Syria. A nation under seige. A nation whose civilians are saddled with severe anxiety, sadness, fatigue and depression. A nation that continues to see destruction. Yet Youssef Majed brings hope. He brings love. And he brings healing. A braveheart from Lebanon who travels to the strife-torn Syria, Majed teaches breath and meditation to the civilians impacted by the bloody war. Inspired by his teacher, spiritual leader and global humanitarian Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Majed is determined to make Syrians happy despite their incredibly challenging circumstances.
Majed is a teacher from the educational Art of Living that teaches stress management workshops. Having started teaching in 2012, he has taught several hundreds in Syria. His programs are attended by refugees from different states of Syria including Damascus, Tartus and Sweida. Majed describes that when men and women come in, they are shrouded in fear and worry. They are battling many negative emotions as they have lost their loved ones to the war. But once the workshop begins, the process of transformation also begins. They experience relaxation and feel positive. The local population appreciates him coming to relieve their suffering and making them “feel better!” He often gets phone calls to come and teach at new places.
Feeling at Home
I asked Majed if he feels any fear traveling to Syria where bombings continue and he could lose his life. Majed calmly replies that he has inner guidance to teach and feels protected. He calls out that helping people is part of his nature. He feels at home visiting Syria and every time he goes there, it is with an intention to bring relief to a large number of people .
Having just come back from Southern Syria, Majed says there’s a need for more teachers and aspires to have a larger presence of Art of Living in this region in order to infuse the needy with peace and courage. Majed has a message for the world leaders. Referencing Mahatma Gandhi and Jesus Christ, he says, “If we respond to violence by violence, then where is the goodness? Jesus said not to treat evil with evil but with goodness. You need to tolerate others even if they are doing bad things. You need be patient, forgiving and compassionate because one day they might turn back and realize the truth. Even if we are from a different race or color or region, we are one!”
Syrian war survivors find healing and resilience through Art of Living
Living a Life of Dignity
Majed realizes that the world leaders come from a different space. Yet he would like to tell them that if they spent even some amount of money currently going towards the war to fund sustainable development, education and reduction of poverty, this part of the world would be a better place. He said that he feels empathy towards them because they were suffering inside and unable to connect to the peace within. He hopes that the politicians can feel love and inner peace some day and transcend to a higher level of consciousness.
“Even if we share a little good with others, this can create a big wave. If all the good people around the world come together and look at constructive solutions, this killing and hate can be stopped,” says Majed. He wants to share with the world that for thousands of years, the people of Syria have hosted other countries when they had disasters. The Syrians are a welcoming culture and it is in their nature to love. They deserve to be treated well. They deserve to live a life of dignity.
The Art of Living and the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) have embarked on a project to help Syrian refugees and war survivors in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria to cope with the trauma of the prolonged conflict in the region. Through a series of workshops, both the organizations have reached out to over 3000 war-affected children, frontline workers, caregivers and families in highly vulnerable areas of Jordan and Lebanon since December 2016. With over 400,000 dead, 5 million refugees and 14 million living in abject poverty within the country, the civil war in Syria is the most serious human rights crisis in the world today.
