Hyderabad : The Inner Peace Museum at Heartfulness Institute had its first one-of-a-kind art retreat called ‘Strokes of Unity’ at Kanha Shanti Vanam – the headquarters of Heartfulness in the outskirts of Hyderabad. The ten-day retreat which began on 29th August concluded today with an Unveiling of Artworks from 30 renowned artists from across India with their works based on themes on ‘Unity and Oneness’, ‘In Tune with Nature’, and ‘Essence of Being’. The event was graced by Chief Guest Mr. Anjani Kumar, IPS, Director General Police, Telangana State in the Divine Presence of Rev. Daaji – Spiritual Guide of Heartfulness, President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission and Padma Bhushan Awardee. The concept of the art retreat programme was conceived as a bridge between creativity and spirituality, and to highlight the ‘Oneness’ that connects us all.

Speaking on the unveiling of the artworks, Chief Guest Mr. Anjani Kumar, IPS, Director General Police, Telangana State said, “The art retreat is a beautiful initiative by the Inner Peace Museum to bring art and spirit come together and pick such incredible artists. There is a strong connection between art and inner peace. On one hand, art is supposed to be therapeutic and comes from creative ideas. On the other hand, unless there is peace of mind, unless the thoughts are aligned well, you cannot produce a good piece of art. They are interdependent and at the same time they give contentment at the end of the day. The Inner Peace Museum by itself is a wonderful place that reminds all to spare a moment and look deep within ourselves.”

Rev. Daaji – Spiritual Guide of Heartfulness, President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission and Padma Bhushan Awardee said, “The past ten days have been very insightful for our artists here as they spent their time on inner contemplation and bringing some brilliant artwork. These works have strong messaging that will be reminders of paying attention inwards for harmony. We want to a build a nation that has its peoples of integrity and can radiate harmony. With integrity comes a balanced mind, and with balance ceases chaos at all levels. At the end of it all we are all one, and we merge in the Divine. And art is one way of connecting with the Divine.”

The 30 artists of repute who were part of this art camp are Abhijeet Rao, Amol Pawar, Arun Kumar, Atanu Baral, B Viswesara Rao, Bhaskar Rao Botcha, C F John, Christian Mackentaz, Deepika Sakhat, Fawad Tamkanat, Gavaskar A K, Genius, Chakma, Hanumanth Rao Devulapalli, Jyotirmoy Bhuyan, Kameshwaran, Kanika Raj Singh, Kavita Deuskar, Lakshmi, Mallika Gill, Nadir Sun, Partha Debnath, Sachin Jaltare, Santanu Chetterjee, Sasikanth, Satyabhama Madhu, Shadiya C K, Siddharth Shingade, Sunitha Revuri, and Suranjan Roy. During the art retreat programme the artists experienced Heartfulness mediation amidst nature and serene surroundings of Kanha Shanti Vanam.

The Inner Peace Museum­ that was inaugurated early this year is housed at the International Heartfulness Centre as a homage to humanity’s quest for the highest since creation. It recognizes that true peace can only be possible if we realize that in our hearts and be united by it. The space at the Inner Peace Museum represents the idea that World Peace is achievable once individual peace is at hand. The simple methodologies of the Heartfulness Way open the door for much needed peace at an individual level.

About Heartfulness: Heartfulness offers a simple set of meditative practices and lifestyle changes, first developed at the turn of the twentieth century and formalized into teaching through Shri Ram Chandra Mission in 1945 in India with a goal to bring peace, happiness and wisdom to one heart at a time. These practices are a modern form of Yoga designed to support contentment, inner calm, and stillness, compassion, courage, and clarity of thought, as the first step towards a purposeful life. They are simple and easily adopted and are appropriate for people from all walks of life, cultures, religious beliefs, and economic situations, who are over the age of fifteen. Ongoing training in Heartfulness practices is going on at thousands of schools and colleges, and over 100,000 professionals are meditating in corporations, non-governmental, and government bodies worldwide. More than 5,000 Heartfulness Centers are supported by many thousands of certified volunteer trainers and millions of practitioners in 160 countries.