India is an ancient land rich with a chest of simple yet scientific formulae that helps one to live a physically and mentally healthy life. Utilizing this valuable knowledge of the land, a recluse by the name of Ravi Shankar founded a non-profit organization called the Ashram of the Art of Living Bangalore that teaches people from all over the world the art of living.
About Art of Living Ashram :
The Art of Living foundation was founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar a spiritual guru in his endevour for stress free, violence free and peaceful world. There are numerous centers Art of Living centers in India and around the world which offers courses in Yoga, rejuvination etc. Today I will talk about the Art of Living international center located in Bangalore. The campus spread over 65 acres is built to suck stress out of you. After the entrance to the ashram on the left had side you can see a little bit of wildlife with two elephants The buildings built to co-exist with the natural habitat on the Panchagiri Hills will in itself make you feel good about you. The main meditation hall which resembles a lotus cen be visited if no courses are going on then or after 6 pm. One can climp to the top floor and have a bird’s eye view from there. Photography is not allowed without permission inside. Just opposite to the meditation hall, there is information center and the gallery where many conventions take place.
Behind the meditation hall if you walk down the bridge, you can find many hostels where people stay and the dinning hall where food is served. Volunteers serve food and one should wash their own plates. The campus is nicely planned architechture. At the starting of the bridge if you take left and keep walking along the hill side, you will reach Sumeru. It is like a mantap or like a view point. It is atop a hill and one can climb to the first floor of the structure to get an awesome view of the surrounding country side. It is very peaceful here and one can just sit here to be with oneself, read a book, think about plans or just take a quick nap.
Besides Sumeru there is a library featuring vedic literaures etc. One can also find uniquely built quarters for people who work there. From many locations the lake is visible alongside the garden Vrindavan. For tea – coffee or some lighter food, you can visit the cafeteria at the entrence. Also, you can check the counter which sells organic fruits and vegitables. Also, you can have fruit juice there. You can also do little bit of shopping at the stores located there.
The Other Courses and Workshops at the The Art of Living Foundation are:
– Advance Meditation Course
– Sahaj Samadhi Meditation
– Sri Sri Yoga
– Yoga and Meditation camp (Pranayaam Dhyaan Shivir)
– ART-ExcelCourse/ All Round Training in Excellence Course
– YES!/ Youth Empowerment Seminar Course
– YES!+/ YES Plus/ Youth Empowerment Seminar Plus Course
– DSN/’Divya Samaj ka Nirmaan’
– Breath-Water-Sound Workshop
– Navchetna Shibirs
– TTC-I & TTC-II
Distance: Around 36 km from Bangalore city center
Journey time: By bus 45 – 60 minutes depending on traffic, private vehicles can reach earlier
Stay: If you take up any course, you can stay there.
Food: Lunch is provided to visitors free of cost
Address:
The Art of Living
Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth
21st km, Kanakapura road,
Bangalore south – 560082
How to reach there: Regular BMTC buses ply on Kanakapura road from Market, Majestic and Banashankari. It is advisable to go to Banashankari bus stand where frequency of bus is higher. Bus # 211P, N, 212 – 214.