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*A Journey Beyond Time: Arathi – Embracing the Path of Inner Awakening*

When I chose the spiritual path, I wasn’t just stepping into robes — I was stepping out of the familiar. At a young age, with access to education, technology, and every comfort a modern world could offer, the question that haunted me wasn’t what I could become, but how I should live. Should I embrace a world of luxury and recognition, or let go of everything to walk a path no one could define for me?

At twenty, the choice was clear: higher ordination or a return to lay life. Torn between two worlds, I left Sri Lanka for India with a dear Tibetan friend, Dr. Sonam. In the ancient monasteries and silent caves of the Himalayas, I searched for the answer. I returned with two powerful insights: that monkhood, though rooted in the 5th century BCE, still held deep meaning — and that to live it authentically in the 21st century, I must embrace detachment not from the world, but from its illusions.

Despite holding multiple degrees, artistic talents, and media exposure, I had discovered my true joy not in applause or achievement, but in silence — meditating under the canopy of Nillambe forest. There, stripped of possessions, I touched a happiness no luxury had ever given me.

Yet, as I looked around, the monkhood I once admired seemed deeply entangled: bound by responsibilities, positions, and expectations that mirrored the very world we were supposed to transcend. I knew then — if I were to remain a monk, I must live differently. Not in opposition to modernity, but freed from its grasp. Not in rejection of society, but in service to its soul.

I began to build a community — a spiritual fellowship — for those who, like me, wished to dedicate themselves fully to the Dhamma. In 1994, “Buddhist Youth Service” was born, uniting six traditions into one mission: to live simply, serve deeply, and awaken fully.

The journey was never easy. From a Mahaweli river island in Kandy once overtaken by illicit brewers, to the quiet hills of Kegalle where villagers helped raise a jungle monastery — again and again, politics, power, and worldly interests stood in the way. Yet the vision never faded.

Where politics failed, people responded. From the hills of Balangoda to the halls of Kelaniya, from Germany to the United Kingdom, from forest monasteries to global stages — the path continued. Each step taught me something greater than the last.

And now, after decades of seeking, sharing, and serving, I find myself standing at the threshold of something deeper. A life not just dedicated to spirituality, but to awakening a new generation — one that walks the ancient path with a modern heart.

This is not just my story. It is a call to those who feel the same yearning — to walk together, to build together, to awaken together.