Abstract:

This article investigates the Art of Living movement both globally and locally, focusing especially on the movement in Norway, and in its founding country India. Art of Living is localized as a New Religious Movement (NRM) within the larger framework of Hinduism and contemporary new religiosity. I trace the movement’s key practices and the courses and initiatives they offer, as well as presenting a short biography of the movement’s founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. A selection of the most important legitimization strategies utilized by the Art of Living are discussed, along with an analysis of Ravi Shankar as a religious entrepreneur.

Author: Inga Bårdsen Tøllefsen