International spiritual leader brings message of nonviolence to San Diego for national tour

By Dave Schwab | SDUN Reporter

Several hundred San Diegans joined peace crusader His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in raising their voices for nonviolence at a rally Monday, March 25. The gathering was held at Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, and included Mayor Bob Filner with several other city, national and international leaders.

“We need to get back to dignity, pride and nonviolence. All of us here can make it happen,” Shankar said to the crowd on the cool night before leading a group meditation.

The Indian spiritual leader and humanitarian began a multiple-city peace tour by saying nonviolence is all about inclusiveness. “When we create a sense of belonging, fear and insecurity will drop away from society, and love and compassion will take the front seat,” he said. “Let’s turn all those tears of anguish and sorrow into tears of joy.”

Saying nonviolent principles can be taught, Shanker pointed out that acts of violence are blatant and speak loudly, which is why the voice of peace – far quieter and subtler – must be raised.

Shankar is the spokesperson for Nonviolence: No Higher Calling (NONVIO), a movement started with the goal of eradicating violence in all its forms. Shanker and his nonviolence message inspired Rajshree Patel to begin the foundation, highlighting five goals: honoring women, standing up to abuse, embracing education, making conscious choices and being the change.

Through social and digital campaigns, the movement encourages individuals to pledge one act of nonviolence for every act of violence they witness. The hope is to grow a global crusade in which one billion acts of nonviolence are committed.

NONVIO kicked off the initiative with a five-city tour, starting in San Diego and moving next to Los Angeles. Shanker and the NONVIO team will also hold public conversations and guided meditations in Chicago, Atlanta and New York City.

Shankar has played a key role in conflict resolution by spreading his vision of nonviolence at public forums and gatherings worldwide. A neutral figure with peace as his sole agenda, he has received credit for bringing opposing parties to the negotiating table in Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Kashmir and Sri Lanka.

Having founded the Art of Living Foundation in 1981 and the International Association of Human Values in 1997, Shankar has made a significant impact worldwide, touching the lives of over 300 million people.

Mayor Bob Filner gave the keynote address for the March 25 program, which also included remarks by University of California, San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla. Azim Khamisa emceed the event, and was invited in part because of his work stopping youth violence through the Tariq Khamisa Foundation. Khamisa created the San Diego-based nonprofit after his son was fatally shot by gang members in 1995.

“I found there were victims at both ends of the gun,” Khamisa told the audience, saying he forgave his son’s 14-year-old killer and has since offered him a job at the nonprofit, which Khamisa started with the youth’s grandfather.

“He’s 32 years old now, and I’m trying to get him out of prison early,” Khamisa said. “I think he could do more for society working with his grandfather and me than rotting in prison.”

Khosla said violence is more than physical abuse. “It’s aggression, anger, cruelty, hostility. It’s physical, emotional, mental. It’s pervasive, and it’s unnecessary. Nothing good ever comes of it,” he said.

In introductory remarks, Filner related his own experience as a Freedom Rider – jailed for protesting segregation in Mississippi in the 1960s – and what it meant to him as well as the nation.

“We learned in the process of taking the punishment for violating laws that we felt were immoral … when those convictions were overturned and the Supreme Court brought down segregation … that we’d changed American history,” Filner said. “Just by the moral act of refusing to use violence, we affected a change in society.”

Shankar’s pledged mission is to unite the world into a violence-free, stress-free society by re-instilling human values.

In a brief meeting with the media prior to the peace rally, Shankar answered questions about his crusade for global nonviolence, including combating gangs and violence among youth.

“In every one of these young people, there is a victim who is crying for help inside,” he said. “We need to reach out to them, teach them they can control their negative emotions and transform them into more positive ones.”

The spiritual leader said he challenges young people to make a new friend every day, and reiterated education and connectivity through communities as a way to attain a violence- and stress-free society.

Additionally, language, cultural and other barriers need to be overcome to obtain peace, and he pointed out social media has become “one of the most important of all media” to promote nonviolence worldwide.

For more information about NONVIO, call 866-626-5373, email [email protected] or visit nonvio.org. On social media, visit facebook.com/iamnonvio or @iamnonvio on Twitter.