Christine Kay (Apr 21/03) - With their eyes closed and their minds relaxed, about 40 Iqalungmiut listened to the meditative techniques of a spiritual leader and guru from Bangalore, India.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a religious leader from Bangalore India, was in Iqaluit last week to fulfil his own personal dream and to talk with the residents of the Northern community. - Christine Kay/NNSL photo

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was in Iqaluit from April 14-17. On April 15 he met with Iqalungmiut at the elders' centre. He spoke a lot about the problem of suicide in the North.

"Misery is in the mind, it does not vanish.

"The mind, the spirit and energy stays on. You need a physical body to change the emotions of the mind," explained Shankar.

He told his audience that emotions can be regulated through breath. He asked them to think about their breathing patterns when they are angry, when they are happy or when they are sad.

He noted that the patterns are all unique.

"Through breath, we can change our emotions," he said.

Robert Tookoome said Shankar is right. He lives in Iqaluit and decided to go to the meeting out of curiosity. He had never heard of Shankar before but felt they had something in common -- spirituality. Tookoome has been meditating for 10 minutes each day for the last three months.

"I started meditating and everything started coming together for me. I just wanted to focus my life and to be more relaxed," he explained.

Tookoome asked Shankar lots of questions about suicide and protecting cultures around the world.

Tookoome said his beliefs were reaffirmed.

For Tookoome, every opportunity he gets to learn more about meditation is welcomed.

He said he is proud to be an Inuk but he is also open to exploring other cultures and belief systems.

Shankar spent about one hour with the people at the April 15 gathering.

During his visit, he witnessed the building of an iglu and took a trip to Panniqtuuq.