TEARFUL TRIBUTE TO DR. A.T ARIYARATNE, THE FOUNDER
PRESIDENT OF SARVODAYA
MOVEMENT OF
SRI LANKA.
(My Memories)
I was extremely sad to hear the news of Dr A. T. Ariyaratne’s passing at the age of 93.Dr. Ariyaratne was the Champion of Peace and Development in Sri Lanka. He Inspired by Gandhian principles of non-violence and self-reliance, His dedication to peacebuilding extended beyond community development. He led peace marches and meditations, calming tensions during Sri Lanka's long and troubled civil war. His unwavering commitment to non-violent solutions earned him international recognition, including the 1996 Gandhi Peace Prize.
He was the founder and President Emeritus of the
Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement (SSM) of Sri Lanka. He was untiring in his
efforts to put into practice ‘Sustainable Development and Peace’ based on the
Buddhist precepts of “Awakening of all”. In principle, he was against the
patterns of economic development based on neo-liberal values, which is
unfortunately all the rage not only in Sri Lanka but also in large parts of the
globe.
As a humanitarian, Dr Ariyaratne was interested in re-establishing
and preserving democracy, maintaining the rule of law based on fairness and
justice, and a constitution that treats all citizens of the country as equals.
He desired a sustainable development based on a “bottom-up” holistic approach
that would make a practical difference in the lives of people by helping them
in their spiritual, moral, and cultural life journeys, and in doing so help
improve their social, economic, and political lives at a societal level. At the
macro level, he and the SSM encountered many obstacles, as the movement was
seen by many of the political elite as a threat to their political leadership,
but endured those obstacles.
I met Dr Ariyaratne three times afterwards and had discussions about various matters. He also visited my house along with my friend Mr Ravi Kandage , Secretary of Sarvodaya movement of Sri lanka and Global council trustee of United Religions Initiative.Dr Ariyaratne’s passing will create a deep void in Sri Lanka’s civic society. His thoughts will continue to influence the activities directed towards the betterment of the country.He started his work on the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement in 1958. Ariyaratne started this movement when he took, "forty high school students and twelve teachers from Nalanda College Colombo on "an educational experiment" to an outcaste village and helped the villagers fix it up.]After many of these "educational experiments" took place and were successful, Ariyaratne and others developed ideals that have served as the basis of the Sarvodaya Movement. As a socially-engaged Buddhist movement, it contains three strands: "Gandhian ideals, Buddhist philosophy, and ecumenical spirituality."The original Sanskrit definition of Sarvodaya is "the welfare of all," but Ariyaratne has redefined the term to reflect a Buddhist ideal, "the awakening of all." The Sarvodaya movement places the people at the center of social change, "The village represents the heart of the nation and the source of its spiritual and moral vision."His movement focuses on the political empowerment of the village, Buddhist awakening, and rural development. The call of this movement has been for a non-violent spiritual revolution to replace structural violence as the basis of the social order. This spiritual revolution features the Buddhist value of non-violence it also promotes a no poverty, no affluence society.Dr. Ariyaratne's passing leaves a void, but his legacy lives on in the strengthened communities and the enduring spirit of peace he helped cultivate in Sri Lanka. We express our heartfelt condolence and paying tearful tributes to him.
Prof. John Kurakar
