Sarvodaya
Founder Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne on US Tour |
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Dr. A.T.
Ariyaratne, Gandhi Peace Prize recipient and founder of the Sarvodaya
Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka, will be in the United States for a
month-long visit in October. He will speak at conferences, benefits,
lectures, and workshops in Boston, MA; Bridgeport, CT;
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York City, NY; Washington, DC; Harrisonburg,
VA; Detroit, Ann Arbor, MI; San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, CA; and
Honolulu, HI.
Now 75 years old, Dr. Ariyaratne has inspired millions of people around
the world with his vision of human-centered development. He brings deep
spiritual insight into practical action that has transformed millions of
lives. Today, Sarvodaya-inspired initiatives are found around the world,
including Nepal, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Organizations supporting the Movement are located in the Netherlands,
Australia, Canada, Austria and many other countries.
A Lifetime of Service
Born in November 5, 1931, Ahangamage Tudor Ariyaratne is an apostle of
service to humanity. Affectionately called “Ari” by his western friends,
Dr. Ariyaratne started his pioneering work in self-help, non-violence
and peace nearly 50 years ago. He has gained international recognition
that includes the Gandhi Peace Prize (India), the Hubert H. Humphrey
Award, Alan Shawn Feinstein World Hunger Award (USA), Niwano Peace Prize
(Japan), the King Baudouin Award for International Development
(Belgium), and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership
(Philippines). He has been nominated for the Nobel Prize, Hilton
Humanitarian Award, Seoul Peace Prize, and Northcote Parkinson Civil
Courage Award.
A former teacher at Sri Lanka’s Nalanda College, Dr. Ariyaratne
conducted his first work camp (shramadana) in 1958. He wanted his
students to live and work side by side with some of the poorest
residents of Sri Lanka. Since then, the Sarvodaya movement’s reputation
has grown because of its holistic, integrated approach to individual,
family, village, and national awakening.
Ariyaratne and Sarvodaya have energized villagers to build more than
7,000 pre-schools, community health centers, libraries and cottage
industries; establish thousands of village banks; dig thousands of wells
and latrines; promote biodiversity, solar energy, rehabilitation, and
peace. An estimated 11 million people have benefited from the grassroots
development organization that emphasizes the dual awakening of the
individual and society to advance nonviolence and cooperation.
Dr. Ariyaratne has led some of the world’s largest peace marches and
meditations to address the conflict in his country as well as to
establish global peace consciousness, with 650,000 people gathering in
the ancient city of Anuradhapura in 2002 and more than half a million in
2006. Sarvodaya has organized meditations among more than two million
people in the past decade alone.
In times of increased violence in Sri Lanka and the world, his words and
ideas are of utmost significance. His dedication to the sustainable
empowerment of people through self-help and collective support is the
main principle behind his peace work.
For more information about Dr. Ariyaratne’s travel in the United
States, see
www.sarvodayausa.org/aritour07/
You can also read
A.T.
Ariyaratne: Collected Works; Bhava Thanha, An Autobiography,
Volume 1 and
Volume 2;
Buddhist
Economics;
Buddhism at Work, by George Bond, 2004; and
Dharma
and Development, by Joanna Macy, 1985. All of these books and other
materials about Sarvodaya will be available where Dr. Ariyaratne speaks.
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Your
Are Invited
Dr.
Ariyaratne's US Tour Schedule
During a month
long tour Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne is schedule to appear in several public
events. You are invited to participate in one or more of these events.
The following is a brief and tentative schedule. For details visit:
www.sarvodayausa.org/aritour07
October 9, 3 PM, Common Room, Center for the Study of World
Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 42 Francis Ave, Cambridge, MA
8 PM, Endicott College, Beverly, MA
October 10, 3:30 PM Bentley College, Waltham, MA
October 11, 11:00 AM, University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport,
CT
October 12, 3:30 PM, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New
York
October 13, 3 PM, New York City
October 16, 12 PM, Infoshop, The World Bank, Washington, D.C.
October 18, 7 PM, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA
October 20, 6:30 PM, VistaTech Center-Schoolcraft College,
18600 Haggerty Road, Livonia, MI
October 21, 2 PM, Zen Buddhist Temple, 1214 Packard Street,
Ann Arbor, MI
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October 22, 7 PM, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, CA
October 23, 6 PM, Mt. Diablo Peace Center, 55 Eckley Lane,
Walnut Creek, CA
October 24, 7:30 PM, 2908 Chromite Drive, Santa Clara, CA
(RSVP Only)
October 25, 6 PM, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Oakland, CA
October 28, Agape International Spiritual Center, Culver
City, CA
October 29, 2: 30 PM, Ahimsa Center, California State
Polytechnic University - Pomona, Pomona, CA
October 31, 10 AM, Department of Religious Studies,
University of West, Rosemead, CA
November 5, 10:30 AM, Iolani School, 563 Kamoku Street,
Honolulu, HI |
Would you like to
get involved? When Dr. Ariyaratne is in your town, if you would like
to volunteer please contact Shisir Khanal at shisir (at)
sarvodayausa.org or 608-442-5945
Event
details are available online and updated frequently |
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When are You Going to
Call Them?
- By Krishna |
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They
were in tears. Some started crying aloud.
Villagers held them tight, stroking their heads and kissing foreheads as
youth bowed down to elders’ feet.
I found it difficult to bear this. Holding the camera with both hands, I
wiped my tears with my shoulders. Radha, a teenager from Kalmunai with
whom I communicated using sign language throughout the camp, came
running to me, touched my feet, and looked straight into my eyes. I held
her close to my heart let her cry as much as she wanted.
It was time for all of them to board the bus to take them away to their
villages. 95 Tamil and Muslim youth tried to put their faces out through
the shutters to have the last glimpse of their new-found parents who
shared love and affection for three nights in the thick of this
conflict.
Youth from the war-ravaged eastern part of Sri Lanka came to
Divulankadawala village in the Polonnaruwa district (250 kilometers away
from the capital of Colombo) to team up with 100 Sinhala Buddhist youth.
Together they attended a four-day Inter Religious Youth Peace Camp
organized by Sarvodaya.
They crossed many military checkpoints to come here and were questioned
all the way down. But these courageous young people in their twenties
were determined, because they were assured by Sarvodaya that they were
in for a big surprise. YES! It was surprising to see a hundred percent
Sinhala Buddhist village community inviting Tamil and Muslim youth, not
only to visit them but also to stay in their houses for four days,
sharing everything they had.
Almost every one of the villagers, most of them farmers belonging to
their Sarvodaya Shramadana Society, had decided to hold this camp in
their village two months ago. But then the government launched a massive
“cleanup operation” in eastern Sri Lanka, and tightened security in the
South. Just two days before this event was held, the government
announced that it had taken total control in the East, where the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) had been in charge before. Some
people celebrated with the lighting of firecrackers and some toasted
each other with wine. But for these fearless villagers sustainable peace
was important. They never changed their minds about hosting the Peace
Camp.
They got dry rations ready to cook and built a temporary shed to hold
the meetings. Youth in the village continued with their publicity
campaign with handwritten notices, banners and a house-to-house
awareness effort that brought the visitors from the East.
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Finally, the visitors arrived. Each was greeted with a white lotus
flower, symbol of peace and purity. And then 95 Tamil and Muslim sons
and daughters from the East were handed over to Sinhala Buddhist parents
with whom they spent the next four days. None could speak a word in
Sinhalese. Very few of their hosts could speak a word of Tamil. But they
all knew the language of kindness, care, humility, compassion, and
gratitude.
Four days passed - singing, dancing, playing, discussing, and sharing.
Meals were humble, with just two curries and rice. Facilities were
minimal, with no indoor toilets. Everyone had to go to the nearby
reservoir to bathe. Sometimes they went on foot, other times they
traveled in tractor-trailers on gravel roads full of dust.
On the third day all of the visiting young people and nearly 100
villagers came together for shramadana - a sharing of labor - to repair
a canal and adjoining road. They worked tirelessly in that hot July day.
At the end of the day they jumped into the over flowing reservoir in
JOY.
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That evening at the campfire, youth came up with hundreds of new ideas,
songs they composed on unity, skits on peace,
dancing with fire, drumming on their cheeks. They were up until three in
the morning
Bandara Mama, a village elder, said, “This experience itself is
rewarding. We only have to prepare grounds for them to meet. They will
move on.”
Anwar, who came from Kalmunai, said, “I came here as a Muslim. But I am
leaving without any ethnic or religious identity; just as a simple
humble human being.”
None of them wanted to go back to that war zone. They wanted to dwell in
this beautiful power of togetherness, unity, and brotherhood. Above all
they wanted to live. They wanted to stay back. But they had to go home.
Now they are gone.
When are you going to call them to your comfort?
Krishna, a freelance filmmaker, volunteers with Sarvodaya and
frequently travels with Sarvodaya founder Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne. |
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Support our peace building measures in Sri
Lanka.
Donate Online.
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World Peace Begins With Your Neighbor
- By
Richard Flyer |
The Conscious Community Network (CCN),
a Sarvodaya Movement-inspired initiative in Reno, Nevada, celebrated
its Second Annual “Get to Know Your Neighbor Day” on June 23, 2007.
More than 65 gatherings were held around the United States.
Beginning in 2008, Neighbor Day will be celebrated as a week long
event. The Sarvodaya USA Chairman and founder of CCN discusses the
importance of Neighborhood Week and a way of transforming lifestyles
to connect with others through our shared virtues.
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Neighbors in Reno, NV
celebrate 2007 “Get to Know York Neighbor Day” on July 23 |
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Why
does it take a disaster to bring us together? Recent tragedies like
September 11, Hurricane Katrina, and the tsunami remind us of who we
are deep inside- a spiritually connected part of a large extended
family, a web of living beings sharing a tiny biosphere on a small
planet.
As Albert Einstein reminded us, “our separation from each other is
an optical illusion of consciousness.” Disasters jolt us out of the
sleepwalking that can happen as we focus on the daily business of
life and survival with our self-focused agendas, even our higher
spiritual ones. Disasters also can open our hearts, as spiritual
energy comes through us and is released in the form of compassion to
others. Collectively, a chain reaction of goodness can come as a
flood, but then, after the crisis, a “spiritual dam” may form once
again within us and we go back to the sleep of our busy lives.
The Conscious Community Network in northern Nevada has taken the
Sarvodaya principles of compassion in action and found a way to
encourage the whole community to practice this every day, not just
during a crisis. We are working to achieve what Mahatma Gandhi and
Dr. Ariyaratne refer to as a “commonwealth of village republics.” An
awakened world comes from awakened communities.
One of our efforts, “Get To Know Your Neighbor Week” in June,
started as a regional project in 2006 and has turned into an ongoing
worldwide movement to spiritually uplift where we live. We ask that
people participate by hosting a potluck, block party, or gathering.
The simplest thing to do is to go out and meet your neighbors by
knocking on their door and saying hello---something you can do any
time of the year. We also ask that people make a renewed commitment
to practice the virtues of love, compassion, and forgiveness to
others.
Neighbor Week is more than just a one-time party. We have heard many
stories of people’s lives improved and some that were turned around
by Neighbor Week. Neighbors found common ground and common needs,
such as watching each other’s homes, children, and animals. They
also discovered ways to be of service to each other. On any street,
maybe next door, “invisible” people could be on the margins. Get to
Know Your Neighbor Week in 2006 helped to connect neighbors to
seniors who were alone; people who were sick and hurting; youth in
need of mentors; single mothers; and folks one paycheck away from
homelessness.
These uplifting experiences happened, not as a result of a formal
government or social service program or because of money, but
because average people like you and me stepped forward and reached
out to make a difference. And, even though it is a wonderful thing
to go to Africa on a mission, donate money to charity, or volunteer
locally, you can also be of service to humanity right next door.
By connecting neighbors and others through shared virtues --- love,
integrity, courage, service, and respect--- we can begin to build a
solid foundation to solve community (and world) problems from the
bottom up. Imagine if we each took responsibility to be a beacon of
hope and light right on our own street.
A ripple effect of love and compassion will be generated, releasing
a chain reaction that can create a shift in each of our communities
and eventually the world. Truly, peace in the world will not be
given to us by governments, the United Nations, or others. With
God’s help, we are the ones that we have been waiting for.
To find out more about the Conscious Community Network and to
sign up for Neighbor Day June 2008 go to
www.itstimereno.org.
(An earlier version of this article appeared previously on
www.intentblog.com)
Richard Flyer will speak at events in Detroit, San Francisco, and
Los Angeles along with Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne. He will speak on how to
apply shared and universal virtues to build sustainable, conscious
communities in the United States.
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Learn more
about the program and
Donate Online |
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