Modi Inaugurates Dhyan Mandir, Praises Art of Living’s Global Yoga Mission

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave Art of Living’s 45th anniversary celebrations a national-stage push on Sunday, opening the newly built Dhyan Mandir at the organisation’s International Centre in Bengaluru and tying the moment to yoga’s place in modern India. The ceremony also doubled as a 70th birthday milestone for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, turning a private spiritual landmark into a public statement about where yoga sits now: in the mainstream of culture, governance and global outreach.

Dhyan Mandir was described as a dedicated meditation hall, envisioned as a space for inner peace and holistic well-being. That framing matched the larger message from the event. Government material said The Art of Living, founded in 1981, has grown into a volunteer-driven humanitarian and educational organisation present in 182 countries, and the anniversary programme was used to underline how yoga has moved far beyond studio practice into an institutional and diplomatic symbol for India.

Modi praised Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for taking yoga to a worldwide audience, including through International Yoga Day, and linked that work to the broader project of Viksit Bharat. He said mental well-being is paramount in an era of rapid technological change, and stressed that Yoga, Meditation and Pranayama are part of the country’s culture. He also repeated a familiar theme from his public addresses, saying, “Service is the natural character of our society,” and that “government succeeds when society actively participates in nation-building.”

The prime minister also used the occasion to connect spiritual practice with ecology and daily life. He tied natural healing to water conservation and warned about the overuse of chemical fertilisers, saying ecology and economy are inseparable. That message fit the organisation’s new service initiatives, which the Prime Minister’s Office said were year-long projects focused on mental well-being, rural development, nature conservation and social transformation.

About 15,000 people were expected to attend the programme, which was also linked to global leadership dialogues, cultural festivals and policy roundtables at the Bengaluru ashram. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, whose organisation has long been associated with education, river rejuvenation, prisoner rehabilitation and peace-building, praised Modi for giving spiritual yoga universal recognition. The event made a familiar point unmistakably clear: in India today, yoga is not just personal discipline, but a symbol of public purpose and soft power.