In Maharashtra’s farmer-suicide prone belt, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar once stood before farmers and asked for an unusual guru dakshina: a promise that they would not take their own lives.

For farmer Sanjay Manikdarkar, that plea came when he was “tired of life and on the verge of committing suicide.” Today, he cultivates his own land again. “Gurudev helped me find a new direction in life and motivation to cultivate my own land,” he says.

His story captures something essential about Gurudev’s humanitarian work- sometimes, saving a life means more than providing immediate relief. It means helping a person see a future again.

For 45 years, Gurudev’s humanitarian work in Maharashtra has followed this larger vision of addressing not just the crisis people face, but the conditions that keep them trapped in it. In the state’s distressed farming communities, that has meant working simultaneously on mental wellbeing, water security, sustainable agriculture, youth leadership and education.

When The Art of Living began working with farmers in Vidarbha and other distressed regions, the crisis was not simply about crops. Repeated droughts, depleted groundwater, rising input costs, crop failures and debt had begun to erode something less visible but equally vital: the farmer’s confidence and sense of agency.

Farmers were introduced to breathing practices such as Sudarshan Kriya and meditation to help manage stress and rebuild inner resilience. Village youth were trained to become leaders within their communities. But a farmer also needs water, viable crops and a sustainable livelihood.

That is where the work moved from the mind to the land.

Bringing Rivers Back To Life

In a region where drought can wipe out an entire harvest, Mangala Pandge’s fields tell a different story. One season, her drumsticks alone fetched her more than ₹3.5 lakh within seven months. Her oranges, prized for their taste and quality, were sold through advance orders. “I didn’t even have to step into the market,” she says with a laugh. “They were so good, buyers came to me.”

Her success was not only about farming differently. It was also about restoring the ecosystem that makes farming possible.

“When a river is revived, life is revived. Water brings dignity back to the farmer, stability to the village, and hope to the next generation,” says Gurudev  whose vision has inspired The Art of Living’s river-rejuvenation work across India.

Mangala’s story is part of a larger community effort to bring back the Manjara, a river central to the lives of people in Latur.

In 2016, after successive droughts had pushed Latur towards a severe water crisis, Guided by Gurudev, The Art of Living joined hands with the district administration, citizens and CSR partners to revive the river. Eighteen kilometres of the Manjara riverbed were desilted and decongested. Funds were mobilised through community efforts, while villagers and Art of Living volunteers contributed through Shramdaan.

The work went beyond clearing a riverbed. Since 2013, The Art of Living has worked on rejuvenating 33 rivers, streams and tributaries across 27 districts of Maharashtra. Its wider watershed approach works from ridge to valley, slowing the movement of rainwater and allowing it to percolate into the earth. Across these initiatives, more than 61,000 groundwater recharge structures have been created and nearly 2.9 crore cubic metres of desilting undertaken, with millions of people benefiting.

The larger national effort has extended to more than 75 rivers and tributaries across India, reaching communities in over 20,000 villages.

Making Farming Viable Again

The next challenge is ensuring that farmers can make a living from the land. Chemical-intensive agriculture, expensive inputs and declining soil health has pushed farmers deeper into debt, particularly when crops fail. The Art of Living has therefore promoted natural farming, indigenous seeds and regenerative methods that can reduce cultivation costs while improving soil health and crop resilience.

For Mangala, the results were tangible. For thousands of others, natural farming has offered a way to reduce dependence on costly external inputs and build greater resilience against climate and market uncertainties.

Across India, The Art of Living has trained more than 3 million farmers in natural and sustainable farming practices, with Maharashtra among the important centres of this work.

But the most important transformation is often less visible than a better harvest: it is the return of confidence.

Perhaps the most telling sign of that change came earlier last year, when hundreds of farmers from drought-prone districts of Vidarbha and Marathwada travelled to the Art of Living International Center in Bengaluru to express their gratitude to Gurudev for the tireless work done by him for the farming community.Many paid for their own flights.

They came to learn, exchange experiences and share what was working in their own fields.

That shift, from helplessness to participation, is at the heart of humanitarian action.

Investing in the Next Generation

In the field of free education, too, Gurudev’s tireless work will go into the annals of modern history as a model that revolutionized basic education at the grassroots. Gurudev believes “The vision of creating a divine society begins with strengthening education at the grassroots.” 

What began with a small rural school near the Art of Living International Center, Bengaluru, with just a handful of children who had no access to education, has grown into a nationwide network. Today, over 1.2 lakh children from 2,032 villages of 22 states under ‘Gift a Smile’ project, many of them first-generation learners, receive free and holistic education through. In Maharashtra, The Art of Living is running 10 free schools educating over 2,073 children. One of the key features that makes this programme stand out is that the organization not only bears the learning expenses of students, but even their uniform, transport, and provides them freshly cooked meals that they can even take home. The schools also ensure bridging the gender gap in access to education. 49% of Free School students are girls.

Good education can be a great social leveler, and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir (SSRVM), Dharavi is showing how. From the tight alleys of Dharavi to the kitchens of a luxury international cruise liner,  Vinayak Hosamani’s story isn’t just inspirational but also a powerful reminder that personal grit, and unconditional support in the rainy days can rewrite even the most unlikely destinies. If you ask him what made the difference, his answer is clear: “School ke wajah se hi hamari life set hai. If SSRVM wasn’t there, I don’t know where I’d be.”