Former Kerala chief minister Oomen Chandy was also present at the award ceremony, and he praised the spiritual guru for working towards “spiritual awakening and the betterment of society”.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar awarded Order of St. George by Kerala church
The Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was conferred the ‘Order of St. George’, the highest award given by Kottayam’s 462-year-old St. George Orthodox Church, as part of the Church’s Commemorative Feast.
Acknowledging the award, Sri Sri said an award signified more responsibilities that must be taken to serve others.
Former Kerala chief minister Oomen Chandy was also present at the award ceremony, and he praised the spiritual guru for working towards “spiritual awakening and the betterment of society”.
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Chandy also acknowledged the humanitarian work done by Art of Living in Kerala over the years.
In his keynote address, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “When you have love in your heart, the whole world is yours and this is the essence of all religions. When you go to the root of every religion you will find the same message-make compassion, love and service the sutra for your life.” He also emphasised the need to strike a balance between love and discipline because “love alone can bring chaos and discipline alone can be stiffing”.
“Know that there are lot of good people who are doing lot of good work. Have faith in this. If you see from my eyes, there is no bad person on this earth,” he added.
The church, which is considered the Georgian Pilgrim Centre of the East, is known for several traditions such as mass luncheon, ceremonial processions, feeding rice to children, among others. Special Holy Communions will be held on May 6 and 7.
An installation of the golden cross at the main sacrificial altar will also take place today.
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