Art of Living Marketing Model

The guest editor for today's Times of India is none other than H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. I grabbed a copy (we get Hindu at home) from a newspaper stall on my way to work. Luckily, I got a seat in the bus and could read some of the articles. There is a report about TOI's experience in having Guruji in their office. There He talks about various things - criticism, marketing, WAR, and 'The choice is yours, blessing is mine'.

The marketing part caught my attention - it reminded me of my Greenpeace days. (Main Greenpeace ke liye chanda ekhata karti thi.) Here is an excerpt from the paper

So how does he react to charges of being well marketed Guru? "Its like commentary after the match is over", he shrugged.
"People can study the movement's success and turn it into a marketing model now, but no model was designed to make it a success."

During one of our pep talks, Rahul (my boss at Greenpeace) had mentioned about the marketing model of Art of Living (I hadn't done the course then). He asked us to observe the dedication of the volunteers of the foundation and imbibe that in ourselves. He was awed by the enthusiasm and energy of the volunteers. He used to ponder on the theory of getting volunteers to do the marketing not employ people for marketing. The whole lesson to be learnt according to Rahul, is that - You make such an impression on the person you talk to that he/she should next become the ambassador of Greenpeace.

Now I look back and smile at those words. Yes AoL is a indeed a great marketing model that needs some study, but what people sometimes don't understand is the grace behind the model.