Modi inaugurates Dhyan Mandir, hails meditation at Bengaluru event

Narendra Modi inaugurated Dhyan Mandir at the Art of Living International Center in Bengaluru, turning a meditation hall opening into a larger statement about where mindfulness sits in public life. The ceremony was folded into The Art of Living Foundation’s 45th anniversary celebrations and the 70th birthday observance for founder Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the Kanakapura Road campus.

At the event, Modi praised meditation, pranayama and mindfulness as part of India’s spiritual inheritance and said they had helped shape global wellness. The Prime Minister also framed Bengaluru as more than a software and services hub, describing it as a city that has elevated India’s cultural identity, spirituality and spiritual consciousness.

The message was not only devotional but civic. Modi said Viksit Bharat will depend on youth who are mentally calm, socially responsible and sensitive toward society. The Prime Minister’s Office highlighted his view that service is part of society’s natural character and that government succeeds when people actively participate in nation-building. In that setting, meditation was presented less as a private self-care routine and more as a civic resource.

The Art of Living Foundation used the occasion to underline its own scale. The organization says it was founded in 1981, now operates in 182 countries and has more than 10,000 centers worldwide. It says it has 38,000-plus trained teachers globally and has touched and transformed more than 100 crore lives. That reach gave the Bengaluru gathering the feel of a milestone not just for one ashram-like campus, but for a movement that now stretches far beyond it.

The celebration also launched nationwide service initiatives and multiple new projects. Official and media reports said those projects focused on healthcare, rural development, education, women’s empowerment, mental wellness, environmental conservation and social transformation. A Global Meditation for World Peace was scheduled for May 13, with livestream participation expected from around the world.

For everyday practitioners, the scene in Bengaluru was hard to miss: a meditation hall inaugurated by the Prime Minister, a 45-year-old organization presenting contemplative practice as public service, and a national stage where mindfulness was spoken of as infrastructure, not indulgence. Dhyan Mandir now stands as a symbol of how far meditation has moved from the cushion into the country’s cultural center.