AGARTALA, May 13 (TIWN): On the occasion of 60th birth anniversary of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the students of Ravi Shankar School on Friday organised an awareness meet with the people of Gowala Basti to make them aware about maintaining hygiene for good health.

The student suggested that people that access to improved water and sanitation facilities does not, on its own, necessarily lead to improved health. There is now very clear evidence showing the importance of hygienic behaviour, in particular hand-washing with soap at critical times: after defecating and before eating or preparing food.

Hand-washing with soap can significantly reduce the incidence of diarrhoea, which is the second leading cause of death amongst children under five years old. In fact, recent studies suggest that regular hand-washing with soap at critical times can reduce the number of diarrhoea bout by almost 50 per cent.

However, it is to be mentioned here that the awareness meet was organised on the occasion of 60th birth anniversary of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Born in the year 1956, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living Foundation, turns 60 today. Frequently referred to as "Sri Sri" or as Guruji or Gurudev, Ravi Shankar is a spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation. The foundation was created by him in 1981, which aims to relieve individual stress, societal problems and violence.

It is to be mentioned here that by the age of four, he was able to recite parts of the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Sanskrit scripture, and was often found in meditation. He holds degrees in, both, Vedic literature and physics.

In 1982,   Sri Sri Ravishankar entered a ten-day period of silence in Shimoga located in the Indian state of Karnataka. The Sudarshan Kriya, a powerful breathing technique, was born. With time, the Sudarshan Kriya became the center-piece of the Art of Living courses.