Shillong, Dec. 15: He came. He saw. He spoke the "bitter truth".

Hundreds of people who gathered at Polo Ground today to listen to global guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar must have felt a chill in the warm December afternoon. There was near silence in the gathering when he decided to set free the "bitter truth"- the dirt in the Meghalaya capital. He termed it "shame" for "our whole country".

He followed this up with a clarion call: Clean up the drains and create cleanliness. And there was no better venue for the spiritual leader to speak about sanitation than the one he was at today.

Behind the overwhelming arena, from where he addressed people who had come from various parts of the state, was the Umkhrah river, polluted by garbage and looking no better than a drain or nallah.

Soon after he praised chief minister Mukul Sangma for his vision to turn the entire state "organic", he came up with the "bitter truth".

"Before we start meditation, I want you to attend to the nallahs. All these rivers looked a little better 14 years back; now I see that the nallahs are so dirty," he said. He had last visited Shillong in 2001.

From his tone, one could decipher the astonishment on seeing the grime emanate from the uncovered drains and the filth that has overwhelmed the Umkhrah.

"Can you all just spend two hours on a Sunday and clean those nallahs, the drains?" he asked. "This is the capital, and in the heart of the capital, next to the golf course and the sports complex, there is dirty water running. It is a shame for our whole country," he said.

Although he said: "I am being a little bitter here", he went on to add that "bitter truth is necessary to be brought to light".

"Not everything is rosy and beautiful. Though the nature is so beautiful, the planning is not so beautiful. Someone has to attend to this. The drains passing through the centre of the state capital can cause so many diseases," he added.

While appealing to everyone to join in cleaning the city, he asked: "Are you ready? Please see that cleanliness is created. I hope you will do this. Invite the PWD minister also."?

"Will you take this initiative?" he again asked the audience. "Yes," came the response.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is perhaps the first person to publicly speak on the need to clean up the dirt here and ensure cleanliness.

His "bitter truth" is in harmony with the first-ever survey - on cities' cleanliness from the perspective of tourists - commissioned by the Union tourism ministry. The survey has not only been unable to find any "filth-free" city, but it has also found Shillong to be among the top five "dirtiest" cities in the country.

According to the survey report, out of 100, Shillong scored 52 which is lower than that of Guwahati and Calcutta.

The score clearly shows that Shillong has not been able to replicate the Mawlynnong idea although the village is just about 90km from here along the India-Bangladesh border in East Khasi Hills.

Mawlynnong was declared the "cleanest village in Asia" in 2003 by a magazine published in collaboration with the Union tourism ministry - a tag the village cherishes and maintains. Two years later, it was also declared the cleanest village in the country. It is an irony indeed, that Meghalaya, home to the cleanest village, also houses one of the dirtiest cities in the country.

Drug menace: The spiritual leader, who spoke about the drug menace in the Northeast, said "meditation" provides a "high" without destroying the body.

Stating that those who are into drugs could perhaps be searching for something "higher", he said: "Drugs give a temporary sense of alleviation, but destroys the nervous system of the body." He appealed to people to meditate to feel the "high" without having to destroy one's body. He said meditation improves one's intuitive ability, innovative thinking and provides inspiration.

The spiritual leader said a "happiness survey" should be conducted in Shillong. He appealed to people to pay attention to the "herbal wealth" available in Meghalaya.

Stating that there is a need to create a "friendly atmosphere" in society, he said: "Man has created many barriers, but we are all part of one universal spirit. Smile more, serve more."

On his success mantra, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said: "Purity in heart, clarity in mind and sincerity in action."