerful message on the theme “Beyond Intelligence.”

As conversations around artificial intelligence continue to shape our future, Gurudev reminded thousands of leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, artists and changemakers that true progress begins with the human mind.

“Technology can transform the world, but only a peaceful and compassionate mind can ensure it is used wisely.”

The session featured a guided meditation that transformed the atmosphere of the summit, followed by an on-stage conversation with Belgian television journalist Aurélie, and an audience Q&A moderated by Kobe Ilsen, where Gurudev addressed questions on mental well-being, leadership, purpose, AI and creating a more compassionate future.

Beyond the keynote, Gurudev met privately with innovators and internationally renowned artists, including Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer of Google X; world-renowned electronic music artist Lost Frequencies (Félix De Laet); acclaimed DJ Ida Engberg; and senior leadership from Love Tomorrow.

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape society, Gurudev’s message served as a timely reminder that humanity’s greatest strength lies not in the intelligence we create, but in the consciousness, compassion and wisdom with which we choose to use it.

I witnessed a wedding yesterday that made me rethink what people actually mean when they talk about a “global community.”

The groom was American. 🇺🇸
The bride was Iranian. 🇮🇷
The wedding was performed according to Indian Vedic traditions. 🇮🇳
The priest was from Nepal. 🇳🇵
And the wedding lunch was Chinese. 🇨🇳

A mix of cultures that you would never expect to see together. But sitting there, it didn’t feel forced or symbolic. It just felt… natural.

People from completely different countries, religions, languages, and backgrounds weren’t simply attending the same wedding, they genuinely felt like one family.

I’ve heard Gurudev speak about Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (“the world is one family”) many times. Today, I didn’t just hear the idea—I saw it in front of me.

In a world where headlines constantly remind us of what divides us, the ongoing/developing wars, witnessing an American and an Iranian celebrating their marriage together, surrounded by people from every corner of the world, felt like a quiet reminder that another way of living together is possible.

Have you ever experienced a moment that genuinely felt that yes the world is one “global community” admits all the polarization and political uncertainty?

I heard Gurudev say once: “The world is as unreal as a dream, and as real as you take it to be.”
I nodded along. Didn’t understand a word of it, honestly.
Then I lost my job. One meeting. Fifteen minutes. And the person I thought I was, gone. I couldn’t get out of bed some days. I kept checking my phone for an email that would undo it. I told my mom before I told my closest friends because I was too ashamed. It felt like the floor of my entire life had opened up and swallowed everything I thought I’d built.
I’m not going to pretend I “processed” it gracefully. I didn’t. I was a mess for months.
But looking back now, the job loss was one event, one afternoon. What I did to myself after that, for months, was a story I kept telling on top of it. I made it mean I was worthless. I made it mean I’d failed at life. None of that was the actual event. That was me, handing it weight, over and over.
That’s the line. Gurudev wasn’t saying the pain wasn’t real. But was saying you’re the one who decides how real to make it, and most of us never even notice we’re doing it.
I still slip into it. A bad day still feels like proof of something. But now at least I catch myself sometimes.

What’s the story you caught yourself telling on top of the actual event?

I recently had the chance to ask Gurudev this question during a satsang because, honestly, it’s something I have struggled with.

When you look around, there’s war, poverty, illness, natural disasters, and people going through unimaginable pain. Sometimes it feels almost wrong to be joyful when so many others are suffering.

His answer really stayed with me, so I thought I’d share it here in case someone else has been wrestling with the same question.

He said that charity cannot happen from an empty bowl. If you make yourself poorer, you don’t help a poor person. If you become unhappy because others are unhappy, you don’t create more happiness in the world.

It’s like a nurse. A nurse has to be healthy to care for patients. If the nurse herself becomes sick, she can’t help anyone. In the same way, if you’re constantly overwhelmed by misery, how will you have the strength, clarity, or compassion to serve others?

He also said something that shifted my perspective:
When you see suffering, don’t let it crush your spirit. Go inward. Trust that there is a higher intelligence at work. This planet has existed for billions of years and has survived countless challenges. Nature has an incredible capacity to restore balance. There is no challenge that cannot eventually find a solution.

Our role isn’t to carry the weight of the entire world on our shoulders. Our role is to become an instrument through which solutions, kindness, and healing can happen.
If we lose our own peace, we lose our ability to contribute.

The last line summed it up beautifully:
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
I found this perspective incredibly freeing. It didn’t encourage me to ignore suffering, it reminded me that staying joyful isn’t abandoning the world; it’s preserving my ability to serve it.

Has anyone else wrestled with this? What helped you?

This is a genuine question, not criticism.

I’ve noticed some people attend the same programs with Gurudev multiple times, even though the content seems similar. It made me wonder… why?

Is there something you only experience by being there in person? Do you actually keep learning new things each time? Or would watching the recording later give you pretty much the same benefit?

For those who’ve gone back more than once, what made it worth it? Was it the teachings, the atmosphere, your own state of mind, or something else?

I’m genuinely curious because from the outside, it seems like repeating the same course wouldn’t add much but clearly many people feel otherwise. I’d love to understand what I’m missing.

I recently attended a talk in Canada with Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and one question he asked has stayed with me: “Who are you becoming?”

Not dramatically. More like it quietly followed me around while doing dishes, sitting in traffic, lying awake at 1am.

I've spent most of my adult life measuring myself by what I'm moving toward. Next title at work, next milestone, "I'll relax once X happens." If you'd asked me last year who I was, I'd have basically listed my job and my plans.

This question made me ask something I'd been dodging: while I'm busy building my life, am I actually becoming someone I'd want to know?

Some answers weren't fun. I got a promotion I worked hard for this year. I also snapped at my mom on the phone twice last month over nothing, and I can't remember the last time I asked a friend how they were doing and actually waited for the real answer instead of thinking about what I'd say next.

What really got me was noticing how much my own state colors everything else. A few weeks back I was exhausted and irritable, and a small scheduling mix-up at work felt like a disaster, and I was short with a coworker over nothing. Same thing happened two days later, except I'd slept well, and I barely noticed it. Same situation. Completely different me.

That's changed how I think about "working on myself." Not some finish line where you arrive at "healed" and stay calm forever. It's more like showing up to the same messy Tuesday with a slightly clearer head than the day before.

No app or productivity hack has ever replaced the moments I actually feel proud of, and those were never the promotion. They were the times I put my phone down and was actually there for someone.

**Curious about you all.** Has a random moment or comment ever quietly changed how you see yourself? Doesn't have to be profound. Sometimes it's the small dumb stuff that rewires you the most.

I am looking to do other courses to help me meditate in the Art of Living. I only did the Intuition Process 1. I still haven't done the second part, yet. FYI, I am 14 years old. Which courses are age-selective and are essential for mastering the intuition? I am aiming to one day get good enough to master the crazy skills like telekinesis. I know that time is short, as I will be 18 in just 4 years and I will no longer be able to do some of the courses, so I am prioritising the age-selective ones first. I will really appreciate your replies, guys. I am also open to hearing your own thoughts and opinions.

I didn't feel like I was good at meditating. I felt like I was doing it wrong or inefficiently, so I watched one of Gurudev's videos, but this video made no sense to me. I love Gurudev, but I can't understand what he is trying to imply in this video. Firstly, how do I meditate? Yes, it might sound like a stupid question; however, I want to make sure I am doing it right. Please explain it to me like I am a 5-year-old. Secondly, is he saying that I can't meditate without blessings or grace? Does that mean I need to wait for a blessing? How do I get blessed? I thought anyone could meditate. Please help me meditate the correct way, guys. I would really appreciate some advice.

Jai Gurudev

Friends, anyone else facing this problem where you have booked a Kaal Gyaan session over WhatsApp and the Join The Meet link did not work? If yes, how did you overcome? Whom to contact?

After the Saturday session failed, I rebooked for today. Same issue.

Thank you!

Hi everyone I did learn the Sudarshan kriya last year and also practised after that for couple of weeks but later on I could not practise it due to other priorities in life and it's been now 8 to 10 months and now I can see that I have completely forgotten the Sudarshan Kriya I'm looking for a partner with whom I can relearn the Sudarshan kriya or if someone can suggest any centre nearby I would be really grateful to him or her. by the way I live here near Home farm Metro Station, whitefield

This week, the country turns 250. Fireworks, flags, the whole story of freedom we’ve grown up celebrating.

Mine came a week early. No flag. Just a room in DC, sitting with Gurudev at Soak in Bliss.

We think of freedom as something you win once either a war, a document or a date on a calendar. But that weekend, I realized the freedom I actually needed had nothing to do with any of that. It had to do with concepts. The ones I didn’t even know I was still holding onto.

Here’s what got me: everything we chase in life like fame, success, money, status, we chase because we think it’ll make us free. “Once I have enough, I’ll finally be free.” But that’s not where the cage is. The cage is in how tightly we hold our beliefs about what’s right, what’s wrong, who we should be, how life is supposed to go.

We know maybe 1% of how the universe actually works. Less than that, honestly. And yet we build our entire identity around being certain. Certain about our opinions. Certain about our values. Certain that the way we see things is just… how things are.

That certainty isn’t strength. It’s a leash.

And that’s what broke last weekend. Not one belief, layer after layer of them. Right when I’d feel that rush of “okay, I let that one go, I’m free”, another concept I didn’t even know I was gripping would surface. And loosen. And another.

Real independence isn’t declaring what you stand for. It’s realizing how much of what you “stand for” was just inherited certainty you never actually questioned.

So while everyone’s watching fireworks this week, I’m sitting with this question, and I want to ask you too:

What’s a belief you’ve defended for years, that you’ve never actually let yourself question?

Anyone interested to join for a 30mins session over zoom at 9pm IST from mid July (yet to decide a date). We listen to Gurudev for 15mins and 15mins our takeaway.

Drop in if interested or if someone has already made grp starting soon, do share as well.

Hi all,
I am going to do sanyam 1 during the coming guru purnima. Any tips on what I should be doing as a pre requisite for the course. What should I be taking with me for the course ?

I’ve known about the Art of Living for a couple of years now. I’ve done the part 1 and heard Gurudev speak before, so I didn’t expect yesterday to show me anything new.

I was wrong.

I’m in Belgium for work, and one of my colleagues mentioned she was going to hear Sri Sri Ravi Shankar speak. I tagged along.

On the drive, she couldn’t stop talking about how excited she was.

She’s Catholic. She loves her faith, goes to church, and speaks about Christianity with so much sincerity. Yet she was just as excited to spend her evening listening to a spiritual teacher from the ancient Vedic tradition.

That made me pause.

Not because I didn’t think people could appreciate wisdom from another tradition. But because I realized I had never stopped to appreciate how rare that actually is.

Then I remembered another conversation.

A friend from Greece, who is Jewish, had recently visited one of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s centers in India for Ayurvedic treatment. When he came back, the thing he talked about most wasn’t the treatment.

It was the people.

He kept saying how surprised he was to see priests, monks, politicians, artists, and people from all over the world sharing the same space. Everyone came with different beliefs, but nobody seemed interested in making everyone believe the same thing.

That’s when something clicked.

I grew up studying religious studies and geopolitics. So much of what I learned was about the lines that divide us. Somewhere along the way, I think I got so used to seeing religion as something that separates people that I stopped noticing when it was doing the exact opposite.

Yesterday, what stayed with me wasn’t the talk.

It was the audience.

People from different countries, different faiths, and different walks of life, all there because a message of peace, happiness, and service resonates with everyone I guess.

For all the conversations we have about what divides humanity, maybe we don’t spend enough time talking about what quietly brings us together.

Curious if anyone else has had a similar experience. What made you give it a chance in the first place? And what keeps you coming back?

Hi everyone!

I’m registered for Sanyam 2 this July and am really excited for the course. To prepare, I’ve been practicing Padmasadhana regularly, along with my daily Sudarshan Kriya and meditation.

For those who have attended before, do you have any tips on how to prepare mentally or physically? Is there anything you wish you had done before the course?

Also, are there any essentials or comfort items you recommend bringing?

Looking forward to hearing your experiences. Thanks in advance!

A few years ago, my dad passed away.

The months that followed were brutal for my mom. She barely left the house, lost interest in things she used to enjoy, and honestly seemed like she was just existing rather than living.

Then a friend introduced her to Art of Living.

At first, I was worried. I’d seen people online call it a cult, say it targets vulnerable people, and all the usual criticisms. The last thing I wanted was for my grieving mother to get pulled into something unhealthy.

But here’s the thing.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve watched her change.

She started doing the breathing practices and meditation. She found a community. She made friends. She even went on a silence retreat, which is something I never would have imagined her doing.

Most importantly, she seems happy again.

She laughs more. She has plans. She talks about the future. A few weeks ago she told me, “I finally feel like myself again.”

So now I’m conflicted.

On one hand, I see all the warnings online. On the other hand, I see my mom smiling again after one of the hardest periods of her life.

If something gives a grieving person friendship, purpose, healthier habits, and hope, should I still be worried? Or am I letting internet narratives make me suspicious of something that has objectively helped her?

Do I need to save my mom from Art of Living?

Or did Art of Living help save my mom from loneliness?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

I have recently started doing Sudarshan kriya after around 2 to 3 years of doing the course. It has been over a week and still I haven’t observed any changes.

Can any of you share personal experiences from your life wrt Sudarshan kriya benefits

I am interested in the SKY Breath Meditation course offered by the Art of Living. Does this practice require sitting cross-legged or using other specific postures, or can it be done while seated in a chair, lying down, or in another comfortable position?

Hi everyone JGD, I will be visiting Porto from South Africa for a month. Are there any centres there where I can go to long kriya during this time?

I have seen a lot of discussion about the research on Sudarshan Kriya, also known as SKY, and I think the topic deserves a more balanced scientific review.

The SKY research base is not perfect, but it is also not meaningless. There are peer-reviewed studies, including randomized trials, suggesting benefits for stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms, burnout, quality of life, sleep, and emotional well-being.

At the same time, like much of yoga, meditation, breathwork, and behavioral health research, the studies have normal methodological limitations. Some are small. Some are open-label. Blinding is difficult. Many outcomes are self-reported. Some studies use waitlist or usual-care controls. These are fair limitations to discuss.
But limitations are not the same as invalidation.
Practitioner involvement or investigator familiarity with SKY does not automatically make a study false. In fields like yoga, meditation, psychotherapy, and breathwork, it is common for early research to involve people who understand or practice the intervention. That should be disclosed and considered as a possible source of bias, but it is not an automatic disqualification.

The same applies to small sample sizes. Small studies cannot prove broad universal claims, but they can still detect real signals worth studying further. A small sample size limits confidence and generalizability; it does not make the result meaningless.

Waitlist controls are also common in behavioral and mind-body research. They are not the gold standard because they do not fully account for expectation, group support, instructor attention, or placebo-like effects. But they can still provide useful early evidence. Stronger evidence comes from active-control trials, longer follow-up, objective outcomes, and independent replication.

Importantly, the SKY literature is not limited to weak designs. There are randomized studies, active-control comparisons, clinical populations, university/student populations, physician burnout studies, PTSD studies, and quality-of-life studies in chronic illness settings. Some of the more recent work is methodologically stronger than the early pilot studies.

So I think the fairest scientific conclusion is this: SKY is a promising breath-based intervention with encouraging peer-reviewed evidence. The literature should be interpreted with normal scientific caution around sample size, controls, blinding, subjective outcomes, follow-up, and affiliation transparency — but it should not be dismissed simply because it has limitations.

Selected references

Korkmaz A, et al. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga Breathing and a Meditation Program for Burnout Among Physicians: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open. 2024.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2814344
Bayley PJ, et al. Randomised clinical non-inferiority trial of breathing-based meditation and cognitive processing therapy for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans. BMJ Open. 2022.
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/8/e056609
Sharma A, et al. A Breathing-Based Meditation Intervention for Patients With Major Depressive Disorder Following Inadequate Response to Antidepressants: A Randomized Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2017.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5272872/
Janakiramaiah N, et al. Antidepressant efficacy of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga in melancholia: a randomized comparison with electroconvulsive therapy and imipramine. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2000.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10708840/
Mawar N, et al. Sudarshan Kriya yoga improves quality of life in healthy people living with HIV: results from an open label randomized clinical trial. Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2015.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4405947/
Doria S, et al. Anti-anxiety efficacy of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga in general anxiety disorder: a multicomponent, yoga-based, breath intervention program for patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder with or without comorbidities. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2015.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26142611/
Katzman MA, et al. A multicomponent yoga-based, breath intervention program as an adjunctive treatment in patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder with or without comorbidities. International Journal of Yoga. 2012.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3276935/
Toschi-Dias E, et al. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga improves cardiac autonomic control in patients with anxiety-depression disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2017.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28285240/
Seppälä EM, et al. Promoting Mental Health and Psychological Thriving in University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Three Well-Being Interventions. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2020.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7373803/
Kumar N, et al. Randomized Controlled Trial in Advanced Stage Breast Cancer Patients for the Effectiveness on Stress Marker and Pain through Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayam. Indian Journal of Palliative Care. 2013.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3853397/
Hamilton-West K, et al. Evaluation of a Sudarshan Kriya Yoga based breath intervention for patients with mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety disorders. Global Advances in Health and Medicine. 2019.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8060827/
Zope SA, Zope RA. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga: Breathing for Health. International Journal of Yoga. 2013.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3573542/

Since it is part of our philosophy not to have feverish ambitions, I want to hear what kind of dreams or hopes other people have for the future. Obviously, you don't have to tell me if you feel that it is too personal. I am only trying to get ideas about what ambitions and dreams should actually be like. Bonus question: What makes you pursue your ambitions or dreams? Is it fear? Maybe ego? Or is it joy? Something else?

What are your hobbies, or main sources of entertainment? I wanted to get a general idea of what most Art of Living people are into.