$1.2 MILLION AWARDED HELPER OF INDIA'S POOR.Byline: David Briggs David Briggs is the name of:
Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. An Indian spiritual leader who founded a religious movement based on selfless love for the poor won the world's richest prize for achievement in any field Wednesday. Pandurang Shastri Athavale Pandurang Shastri Vaijnath Athavale (Gujarati: પાંડુરંગ શાસ્ત્રી આઠવલે, Hindi: , 76, was awarded the $1.2 million Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities is a prize given out annually by the Templeton Foundation. Established in 1972, it is awarded to a living person who, in the estimation of the judges, best exemplifies "trying various ways for for Progress in Religion. He said he would put the money back into the Swadhyaya movement, which sponsors housing and agricultural projects throughout India. It has reached an estimated 20 million people in nearly 100,000 villages without a single paid staff worker. ``We are trying to develop this selfless love. I don't want anything from any villager, not even a cup of coffee. But I want to see: What is my brother?'' Athavale said in an interview. The Templeton Prize was established in 1972 by investment manager John M. Templeton to recognize people who advance the world's understanding of religion. It will be bestowed at a ceremony at Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, originally the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery (closed in 1539) in London. One of England's most important Gothic structures, it is also a national shrine. The first church on the site is believed to date from early in the 7th cent. on May 6. Born to Brahman parents in 1920 in a village near Bombay, Athavale became a respected teacher of the Bhagavad-Gita, a sacred text of Hinduism that emphasizes passionate devotion to God. In 1954, trying to apply principles of his faith to practice, he and 19 others began visiting villages around Bombay urging people to recognize the presence of God within themselves and their neighbors. The basic message of Swadhyaya - a Sanskrit word meaning self-study - is that all human beings are divine brothers and sisters in the family of God. Today, there are some 200,000 swadhyayees - as followers are called - traveling throughout India openly mixing with people of all castes, encouraging both personal piety and social programs to build housing and feed the poor. ``This award is to advance the human spirit's quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the love and understanding of God,'' Athavale said. ``I see it as a tribute to the conviction that existence of God is central to life and true religion is the guiding principle of life.'' Previous winners of the Templeton Prize include the Rev. Billy Graham, Mother Teresa and Alexander Solzhenitsyn. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Pandurang Shastri Athavale answers questions at a New York news New York News was a newspaper drama which was broadcast in the United States by CBS as part of its 1995 fall lineup. New York News was the story of the fictional New York Reporter conference after winning the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Associated Press |
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