Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, an Indian humanitarian and global peace envoy, met with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on Sunday during a visit purportedly aimed at helping restore peace to the war-wrecked country.
The two exchanged views on “the junta’s efforts for peace and development in Myanmar, the guru’s efforts for peace around the world, Shankar’s potential role in restoring peace and stability in Myanmar, and junta efforts toward holding a free and fair election,” junta-controlled newspapers reported on Monday.
The Indian guru also held separate talks with Lt-Gen Yar Pyae, junta Border Affairs minister and chairman of the National Solidarity and Peace Negotiation Committee. The discussion covered their respective peace efforts in Myanmar and on the international stage, and plans for delivery of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar.
The 68-year-old Shankar is a renowned spiritual leader and peace envoy. He founded the Art of Living Foundation in 1981, offering programs in yoga, meditation and stress management while also engaging in social humanitarian projects.
The foundation has centers in 180 countries – including a branch in Yangon, Myanmar – and claims to have united millions of people worldwide by empowering communities and fostering human values globally.
Shankar has been involved in conflict resolution in Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kashmir and Bihar, credited with playing a key role in promoting peace, harmony, and social well-being in those regions.
It remains unclear how he will mediate in Myanmar’s armed conflicts, or if he will follow up on his talks with Myanmar’s ruling generals in Naypyitaw by meeting ethnic armed organizations and political parties. What is certain is that he faces a daunting challenge ahead.
Less than 24 hours after the junta boss discussed peace and humanitarian efforts with the Indian peace convoy, the regime dropped around 30 bombs on the rebel-held town of Mogoke in Mandalay Region at around 1 am on Monday, killing at least five civilians and wounding more than 20.
Last month, junta airstrikes killed at least 170 people in 37 towns across Myanmar.
Regional bloc ASEAN adopted the Five-Point Consensus as a peace plan for Myanmar following the 2021 military coup. However, the regime has largely ignored it for the past four years.
Meanwhile, establishing enough trust with ethnic armed groups like the Kachin Independence Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Arakan Army, Karen National Union and the People’s Defense Forces – scattered across the country – to enter a ceasefire and hold peace talks seems an unlikely scenario.
Even the most influential monks in Myanmar have been unable to facilitate peace talks between the junta and resistance forces.
Hence, observers doubt the guru’s vast experience in international conflict resolution will work in Myanmar’s context.
Shankar’s sudden visit followed the junta boss’s repeated promises during Chinese New Year celebrations in Yangon that Myanmar would remain an eternal good friend and neighbor of China. The timing of his trip raised questions about whether India – China’s biggest regional rival – has initiated “guru diplomacy” with the regime.
Shankar arrived in Myanmar on Friday and was welcomed at Yangon’s India House by a group of junta allies including People’s Party chairman U Ko Ko Gyi, who represents political parties registered for the regime’s poll plan, and economist Dr. Zaw Oo, a former junta advisor.
So far, Shankar has only managed to meet with business owners and members of the public while holding meditation sessions at the National Theatre in Yangon.
