Keep religion, politics separate: Ravi Shankar

Religion and politics should be distinct and should not be mixed, spiritual guru Ravi Shankar said here on Saturday.

"Religion and politics should be kept separate. They are both distinct and important but they shouldn't merge. But politics could be guided by spirituality... for example Mahatma Gandhi was a spiritual person," Ravi Shankar told the media on the sidelines of the Kolkata Meditates event organised by the Art of Living Foundation.

Asked about the influence of religion on politics, Shankar said his message was: "Spiritualise politics, secularise religion and socialise business".

Ravi Shankar said it was "wrong" to dub the entire country intolerant in the wake of criminal acts.

"In the country, there are criminal acts today and they were there in the past. It is wrong to dub the whole country intolerant.

"I think it shouldn't be dubbed as intolerance and the criminal acts must be punished," he said.

However, he dodged a poser on whether the intolerance debate was politically motivated, saying: "You can answer that better."

On the 'award wapsi', Ravi Shankar said "there is clear politics in the conferment of awards, and that's why I refused to accept an award in the first place."

Ravi Shankar declined to accept the Padma Vibushan, the second highest civilian award in January.

The spiritual guru also advised religious leaders to adopt a broad mindset.

"Religious leaders should not make their followers fanatics. They should not only think about their own community. They should give them a broad base, else terrorism will take over the world which is happening now.

"Religious leaders should cultivate a broad mindset and politicians should follow Gandhian principles," he said, adding that narrow mindedness will not work for the country.

Ravi Shankar alongwith West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on Sunday will launch a boarding school for children of sex workers of Sonagachi at Pailan.

"I am for elimination of prostitution," he said when asked about his views on legalising sex work in the country.

To prevent youth from turning to terrorism, Ravi Shankar vouched for skill training to increase their employability and practising also yoga and spirituality.

He also spoke about launching a door-to-door "happiness survey" to gauge what Indians need.