The historic event ‘World Meditates with Gurudev’ has left an indelible mark on the annals of meditation history. Led by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the event broke multiple world records, demonstrating the transformative power of meditation as a global movement. Organized by the Art of Living Foundation, the event was held on the inaugural World Meditation Day and saw an unprecedented participation of over 8.5 million people from across the globe, both online and offline.
The event began with an inaugural event at the United Nations and culminated in a live session led by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar from the top of the World Trade Center in New York. The day witnessed a wave of meditation sweeping across continents, uniting people from over 180 countries in a shared moment of peace and harmony.
Record-Breaking Meditation Event
The ‘World Meditates with Gurudev’ event shattered records, earning a place in the Guinness World Records, the Asia Book of Records, and the World Records Union. The records broken include the most viewers of a guided meditation live stream on YouTube, maximum participation from all the states of India in guided meditation in a day, and maximum nationalities participated in guided meditation in a day.
The meditation session led by Gurudev was streamed live, with millions joining virtually and even physically in large groups to meditate for global peace and harmony. Before leading everyone into meditation, Gurudev explained the meaning of meditation, stating, “Meditation is the journey from knowing by thought to feeling what you know. To meditate you need to first go from too much thinking to feeling what is. And then go beyond the feeling towards the inner space. If you want to be sane, sensitive and sensible, you need to meditate. Meditation is not inactivity. It makes you more dynamic and peaceful. Even to be a revolutionary, you need to meditate.”
The event garnered significant participation from various sectors of society, including farmers, educational institutions, corporates, members of the military, health caregivers, researchers and scientists, homemakers, people of indigenous origins, and even prisons. This diverse participation demonstrated the universal appeal and impact of meditation.
The ‘World Meditates with Gurudev’ event has united millions in meditation and inspired a global movement for inner peace and universal harmony. The resounding response and global participation highlight the transformative power of collective meditation.
In the digital age, the event’s success also underscores the power of online platforms like YouTube to facilitate such large-scale global events. YouTube’s live streaming feature has been instrumental in enabling content creators to interact with their audience in real-time via video and chat.