Beur jail inmates learn Art of Living

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">patna: the founder of art of living (aol), sri sri ravishankar, arrived here on monday on his first visit to the land of mahavira and buddha. during his four-day hectic schedule, he will address politicians and students besides holding a satsang at the gandhi maidan here. sri sri ravishankar, who hardly stays for such a long time at one place, is paying special attention to bihar, say his followers.he will hold satsangs in the interiors of patna. the bihar government has declared him a state guest. aol is dedicated to serving society by strengthening the individual. its members do so by offering programmes that eliminate stress, create a sense of belonging, restore human values, and encourage people from all backgrounds, religions and cultural traditions to come together in celebration and service. despite his busy schedule, the soft-spoken <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">sri sri ravishankar</span> found some time to talk to pranava k chaudhary on monday evening. excerpts from the interview: <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">q: what is your general impression about bihar?</span><br />a: yahaan ke log sabhi apne log hain. hum aapke hain. aap hamare hain. (i am yours. you are mine.) <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">how to remove casteism and violence from bihar?</span><br />(a long pause) the process of change is on. we have conducted some courses for hardcore extremists from bihar by inviting some of them to rishikesh. <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">how did you manage it?</span><br />actually, they were not aware of the fact that aol had conducted programmes exclusively for them last year. otherwise, they would not have attended it. unlogon ko dhokhe se laaya gaya thaa. kabhi kabhi dhokhe se achchha kaam ho jata hai. (they had been brought by deceiving them. sometimes deceiving people serves a good purpose.) <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">how many have benefited from the course?</span><br />at least 150 such people have been given training. we have tried to change their mind in a very positive manner. two dozen ranvir sena activists were also given such training. i will not elaborate on this count. we have tried to keep it secret from the media because of some strategic reasons. <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">don’t you feel that there is a need for imparting such training to politicians and bureaucrats?</span><br />we have also started giving training to politicians. it is a good sign that a large number of politicians as well as bureaucrats are taking interest. i call upon them to choose a village and serve it. nobody can suppress you. <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">related stories:</span><br /><img src="C://images//ticker.gif" alt="C://images//ticker.gif" border="0" /> <a href="articleshow.asp?art_id=2109175">sri sri ravishankar stresses ''karmayoga''</a><br /><img src="C://images//ticker.gif" alt="C://images//ticker.gif" border="0" /> <a href="articleshow.asp?art_id=2109097">seer mesmerises beur model jail inmates</a><br /><img src="C://images//ticker.gif" alt="C://images//ticker.gif" border="0" /> <a href="http://www.artofliving.org/sri-sri-ravi-shankar.html" target="_blank">more about the guru</a> </div> </div>