‘Meditation not a luxury, but a necessity,’ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at UN | World Meditation Day

Dec 21, 2024

New York (US), Dec 21 (ANI): Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session of the first-ever World Meditation Day at the United Nations headquarters in New York. During his speech, he emphasized that meditation is essential in today's world, describing it as "mental hygiene." He highlighted that meditation should be viewed as a necessity, not a luxury. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also discussed the numerous benefits of meditation, stating that it enhances both sensitivity and sensibility in individuals. He suggested that meditation serves as a powerful tool to prevent people from engaging in anti-social behaviors. “Today, meditation is not a luxury as it was thought, but it is a necessity. I would call it mental hygiene. Like you have dental hygiene, we have mental hygiene wherein meditation can help us to be more centred and away from aggression and depression. The mental health crisis has taken a big toll on our population. On one side, our young population is undergoing such aggressive behaviour. On the other side, there is depression. Meditation helps us to be more centred. It brings us sensitivity and sensibility at the same time. The two important factors of any civilized society. We need to be sensitive towards ourselves, towards fellow being and also for the environment. Meditation makes us more conscious about our environment, and conscious about the feelings of people around us. It helps us to stay away from those antisocial activities which would harm oneself and others”, said Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.