Indian guru offers tips on breath of life

MANILA, Apr 29 (Reuters) He jets around the world and sleeps in luxury hotel suites rather than on a bed of nails, but this Indian guru is among the world's most popular spiritual leaders.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar heads the world's biggest non-governmental organisation, and 25 million people in 151 countries have attended his courses. His group raises hundreds of millions of dollars a year and spends almost all on running schools, de-addiction centres and on charity.

And there are no conundrums of ancient philosophy at his classes -- after a simple physical warm-up, Sri Sri, as he is known, teaches people to breathe.

''Everybody breathes and breath is the link between emotion, thought, the body and the mind,'' he said in an interview.

''Using breathing makes it easier for people to calm their mind and go into meditation. It provides physical, mental, emotional and spiritual help.'' The 51-year-old is a science graduate, but has been a full-time guru for over 25 years.

Dressed in flowing white robes and with a long black beard and long hair, he could be an Indian sage from ancient times. But he had on an earpiece attached to a mobile phone and spoke briefly when a call came in.

''Life is a combination of old and new,'' he said. ''Like a tree has deep roots which are old and its leaves are always new. Philosophy is never against modern technology.'' Sri Sri's Art of Living Foundation is based in Bangalore, India, but has millions of members overseas, with more joining each month. This week he was in the Philippines for the first time, and over 1,000 people paid 1,500 pesos each for three two-hour sessions of teachings, held in the ballroom of a five-star hotel.

NUN, SARS VICTIM And though the local Indian community was well represented, the majority were Filipinos, and there were several visitors from nearby Hong Kong.

''The purpose of the course is wellness,'' said Sister Angelica Pasqual, a Catholic nun who was one of the participants. ''You can feel that it is the plan of God for everyone to be well and happy.'' Miconia Chan, a 49-year-old Hong Kong woman, survived SARS, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, four years ago but turned to Sri Sri's breathing techniques to overcome the side-effects of the strong medication she was given.

''The after-effects were quite serious,'' she said. ''I couldn't remember things, I couldn't walk. But it's been really amazing since I started the art of living. I have had no treatment or medicine for two years.'' Sri Sri's teachings are based on ancient principles of yoga, but he has added elements of his own and aligned it with meditation techniques. Most of all, he tells participants to lie back, relax and enjoy themselves.

''We have forgotten to be like children,'' he says during the classes. ''Let's laugh, relax, be children again.'' Indian gurus have sometimes got a bad press in the West, including the spat between the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the free sex philosophies of Bhagwan Rajneesh, who later changed his name to Osho.

Sri Sri has escaped most of this, but he attributes this to changing attitudes.

''There has been a lot of prejudice against Indian spiritual leaders, but that has become less now.

''People used to think that yoga was abnormal and to smoke cigarettes was normal. In every aeroplane armrest, there used to be an ashtray. But values are changing, people are becoming more intelligent and recognise ancient values and philosophy.'' The aim of the Art of Living Foundation is to make the world conflict-free, he says. He has mediated in conflicts in Sri Lanka and Kosovo, taught the art of living to hardened criminals in jails across the world, propagated chemical-free farming and natural medicine.

But personally, he says he has no ambitions.

''I am quite satisfied, I am quite content,'' he says. ''I have no ambition or dream to be attained. Things are happening very naturally and I let them happen. I go with the flow.'' Reuters TB GC0736