INDIAN spiritualist Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar will address the UN in a keynote speech today, ahead of tommorow’s inaugural session of the United Nations’ first-ever World Meditation Day.

Saturday’s global broadcast aims to bring people from all walks of life together, promoting the importance of meditation in achieving individual well-being and societal transformation.

From Times Square in New York to the European Parliament in Brussels and embassies in Malaysia the initiative, organisers say, underscores India’s identity as the birthplace of meditation and its ancient wisdom, which has guided humanity toward inner peace and resilience for millennia.

UN recognition highlights mediation’s universal appeal and transformative power in addressing modern challenges, they added.

Ravi Shankar, a former apprentice of Transcendental Meditation founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, has been instrumental in promoting meditation as a pathway to mental well-being, inner peace, and societal harmony.

Through global campaigns, structured programs, and humanitarian missions, Gurudev has showcased meditation’s transformative power, with initiatives like “Har Ghar Dhyan” in India and “I Meditate Africa”​ uniting millions across cultures and borders, fostering a global movement for inner calm and collective well-being.

Shanka​r’s teaching​s on meditation ​have also found their way to the workplace, with corporate giants such as Apple, Google, Nike, Procter & Gamble and HBO importing the use of meditation as part of mindfulness programmes.

The 68-year-old will ​deliver his keynote address at 4pm ET / 9pm GMT tonight. He will lead the live broadcast from UN headquarters in New York at 9.30am ET / 2.30pm GMT / 8pm IST​ on Saturday.