A private mediator from India

As international players despair over Sri Lanka, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has quietly unleashed efforts to bring about reconciliation in a country that is again sliding towards war.

Away from media glare, Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation is forging links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan leaders to usher in a meeting of hearts.

It is a hugely daunting task, but Ravi Shankar's aides are quite hopeful. 'We have communicated to them (LTTE) that from our side we are open. Guruji is ready to meet them. We are waiting for a communication from the LTTE,' Swami Sadyojathah, who heads the Art of Living project in Sri Lanka, told IANS over telephone from Bangalore.

Swami Sadyojathah, who speaks a smattering of Tamil, described Ravi Shankar's visit to Jaffna in April as a 'huge success' and said everyone there was keen to know if 'Guruji' would meet LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran one day.

eNews India