Anuvrat Movements Theory and Practical

Author(s): Shivani Bothra
Publisher: USA Florida International University

Page 44

Anuvrat and Preksha complement each other. However, what is more intriguing here is to
see that when the Anuvrat Movement was growing rapidly during the first two decades,
Preksha Meditation was still an undeveloped concept. Twenty years later as Preksha
developed, it came to be understood as a part of the Anuvrat Movement. In fact, it was
such an over-powering aspect that Acharya Tulsi, in later years was painfully aware of
the weakening force of the Anuvrat Movement. According to another informant,
“Preksha Meditation was the second stage of the movement, and the third stage was the
Science of LivingIt was introduced for children to complement the education system
and the development of an integrated personality.”70 From the various responses I
collected with regard to Preksha's role in the movement, it seems that it has largely over
ridden the focus from the vows. Having seen the gradual shift in the Anuvrat Movement
from vows to Preksha Meditation, let us now look at how Ariyaratne blends his
Sarvodaya movement with metta meditation.
Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement and Metta Meditation
The Sarvodaya movement started with the aim of building a Buddhist centered
society in postcolonial Ceylon." The founder of the movement, Ariyaratne, annotates his
movement as: “The Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement drew abundantly from the wealth
of Buddhist thought which we have attempted to apply to the realization of socio
69 Jeevan Vigyan, that is, Science of Living, aims to add a new dimension to the field of education based on the idea that intellectual development alone does not provide any solution for the burning ethical problems of the time.
70 Verma, interview.
Nithl, Buddhist Philosophy of Social Activism, 110.