Public Lecture

Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne

DR. A. T. ARIYARATNE, the founder and president of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement in Sri Lanka, the world's largest spiritually-based people's development movement. Starting his professional life as a school teacher, he has become internationally renowned for his exemplary contributions to promoting social and political change through nonviolence.

Founded on Buddhist and Gandhian principles, the Sarvodaya Movement works in 15.000 villages for social and economic justice for the poorest of the poor in Sri Lanka. Started nearly 50 years ago by Dr. Ariyaratne, Sarvodaya has mobilized tens of thousands of people to create housing, water projects, solar energy, food production, pre-school programs, legal services, women's projects, orphanages, child welfare agencies, village banks, and more. Sarvodaya means "the awakening of all," and Shramadana means gift or sharing of labor.  The essence of the movement is that "Everybody wakes up through sharing labor, energy, resources, and love." Dr. Ariyaratne describes the goal of Sarvodaya as a dual awakening: the awakening of the individual and the awakening of society. Guided by this vision, Sarvodaya seeks to unite all people to work together in building a nonviolent and cooperative society.

In the spirit of Martin Luther King, he has led some of world's largest peace marches with millions of people. In the mold of Mahatma Gandhi, he has quieted angry masses through his personal example. Like the Dalai Lama and the world’s greatest preachers, he has an impressive ability to rally ordinary citizens to see the spiritual wisdom of looking beyond their own salvation to help ensure the salvation of others.

Dr. Ariyaratne has also led some of the world's largest mass meditations to address conflicts  in his country, with 650,000 people gathering, for example, in peace meditation in Sri Lanka in 2004. 

For his development work and peace initiatives, he has received numerous international awards, including the Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership from the Philippines (1969), the King Boudouin Award for International Development from Belgium (1982), the Niwano Peace Prize from Japan (1992),  and the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize from India (1996).  More recently, he was honored with the Mahatma Gandhi Service Award from South Africa (2006), and Sushil Kumar International Peace Award from Canada (2006).