Ravi Shankar visits Iraq to broker peace between Shias and Sunnis

Baghdad (Iraq), Dec 23 (ANI): Indian spiritual guru Sri Ravi Shankar is on a visit to Iraq to bring closer the Shia and Sunni communities who have been fighting against each other.

Ravi Shankar, who runs Art of Living Foundation, has been teaching yoga and meditation to the war-weary Iraqis and his foundation is working for rehabilitation of the war victims in Iraq since 2003.

Ravi Shankar met many Iraqi tribal and other political leaders in Baghdad in an effort to facilitate mending fences between the two communities.

He said the process was underway and his foundation was working towards establishing harmony among the warring factions."We are already doing it. If you see in our centres, they have brought both the communities together. There are Sunni and Shia and then there are Kurdish people in the north. So, that effort has begun from the very first day," he added.

Ravi Shankar's foundation is involved in many humanitarian activities in Iraq and is helping the war ravaged Iraqis to re-build their lives.

The Art of Living Foundation volunteers are working with the women, many of whom have lost their kin in the on-going conflict in Iraq, and help them to become self reliant.

"Some of them are widows, some of them have experiences that they have lost someone from their families. There is not a single family which has not lost its people. They have suffered form the war and now they have hope, because we have given them hope. We are teaching them computers, tailoring and we are also giving them trauma relief," said Mawahib, Art of Living teacher.

Ravi Shankar has taken his courses to millions of people in 151 countries. His Foundation raises hundreds of millions of dollars a year and spends almost all on running schools, drug rehabilitation centres and on charity.

Ravi Shankar's teachings are based on ancient teachings of yoga, but he has added elements of his own and aligned it with meditation techniques. By K.G Vasuki (ANI)