Join Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne
Founder of “Sarvodaya”
The largest grass-root community organization which provides
Services for 15,000 villages in Sri Lanka for 53 years
Public lecture on Friday, July 6th 2012 at 7.00PM – 9PM
Free admission. Donations go to Sarvodaya and Childhelp Michigan
Experiential workshop on “Happiness within” & dialogue with
Dr. Ariyaratne on Saturday, July 7th 2012 at 9.00 AM – 1.00 PM
Fee: $25.00 per person
At Birmingham Unitarian Church
38651, Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
Limited seating. For reservation please call at Marlene @ (248) 331 6973
E mail: michiganwellness@gmail.com
A.T. Ariyaratne:
Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
Born November 5, 1931, Ahangamage Tudor Ariyaratne is the founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka. A former high school teacher at Nalanda College, conducted the first shramadana work camp in 1958, eventually leading the largest non-government organization in the country. The father of six distinguished adult children, he has led tens of thousands of “family gatherings” and meditations with millions of people throughout Sri Lanka and other parts of the world.
Education
- Doctor of Humanities (D.H.) degree, Emilo Aguinaldo College, Philippines
- Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) degree, Sri Jayawardenapura University, Sri Lanka
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Economics, Sinhala and Education, Vidyodaya University, Sri Lanka
International Awards
- Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize, India, 1996
- Hubert H. Humphrey Award, USA, 1996
- IL-GA Memorial Award for Public Service, Korea, 1995
- Niwano Peace Prize, Japan, 1992
- Jamnalal Bajaj Award for Propagating Gandhian Values outside India, 1990
- August Forel Award, Good Templar Movement for Promoting Temperance, Denmark, 1990
- Alan Shawn Feinstein World Hunger Award, Brown University, USA, 1986
- King Boudouin Award for International Development, Belgium, 1982
- Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, Philippines, 1969
Honorary International Appointments
- President of World Parliament of Religions, 1993
- International President, World Conference on Religion and Peace, 1994
- Member, Club of Budapest, Hungary
- Fellow, World Academy of Arts and Science, Minnesota, USA
- Advisor Interaction Council – Ex heads of states
- Board of Director Peacemaker Circle International
- Advisor e parliament
- Former Chair, Asian and Pacific Bureau of Adult Education
- Former Chair, Approtech Asia, Philippines
- Former Chair, Asian Institute of Rural Development, India
- International Advisory Council, Auroville (India) 1999-present
Sri Lankan Awards
- Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
- Deshabandu Award for Distinguished National Service from the President, Sri Lanka
- Vishwa Prasadini Award from the Prime Minister, Sri Lanka, 1996
The seven volumes to date of A.T. Ariyaratne’s Collected Works provide a comprehensive collection of his speeches and writing in more than 1200 pages. Print and CD versions are available through Sarvodaya USA.
Further comprehension of A.T. Ariyaratne’s additions to the spiritual and intellectual wealth of the world can be drawn from Buddhist Economics in Practice: The Schumacher Lectures, (Vishva Lekha, 1999). A new book on Sarvodaya by Northwestern University Prof. George Bond, will be available in November, 2003 from Kumarian Press.
Bhava Thanha: An Autobiography, Vol. 1, (Vishva Lekha, 2001) offers both a personal and a historical context for understanding the essence of the man and his contribution. Amidst the details of years of humanitarian work, he describes “the Age of Science and Spirituality,” relating it to the purity of means, failures of socialism, imperialism, sectarian violence and other social forces. Fittingly, the book begins with a definition of Bhava Thanha—“the desire for becoming”—and ends with bestowal of merit to others, describing how colleagues, Sarvodaya villagers, and even his opponents influenced his thinking
