Author: PTI
Publication: Rediff.com
Date: February 11, 2008
URL: http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/feb/11sri.htm
Opposing any move towards acquisition of temples
by a government, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar has said that if such
a step was indispensable, it must not apply only to places of worship of any
one religion.
"It is not the government's job to look
after the administration of temples. Moreover, if those in power think that
it is a necessity, they must take care not to give an impression that the
government is interfering in the matters of sacred places of only one religion,"
Ravishankar told media persons in Allahabad on Sunday night.
The spiritual guru, who was in Allahabad to
attend the last rites of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of Transcendental Meditation
fame, also said that incorporating spirituality into modern education was
the only answer to the ills plaguing the world 'like terrorism, casteism,
parochialism and shocking instances of people with brilliant academic and
professional careers getting involved in heinous crimes.'
Recalling fondly his five-year-long association
with Mahesh Yogi, he said: "I owe my spiritual advancement to the encouragement
I received from him in my early youth."
Ravishankar also blamed farmers' suicides
in various parts of the country on 'environmental degradation brought about
by mindless use of chemical fertilizers' and said his Art of Living Foundation
was working towards promoting organic farming by actively involving itself
in 30,000 villages.
