Meet Ravi

P r o f i l e

A background synopsis of Ravi Jaisinghani in reverse chronological order.

Ravi lives with his British partner of 8 years, in Somerset countryside, England, and spends as many days focussed on his spiritual pursuits in India.

He has completed 14 Vipassana Meditation courses between 2007 to 2023 and will continue with more long courses in the months and years to come.

He has served as a Course Manager at the Vipassana meditation principal centre in Igatpuri, India in 2013; and was much appreciated by student participants, visiting meditation teachers, and the management.

Ravi has travelled the length and breadth of spiritual India between 2005 - 2019 and been an active resident in over 50 monasteries of varied backgrounds. By active he means spiritual enclaves where he learnt, practised, and offered voluntary service. This exposure will reflect on his Spiritual Tourism page on the site.

Ravi is a devotee, disciple, and follower of Amma since 2002, and will continue in that tradition of Guru-disciple with Amma, receiving direct instruction and grace from Her. www.amritapuri.org

He has spent many months and years in Her monastery, 'Amritapuri' in Kerala, and worked for Her charitable institutions in Northern and Southern India in different roles. He has completed yoga, pranayama, and mantra meditation courses in Sivananda Yoga and Amrita Yoga.

Ravi has been given the continued privilege of long-stays in places of spiritual learning and self growth such as J. Krishnamurti retreat centres, Vipassana Meditation centres, Amritapuri, and Sri Ramana Ashram.

Ravi has a Corporate past, between 1994 to 2007, having been a fulltime Executive employee at the crème de la crème of Indian blue chip companies, such as The Times of India Group Mumbai, Hinduja Group (India), Godrej Industries (Thane), Amrita TV Trivandrum and New Delhi, Crossnet Ventures Inc., with M.B.A. internships at Hewlett-Packard India and Enterprise Nexus Advertising. His core training is in Media Marketing. By qualification he is a B A (History Hons.) and MBA (Marketing).

Clearly, he relinquished a vacuous corporate environment and fancy business cards for a blissful spiritual environment and experienced ever-abundance!

Out of curiosity he walked into a discourse by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living at a 2002 Mumbai gathering, and met Sri Sri for a brief moment, who instructed him with a whisper in his ear, "YOU must meditate."

Ravi's published article in Amma's magazine 'Matruvani' has the title "You Stay!", the instruction he got from Amma in Amritapuri when he asked for guidance.

His first ever long self-absorbed Meditation was on the cusp of December 1999-2000 at Gurumayi's Siddha Yoga ashram in Ganeshpuri. He was a 26 year old working professional on a weekend excursion to holy Ganeshpuri.

He was told by his mother that a wandering holy man in ochre robes came visiting to their upmarket Colaba area South Mumbai apartment soon after he was born, and let her know that her son will be a renouncer, a Monk! She was happy to announce that she told that yogi to go away!

Ravi has played only one part in a high school theatre performance as he was an introvert and stage shy. His favourite English teacher Miss Helen insisted a lot, and so he accepted to play the role of Siddharth Gautama the Buddha, in a school play at the age of 14. He otherwise performs on musical instruments - the Harmonium (keyboards), flute, jal tarang, some sitar, some santoor, but only the Keyboards by ear (impromptu). He appreciates prolific Western classical and Indian classical music for regular listening, but will have a go at Radiohead, George Michael, ABBA, Beatles, and Melody Gardot nonetheless.

Ravi has worked with methods of meditation and can distinguish the benefits of one from the other by personal experience and introspection. If Self Transformation, vision manifestation, overcoming the blocks of the past with clear understanding, and becoming established in awareness, equanimity and maitri-bhav (goodwill to all beings) are your goals, then he is "happy!" to walk along with you on the path.

Three rich and famous men who were friends sat before a Guru. The sage only said, "Give Give Give." The first man bowed before him, joined his hands in prayer, encircled a temple shrine, and respectfully left. The second man spoke, "So well said! You are a true Guru. You are a living Buddha. We love you!" Then he stood up and left too. The third man questioned, "Give, give, give! How to give?" The Sage responded, "You - stay here, with me." He was put in monastery service and he learnt much more, giving included. He realized first hand that selfless physical service if you are able, or monetary charity given if you may, can burn all bad karma from the past and make one a much better human being.

An atheist visited the Buddha and spoke, "There is no such thing as a God in the skies! You had better believe it. This world and the universe runs on the laws of science." The Buddha replied, "Well said." That man left feeling happy in his conviction. Another day a devotional man visited the Buddha and elaborated on the divine play of God and all that He does! Yes, there is a God. There is a heaven. The Buddha responded, "Well said." He too left satisfied in his truth. Then one day an agnostic spiritualist met the Buddha and confided, "I don't know... if there is a God or there isn't. What do you say?" The Buddha answered, "Well, I don't know either. But I do know that there is misery and suffering, and I have discovered a way to come out of it. Let me show you how!" He taught him mindfulness meditation.

An ageing monk from Southern India decided to travel all the way to Varanasi up north where the Buddha was mostly based, to learn Meditation from him. He began his walking expedition and many months later reached the monastery and enquired for him. He was informed that the Buddha was on his alms round in the market city of Varanasi. The old Hindu monk searched on and finally saw him, begging house to house for his daily alms. He came face to face and said, “I have come all the way from the southern coast to learn meditation from you. Show me how I must meditate.” The Buddha replied, “Old monk, I am on my daily rounds with my fellow bhikkhus. Go back to the monastery and wait for me there. I shall teach you my method of meditation on my return.” The monk protested, and reasoned, “Later on your return? What if you died on the way back. What if I died back at the monastery waiting for you. What if the Faith I have in your meditation method dies before you return. No – teach me now.” Indeed the Buddha sat under a tree then and there and taught him mindfulness meditation. The old monk practiced meditation the way the Buddha taught him to all through his last days and passed away with a smile on his lips in a much higher state of being.

The Buddha (the enlightened One) is not important.

The Sangha (the tribe of followers) is not important.

Only Dhamma or dharma (the practice) is important.

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He is an all accepting, well rounded and non judgemental personality. He will also take up your time with his spiritual story telling and parables! He can meditate with you, beside you, in a guided or silent meditation session, or remotely in real time. He is sociable and a good conversationalist, and not a pedantic stuck-up meditation instructor. He is Nature oriented and finds himself in English countryside - where he may stroll over trails and farms, trek up a hill, bicycle through villages, sit by river banks with a beverage, or learn more about trees flowers and plants from his lady partner. He is a regular visitor to West Country National Trust properties.

He is moderately well-traveled around the world and has his vision set on Seychelles and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for his future holidays. He has been a teetotaller vegetarian between 2005 to 2016 but takes the Middle Path now with everything in moderation, and practises a self oriented self caring way of life, in his late forties.

He is available in England at this time for a home visit to initiate you in a basic Yoga, Pranayama, and Meditation practice. There is no fee for this orientation session.

Sukham Launched On MahaShivaratri, March 1st, 2022. Site best viewed on a PC.