The inspirational leader, who believes lack of spirituality is the cause of all the violence in society, will be visiting remote areas of the troubled state next month with a message of peace and harmony.

Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of an international women's conference at the lotus shaped headquarters of the Art of Living centre here, 25 km from Bangalore, he said he was looking forward to visiting the state where he has followers like Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik.

Malik did the Art of Living meditation course a year ago, he disclosed. 

"When I went there for the first time, there were guns everywhere. People there asked me when peace would return. I just told them within three months. Since then, things have started improving slowly there," Ravi Shankar said.

"I am going there again as requested by the locals. But I will be meeting people in a completely non-secured area. I am not scared at all to go there without any government security."

Born in 1956 in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu, Ravi Shankar, an advanced degree holder in modern physics, has extensive knowledge of Vedic literature. His foundation's service has spread to over 146 countries around the world and has been active in strife-torn areas like Kosovo and Iraq.

Revered as 'guruji' by millions of followers across the globe, Ravi Shankar, who is known for his campaign for meditation-based living, said the government should introduce spiritual education and meditation in the college curriculum to get rid of violence in society.

According to him, lack of spiritual education leads people to violence and killings.

Pointing out that his volunteers had successfully changed many hearts among Maoist rebels in Bihar, he said: "I feel we need to re-introduce spiritual education in colleges and help our children to get rid of stress-related problems, including suicidal tendencies and aggression."

"Unfortunately, in the name of secularism we have also dumped spirituality. This is the cause of Maoist rebellion.

"Spiritual education also brings back compassion and the spirit of service. It takes you away from consumerism and an ego-centric selfish agenda."

He refused to comment on political issues like the reasons behind the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) failure to widen its base in a Hindu-majority country, but said: "Hinduism is an inclusive religion. Hindus are not uptight in themselves, but they want to include everybody within them. That's why India could never become a Hindu rashtra (nation)."

"The distinction between spirituality and religion is that spirituality unites everything. Religion is about the outer (shell), but spirituality is about values.

"Some people talk about spirituality, but never practise it," he said.