Popular spiritual guru attacked in India

May 31, 2010, 7:56 GMT

New Delhi - Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar escaped unhurt when an unidentified gunman shot at his convoy in the southern city of Bangalore, officials said Monday.

The attacker fired at the guru's car after delivering a lecture at his hermitage in the Kanakpura area on Sunday evening.

One devotee sustained a minor injury, Ravishankar's Art of Living organization run said in a statement.

The 54-year-old guru, who has millions of followers in India and abroad, said he had forgiven the attacker.

'I would like him to come here, meditate and have a good life,' he told reporters. 'I'm completely safe and people (devotees) should take it as a bad dream and move forward.'

The organization has its headquarters in Bangalore and has followers in nearly 150 countries.

Ravishankar travels the world teaching meditation, supervising his foundation's humanitarian projects and promoting interfaith harmony.

He has visited conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq to teach post-trauma meditation to war victims, and toured prisons in Thailand and Taiwan to teach inmates how to find peace through meditation.