On World Meditation Day, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar engaged more than 85 lakh people in meditation both online and offline across the world. The World Meditation with Gurudev program achieved a historic feat by breaking records by making it to the Guinness World Records, Asia Book of Records and World Records Union. This historic event, organized by the Art of Living Foundation, set a new standard for collective meditation by bringing together millions of people from across the world.
The first World Meditation Day was a unique celebration of unity and inner peace. With participants from over 180 countries, the event demonstrated the transformative and unprecedented power of meditation as a global movement. Starting with the opening ceremony at the United Nations and ending with a live broadcast of a session led by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar from the World Trade Center (New York), the day witnessed a wave of attention across the continent.
List of broken records:
Guinness World Records
• A guided meditation session had the largest number of viewers watching a live broadcast on YouTube
Asia Book of Records
• Maximum participation from all states of India in one day guided meditation
• World Record Union Record for the maximum number of countries participating in a one-day guided meditation
• Record for most views of an online guided meditation session on YouTube in 24 hours
• Record for the most viewed live guided meditation session on YouTube
• Record of most countries participating in online meditation sessions
A meditation session conducted by Gurudev was telecast live, with millions of people joining online and physically in large groups to meditate for global peace and harmony. Before directing everyone to meditation, Gurudev explained the meaning of meditation, “Meditation is the journey to the attainment of what we know as thought or knowledge. To meditate, you first have to stop thinking too much to realize what it is and then we have to move beyond emotions to the inner space. If you want to become intelligent, sensitive and wise, you need to meditate. Meditation is not passivity. It makes you more dynamic and calm. To become a revolutionary you also need to meditate.
This initiative of Art of Living has been appreciated by global leaders, celebrities, athletes, professionals and people from all walks of life and age groups. The event witnessed significant participation from farmers, educational institutions for blind children, corporates, members of the military, healthcare providers, researchers and scientists, housewives, people of indigenous origin and prisons, demonstrating the universal need and impact of meditation. The entire world was involved in this shared moment of peace and harmony.
The overwhelming response and global engagement of World Meditation with Gurudev demonstrates the transformative and unprecedented power of collective meditation. Through this great effort the Art of Living has not only united millions of people in thought. But it has also inspired global change for spiritual peace and universal goodwill.
