Financial Times

Global thinker Deepak Chopra supports spiritual tourism
Motivational speaker and author, Dr. Deepak Chopra is looking at supporting ‘spiritual tourism’ in Sri Lanka and is presently discussing its potential with the Tourist Board, while preparing for a mega conference on spiritualism with Sarvodaya chief Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne in October at Anuradhapura, targeting over a million people from Sri Lanka and the rest of the world.

“I am very impressed by the work of Sarvodaya and I am talking to Dr. Ariyaratne about a spiritualism conference, led by ‘Alliance for a New Humanity’ (ANH), a non profit organisation formed to create awareness of humanity’s interconnectedness. The first ‘Human Forum’ by ANH took place in Puerto Rico in December last year and this year we want to have it at Anuradhapura,” Dr. Chopra explained, on the sidelines of a press conference.

He said the purpose of ANH is to connect individuals into a global human network that leads to the creation of a critical mass influencing national and international policy towards a more compassionate humanity.

Dr. Chopra said meditation sessions at the conference will be web cast and will attract over one million people worldwide. “We want to initiate the peace initiative from Sri Lanka for Sri Lanka and the rest of the world and promote peace as a collective state of consciousness, economic empowerment of the underprivileged and as a human right,” he said. He said there will be over a 1,000 participants from all over the world for the conference.

The motivational guru who was visiting the tourist attractions in the country last week said that Sri Lanka has great potential in this segment and that he is discussing with the Tourist Board to promote spiritual tourism in the country. “Sri Lanka has natural, unspoilt eco systems and the country is not spoilt by ‘over tourism’,” he said, adding that it is an ideal location for promoting spiritual tourism. He said there is a huge business potential for Sri Lanka in Ayurveda and this should be explored.

“Sri Lanka has a great tradition for Ayurveda and at present in the US, it is one of the must popular alternative medicinal approaches. There is a huge potential for Ayurvedic medicines, plant based cosmetics and nutritional supplements in the US and this is a business opportunity,” he added.

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