Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gave an inaugural address at the Simple Solution for Inner and Outer Climate Change (SSIOC) Summit organized by Art of Living Foundation in IIT Madras on the 30th of January. He began with a powerful statement that the primary reason for the collapse of Climate Summit was the selfishness and hot-headedness of politicians. He said that political consequences have borders but climate doesn’t – an inner change in the hearts of the all powerful is of prime importance today. There is a serious lack of a global perspective today, which is the cause of shortcomings in areas pertaining to the future of mankind. The appalling failure of the earth summit is a bold example, he said. .
He stated that various urban populations, unlike the simple-minded rural ones, neither have a sense of oneness nor have forethought in matters concerning global welfare. “Simplicity and innocence of a person reflects in his lifestyle”, he said. This is the most important and immediate concern that has to be incorporated in the minds of urban people is that of development on a global scare- “What is needed is the inner motivation to bring about a sense of concern towards other beings.”.
He adjudged that care, commitment to protect land and resources, compassion towards other living beings and a broad perspective regarding sustainable development is what is of paramount importance today . “But all this is possible only if there is a spiritual touch, a sort of peace within ourselves. Thus inner serenity, harmony”, he said. Every individual needs internal transformation in order to contribute meaningfully to preserving the ecosystem.
The spiritual guru said that it was definitely the aforementioned qualities that would bring about the larger change intended. “At this juncture we should explore the connectivity between science and spirituality. While science is based on principal, the latter comes from experience. Both are interlinked,” he said
