Scribbles

Yup, you read that right.  It’s that Myron Scholes, the Nobel laureate of Black-Scholes model fame.  Stanford GSB asked the professor to present his thoughts in a talk about Leadership and Trust with the founder of Art of Living Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.  How in the world do these two seemingly unrelated and yet world renown figures get together?

About two years ago, professor Scholes attended one of the courses offered by Art of Living (something I’ve been inexcusably putting off).  Since then, he’s become a firm believer in the benefits of the Sudarshan Kriya, a breathing exercise — dating back countless years from Indian culture and refined by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar — that enables the practitioner to oxygenate the system and relieve stress.  I’ll admit, I was pretty tired during professor Scholes’ presentation and had a difficult time following the connection between Art of Living and the topic of the talk.  Nonetheless, the opportunity to see these two living legends in person was priceless.  For those of you not familiar with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, this man is hugely popular among one of the world’s largest populations, not to mention the whole world.  One student mentioned seeing a surprising number of saris worn on campus today, ostensibly in anticipation of attending this event.

The auditorium was jam packed.  After the talk and a Q&A section, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar led us through a thoroughly relaxing meditation session.  Two thumbs up!  As soon as I finish my moving I’ll be signing up for a local course.