How do we reach out to the Indian media and Pakistani media with all these benefits that the Art of Living can bring?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Indian media always covers this. We always find something in the Indian media throughout as Art of Living is so active. So, some of the activities come in Indian media.
Many militants in the North East region and also in the Maoist groups, when they did the course they dropped their arms and they dropped violence and they came to the main stream. All this news comes in the papers.
I think here also in Pakistan the media is spreading the information to people.
The media can really do some major changes here. It can play a very important role. For example, the media can play an important role in bringing peace talks between the Taliban and the other extremist groups; and second, in removing corruption and empowering people. And third would be to bring the positive news from both sides.
When people heard I am coming here, I had many people come and advise, ‘Oh, don’t go there now, there is so much danger; and don’t go without your own body guard. Nobody is safe there and every day someone is getting killed.’
From media what the people hear is that there is only extremism and there is no tolerance, and there are bomb blasts every day. I said, ‘No there is nothing like that. I have already decided that I want to go.’
Just yesterday night some of the top officials and some people from the government came to visit me and said, ‘Guruji, please don’t go.’
I said, ‘Do not worry about my security, my security is somewhere else. Nobody can do anything to me, I will go.’
So media can play the role, for others to know that the people honor each other here and diversities are also accepted. They can play a role in bringing this news to people and also in promoting tourism.
There are many places here to see, Takṣaśila and other places. If you can promote tourism in this country it can bring so much revenue.
I want to tell you, Greece is a small country but it has 12 million people who visit every year. That is the tourism! India has 4 million people visit every year, and Pakistan I think is less than a few hundred thousand. Tourism is at its lowest over here. So Pakistan can improve their tourism industry. The country’s economy will blossom.
Sri Lanka did that recently. Sri Lanka’s economy has grown so much as a result.
Do you know what did they do? They took over all those sites connected with the epic Ramayana, and revived them as tourist sites. Nobody knew till about 10 years back that such sites existed. Now the tourism is flooding into Sri Lanka, and they have made very nice arrangements with amphibian planes, boats; for everything they have made arrangements.
Thailand is also a small country, but tourism there is great.
Bali is a tiny island but it thrives on tourism.
So news papers can encourage tourism. A lot of Buddhists will come here from China, Japan and Korea. Hindus from India will come to see Gandhar, Takṣaśila and all these. So it can boost the economy in a very constructive way. That is something that you can do.
After this movie Chanakya in India, everybody thinks about Gandhar.
Have you heard about Chanakya? Chanakya was a great minister and a very intelligent man from Takṣaśila. He was the one who was responsible for Chandragupta Maurya’s kingdom.
Chanakya picked up a very poor boy from here (Chandragupta Maurya) and made him an emperor of the whole continent.
He had also written a book called Arthaśāstra, which is on economy and even today it is being taught in management schools in India. It is a very beautiful treaty on economics.
So they all are from this place (Pakistan).
Ayurveda also was born in Pakistan and so was Yoga. The first Yoga teachings were done in Pakistan. So Pakistan should own this ancient cultural heritage and then you can have a huge tourism industry and prosperity will come.
Many militants in the North East region and also in the Maoist groups, when they did the course they dropped their arms and they dropped violence and they came to the main stream. All this news comes in the papers.
I think here also in Pakistan the media is spreading the information to people.
The media can really do some major changes here. It can play a very important role. For example, the media can play an important role in bringing peace talks between the Taliban and the other extremist groups; and second, in removing corruption and empowering people. And third would be to bring the positive news from both sides.
When people heard I am coming here, I had many people come and advise, ‘Oh, don’t go there now, there is so much danger; and don’t go without your own body guard. Nobody is safe there and every day someone is getting killed.’
From media what the people hear is that there is only extremism and there is no tolerance, and there are bomb blasts every day. I said, ‘No there is nothing like that. I have already decided that I want to go.’
Just yesterday night some of the top officials and some people from the government came to visit me and said, ‘Guruji, please don’t go.’
I said, ‘Do not worry about my security, my security is somewhere else. Nobody can do anything to me, I will go.’
So media can play the role, for others to know that the people honor each other here and diversities are also accepted. They can play a role in bringing this news to people and also in promoting tourism.
There are many places here to see, Takṣaśila and other places. If you can promote tourism in this country it can bring so much revenue.
I want to tell you, Greece is a small country but it has 12 million people who visit every year. That is the tourism! India has 4 million people visit every year, and Pakistan I think is less than a few hundred thousand. Tourism is at its lowest over here. So Pakistan can improve their tourism industry. The country’s economy will blossom.
Sri Lanka did that recently. Sri Lanka’s economy has grown so much as a result.
Do you know what did they do? They took over all those sites connected with the epic Ramayana, and revived them as tourist sites. Nobody knew till about 10 years back that such sites existed. Now the tourism is flooding into Sri Lanka, and they have made very nice arrangements with amphibian planes, boats; for everything they have made arrangements.
Thailand is also a small country, but tourism there is great.
Bali is a tiny island but it thrives on tourism.
So news papers can encourage tourism. A lot of Buddhists will come here from China, Japan and Korea. Hindus from India will come to see Gandhar, Takṣaśila and all these. So it can boost the economy in a very constructive way. That is something that you can do.
After this movie Chanakya in India, everybody thinks about Gandhar.
Have you heard about Chanakya? Chanakya was a great minister and a very intelligent man from Takṣaśila. He was the one who was responsible for Chandragupta Maurya’s kingdom.
Chanakya picked up a very poor boy from here (Chandragupta Maurya) and made him an emperor of the whole continent.
He had also written a book called Arthaśāstra, which is on economy and even today it is being taught in management schools in India. It is a very beautiful treaty on economics.
So they all are from this place (Pakistan).
Ayurveda also was born in Pakistan and so was Yoga. The first Yoga teachings were done in Pakistan. So Pakistan should own this ancient cultural heritage and then you can have a huge tourism industry and prosperity will come.
