In the early morning hours of April 17th, 2024, we received the sad news that our beloved Founder of The Sarovdaya Movement in Sri Lanka, Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, had passed away. He had lived a full life of 92 years living by example of his motto; Compassion in Action. Starting his philanthropic journey in his youth and then founding Sarvodaya 65 + years ago, Dr. Ari as we all fondly call him, passed his legacy not only to his own family by blood and the Sarvodaya family but also to the world around him.
The Chair of Sarvodaya USA, John Coonrod John made the journey to Sri Lanka to pay his last respects and represent Sarvodaya USA at the funeral. John witnessed the love that was poured even in his final journey. He said –
“Yesterday I had the honor of representing all of us at Ari’s funeral. It was an astonishing outpouring of respect with full State Honors; something I had never witnessed in any country before.
Saturday morning in Moratuwa, hundreds continued to pay their respects at Ari’s open casket. At about noon, it was closed and conveyed to a hearse, and at 1 pm the funeral procession proceeded to Independence Square in Colombo; a magnificent field and museum I had never visited before.
From 3-4 pm, several thousand visited Ari’s remains who had not been able to make it to Moratuwa, and at 4 pm the Buddhist religious rites were observed followed by messages by Hindu, Christian, and Muslim religious leaders.
At 5 pm the laity spoke, including the Prime Minister, the Opposition leader, and a message was read out from the President, who had come to Moratuwa on Friday. I was invited to speak on behalf of Sarvodaya USA and the international development community Vinya closed the program with a lovely vote of thanks. There was then the cremation in a huge pyre.
There was English translation available for the non-Sinhalese speakers, including a number of diplomats including the UN Resident Coordinator Marc-André Franche – a strong supporter of Sarvodaya. A beautiful program including a biographical note by Prof. Kamal Waleboda was available in both English and Sinhala.”
John’s official speech can be found here –
Dr. Ari your legacy will live on. We will miss you, Sir.
