'Youngsters are running fast, but getting nowhere’

Art Of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar advises people to slow down their lives and use the smile as a powerful tool to better society.
He''s wrapped in his trademark white rustling robes with flowing beard and hair. And he''s given a whole new dimension to the phrase ''The Art Of Living.''
In Mumbai for a four-day visit (his longest here) is Sri Sri Ravishankar, founder of The Art Of Living movement. After returning from Mauritius, where he opened another Art Of Living centre, Sri Sri Ravishankar will be a part of a huge public satsang on November 16 at MMRDA Grounds at Bandra-Kurla Complex that''s anitcipated to draw thousands.
He''s here in the city after three years and feels that the urban race is endless. "Todays youth is on a treadmill. Running for hours and getting nowhere," says the ever-smiling guru. To counter this, he advises that such people should take a good look within themselves and at their lives.
But when asked what he feels of his image as the guru of the rich and famous, he remarks, "People, especially the media, just refer to the people who are well known. We have 8,000 villages which have adopted Art Of Living and sadly the media doesn''t project that."
About being a part of the large satsang, Sri Sri Ravishankar tells Bombay Times, "Small scale or big. It doesn''t matter. As long as people do satsang together, that''s what matters." Though the Art Of Living movement is pretty widespread, with centres in countries like Mongolia and Belgium, where does it head from here? "I hope for a beautiful world, environmentally beautiful as well as one which is stress-free. A non-violent society where there is an importance given to human values."
He strongly believes in the power of the smile and feels that as people climb higher in society, they smile a lot less. "A baby smiles 400 times in a day, a child about 17 times, but a proud person never does!"
India has several spiritual movements and spiritual heads, so where does The Art of Living movement fit in? "You can fit it wherever you like. It''s like water which fits into any glass," says Sri Sri Ravishankar.
The Art of Living movement, simply put, wants to make life a celebration and make an individual enthusiastic and energetic. He concludes, "I feel I''m still a child, I''ve just grown in size."