The Sri Lanka ‘Gandhi’ Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne no more
The founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka and the former Constitutional Council (CC) member, Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne passed away on Tuesday, 16th of April at the age of 93.
Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne was the father of six distinguished adult children, famous as ‘Sri Lanka Gandhi’.
Dr. Ahangamage Tudor Ariyaratne, born on November 5, 1931, is the founder of the world-famous Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka. A former high school teacher at Nalanda College, he conducted the first shramadana work camp in 1958, which eventually led to the establishment of the largest non-government organization in the country.
The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka is a grass-roots humanitarian organization based on the concept of ‘sharing of labour, thought, and energy for the awakening of all’.
Sarvodaya has been active throughout Sri Lanka since 1958 despite the numerous hardships it has faced over the years.
According to Dr. Vinya Ariayaratne a son of the late Dr. Ariyaratne, his Father had his primary education in the village school, secondary education at Mahinda College, Galle, and his higher education at Vidyodaya University. He started his teaching career at Nalanda College, Colombo, and while still a teacher there he took forty high school students and twelve teachers on an educational tour to an outcaste village. During this memorable visit, Dr. Ariyaratne guided his students and fellow teachers along his vision of sharing labour, thought and energy with the villagers and helped them develop their village. This first shramadana work camp marked the beginning of the Sarvodaya Sharamadana Movement.
Right from its inception he called Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement an implementation of Buddha’s Teachings for Sustainable Development and Peace. He demonstrated in Practice how the Teachings of the Buddha could be applied to the advancement of the Spiritual, Moral, Cultural, Social, Economic, and Political life of the community.
“For over sixty-three years, Sarvodaya has continued its service as the largest non-government movement in Sri Lanka and Dr. Ariyaratne has received many national and international awards in recognition of his commitment to the nation and its people” said Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne.
Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne received the highest national award, the Sri Lankabhimanya Award, from the President of Sri Lanka in 2007 and many International awards such as the Ramon Magsaysay Award (Philippines) 1969, King Baudouin Award for International Development (Belgium) 1982, Niwano Peace Price (Japan) 1992 and Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize (India) 1996 for his contribution to Human Wellbeing and Peace. In 2006, he received the Acharya Sushil Kumar International Peace Award for the year 2005. Other recipients of this award include John Polanyi and then in 2004, the 14th Dalai Lama.
Dr. Ariyaratne was also honoured with a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) degree from Sri Jayewardenepura University and a Doctor of Humanities (D.H.) degree from Amelio Aguinaldo College of Medicine in the Philippines.
Dr. Ariyaratne, a strong believer in Gandhian principles of non-violence, rural development, and self-sacrifice, has shaped the Sarvodaya Movement in ways that forged a significant link between secular principles of development and Buddhist ideals of selflessness and compassion. As a devout Buddhist, he has led tens of thousands of “family gatherings” and meditations with millions of people throughout Sri Lanka and other parts of the world.
When he received the Hubert H. Humphrey International Humanitarian Award from the University of Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs in 1994, Dr. Patrick Mendis described his former mentor as the “Gandhi of Sri Lanka.”
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