Among current-day top performers, Ravikiran has probably trained and presented the most number of young students in recent times, including several tele-students from outside India. Ravikiran's musical vision, his large repertoire of masterpieces from various authentic sources, his conviction in his art and his zest to share his knowledge, not to mention his highly evolved teaching methods, have made him one of the most sought-after gurus in Carnatic arena today. A stickler for musical ethics, in his unswerving fidelity to classicism, Ravikiran has been a role model for many aspirants as well as professionals. The power of his teaching also lies in his vast experience, eye for detail and perfection, ability to communicate to students of various age groups and levels, his open-mindedness to technology and innovative methods such as tele-teaching.

Ravikiran's passion to communicate quality knowledge has enabled him to find the time and energy for students in various parts of the world. His performing and composing assignments have necessitated that he evolve revolutionary methods to impart the knowledge of traditional Carnatic values using cutting-edge technology, so that no passionate student of the art progresses at a pace less than optimal. This committment, coupled with his inventiveness have enabled him to be a trend-setter as a guru.

Ravikiran strongly believes that perfection involves a conscious attempt at correctness, and that artistic indulgence under the garb of poetic license should be avoided. He also believes that innovation should not be a camouflage for shaky foundations in tradition, or an evasive excuse for those who find the rigours of classicism too strenuous.

His popularity as a guru is also because of his ability to evolve methods to suit the strengths and needs of each individual student, drawing from those he observed from his own father and guru, Chitravina Narasimhan. He places stress on students developing the right attitude towards the art and the guru, which includes a positive approach, industriousness, humility, respect towards quality artistes and achievers besides an inquisitive mind that is keen to improve all the time. Equally importantly, a student is encouraged to eschew negativism in any form. Above all, Ravikiran has endeavoured to foster the spirit of self-enjoyment among his students.

In order to refine the way Carnatic music is approached and perceived, Ravikiran has authored the book, Perfecting Carnatic Music, as much for teachers as for students. He has also produced a number of albums containing authentic and refined versions of Carnatic masterpieces, through a specially created ensemble, Vintage Virtuosos. His latest move has been to include a dedicated section for Education in his IPTV Channel, Shakti Extratainment , that features classes and courses not only by him but also by several other musicians, composers and gurus such as Tanjavur Shankara Iyer, Prof S R Janakiraman, Trichur Ramachandran, P S Narayanaswami and Rama Ravi.

Several of Ravikiran's disciples are active performers like Akkarai Shubhalakshmi & Swarnalatha, Vishaal Sapuram, Veena Sivakumar, Savita Narasimhan, Emani Lalita Krishna, Anahita & Apoorva Ravindran, Chaitanya Kumar, T K Ramachandran, Ashwin Sridhar, Arjun Adapalli, Aditya Kanukurthy and Seetha Chandrashekhar while others such as Lata Ganapathy, Bhargavi Balasubramanian and Shruti Raghavan also teach actively, apart from performing. Ravikiran's brother, K N Shashikiran and cousin Chitravina Ganesh (who perform as Carnatica Brothers) and sister Kiranavali Vidyasankar have also had musical interactions with him in their early days.