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Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne 1931-2024: Founder of Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement in Sri Lanka By Antonio Carvallo (Image by Pressenza) Source:-pressenza Born November 5th 1931, Dr. Ahangamage Tudor Ariyaratne founded Sri Lanka’s Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement. The concept of “Shrama-dana” directly translates as “donating your labour”, a concept adopted by A.T.Ariyaratne when working as a high school teacher at Nalanda College, where he organised the first Shramadana work camp which would eventually become the largest grassroots people’s movement in the country. Since then, he has led tens of thousands of “family gatherings” and meditations, alongside millions of others throughout Sri Lanka and beyond. The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, at its core, is a grass-roots humanitarian organisation based on the ‘sharing of labour, thought and energy for the awakening of all’. Tudor Ariyaratne, his wife Mrs.Neetha Dhammachari Ariyaratne, their family and close collaborators, developed the concept inspired by Gandhi, as well as Buddhist philosophy, to promote ...