Thursday, November 12, 2026 · Washington, D.C.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, was awarded the 2025 World Leader for Peace and Security honor by the Boston Global Forum (BGF), at Harvard University, and Michael Dukakis Institute, joining a decade-long lineage of global statesmen and humanitarian leaders recognized for advancing peace in complex times.
The award ceremony on November 3, 2025, in Boston, Massachusetts, opened with a video tracing his decades of service across conflict zones, schools, prisons and disaster-hit communities. It closed with a speech that framed peacebuilding as one of the most urgent global priorities of the 21st century. “Peace cannot come by words; it has to translate into action,” he said as he accepted the award. “A lot is done for security. Very little attention is given to peace.”
The moment marked a significant acknowledgment: his work is no longer seen only as spiritual or humanitarian but as a core contribution to global stability.
According to the Boston Global Forum, the award recognizes:
With this recognition, Gurudev Ravi Shankar now joins past honorees including Angela Merkel, Ban Ki-moon, Shinzo Abe, Sauli Niinistö, Ursula von der Leyen, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
His Acceptance Speech: Peace as Urgent Public Work
Gurudev Ravi Shankar dedicated the honor “to all the volunteers tirelessly working for peace around the world.”
He argued that peacebuilding must move from an afterthought to an essential public investment:
He also warned of a global mental-health emergency, noting that depression, anxiety and suicide are rising not just among youth but across households, campuses, and prisons. “Physical comfort is there,” said Gurudev Ravi Shankar. “But mental-health challenges have skyrocketed.”
A Role in the Future of AI and Humanity
This year’s award also coincides with the launch of BGF’s World Leader Spirit Initiative, an interfaith and ethical-governance dialogue series for the AI age. Gurudev Ravi Shankar will serve as a guiding voice, urging that technology must be anchored in human values.
During the award ceremony, Gurudev addressed questions around social media, the potential and perils of AI usage, and the role of technology in spiritual growth. “The purpose of technology is to bring comfort. But true comfort must reach the mind and heart,” he said.
A Lifetime of Service Behind the Honor
The ceremony film highlighted key contributions:
Together, these initiatives express a simple mission: a stress-free, violence-free world.
Gurudev Ravi Shankar ended his speech with a message that echoed through the hall. He noted “Let us dream of a society where bodies are disease-free, minds are joyful, hearts are compassionate, and creativity brings happiness, not destruction.”
Swetha Venkataramani is a writer and strategist with bylines in Femina, The Hindu Business Line, and Ritz. Her work has also appeared in Forbes and other outlets across India, the U.K., and the U.S. She has led narratives at Harvard Business Impact, Gartner, and FiscalNote. She explores stories at the intersection of culture, lifestyle, and community—amplifying South Asian voices in global media.
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