The Art of Living may return the honorary doctorate conferred on its founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to the Open International University for Complementary Medicines (OIUCM) in Colombo, after it was reported that the university does not have any statutory recognition.

“The (Express) article came as a surprise to us. We received a message that they wanted to confer a doctorate on Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Sri Sri did not even go himself to receive the doctorate. We are considering returning the doctorate,” read a statement issued by the Art of Living on Wednesday.

The spiritual leader was awarded a doctorate in holistic medicine by OIUCM in 2006. On Tuesday, Indian media reported that doctorates and degrees of this university were being sold through agents and other dubitable institutions.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a spiritual leader and the founder of The Art of Living. He also founded the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) to coordinate sustainable development projects, nurture human values and coordinate conflict resolution in association with The Art of Living. In India, Africa and South America. (with inputs from The New Indian Express)