One hundred Filipino
cultural dancers performed a thanksgiving dance that wowed millions of attendees from
around the world at the recent World
Culture Festival, the biggest gathering for
world peace that brought together people of various nationalities and
faiths on one grand, magnificent global stage in New Delhi, India. The Art of Living
Foundation, founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, organized the event in celebration of 35 years of service to humanity.
The dancers, who belong to the
multi-awarded Buyogan Festival dancers from the province of Leyte, one of the
areas ravaged by typhoon Yolanda, performed their celebrated dance to express
gratitude to all volunteers and donors from around the world who helped their
province recover from the disaster. Their attendance marked the first time that
representatives from the Philippines graced a global event of such magnitude.
The millions in attendance during this
the three-day event included thousands of artists, business, political and
spiritual leaders from around the world. All were treated to cultural buffet of dance
performances, ancient chants of peace, musical numbers, and inspiring speeches
from around the world. The purpose was to celebrate harmony
in diversity and love in a world that is increasingly ravaged by conflict
caused by regional and religious divides.
Among those who made their presence felt were the likes of Vatican
representative H.E. Bishop Marcelo, His Eminence, Grand Mufti of Syria Dr.
Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, and Rev. Gerald L. Durley, who is a good friend of US
President Barack Obama. These leaders unanimously applauded Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar for taking this spectacular step toward world peace.
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra
Modi, during his inauguration speech at the event highlighted Art of Living’s personality
development programs and seminars that were at the backbone of this successful
event – its programs uplift society by empowering individuals and companies world-wide: “When
you need to march forward in life to achieve your goals, then that is when you
need to know The Art of Living …When you need the strength to overcome
difficulties and troubles in life, then that is when you need The Art of
Living.”
His speech was immediately followed by
a string of remarkable performances that echoed the essence of peace and
togetherness, as the finest talents the world over shared the stage with the
international dignitaries present. Close
to 1,000 vedic scholars sang chants from ancient scriptures while captivating
dance performances left everyone breathless and in awe then 8,500 musicians
from the Art of Living Grand Symphony, meanwhile, mesmerized the audience with
their enchanting music.
On day two of the festival, the
powerful spirit of hope—together with a call to embrace diversity and
oneness—stood as the key, reverberating message. The awe-inspiring presence of
faith-leaders coupled with the intense response from the crowd was further
encouraged by Vatican representative H.E. Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo,
“Buddhist, Hindus, Muslims, Jews and of course people from the religion I
share, Christianity, give an incredible testimony that The Art of Living helps
people to get more in whatever faith or tradition they follow. You help people
to live in their faith ever more intimately and personally.”
Joel Ruiz, a film director and one of
30 others who had flown from Manila to take part in this peace celebration,
recalled how he was hooked on to meditation after he attended a happiness
workshop by the Art of Living in Makati. "I have come here so that I can
meditate with this sea of people attending this celebration. We have to
collectively aim for inner peace so that we can achieve world peace," he
said.
Buyogan Festival performer during the World Culture
Festival
The final day culminated with a finale
number where all the thousands of international performers from all the groups
including the Buyogan Festival danced simultaneously to a medley of songs making
the idea of “One World Family” an experience of the audience.
Expressing his deep appreciation for
the success of the festival, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said: “To all of you, who
have come from nearby and faraway destinations, from different faiths and nationalities,
a heartfelt thank you. It’s your faith, love and compassion that have
enabled the teams at Art of Living to present the biggest and the happiest
family get-together—the World Cultural Festival.”
To know
more about Art of Living programs and courses which have helped millions of
people manage their stress and live happier lives through its various breathing
and meditation techniques, visit www.artofliving.org, or call Kim 0917-848-0063
or Harsh 0905-469-8624.
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