“This so-called Life is only a Shadow. Instead of blaming it, raise your head high to see the Life above.”
A.S. Balasooriya was born in 1940 in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. His early years were marked by movement across the island — from Ratnapura, where the spiritual atmosphere of Saman Dewala awakened in him a deep curiosity, to Namunukula, a tea-plantation town where his encounter with Tamil culture and Hinduism broadened his inner world.
At the age of ten, his family settled in Bandarawela, where he received a formal education at St. Joseph’s English College. His diverse schooling across the country cultivated a rare breadth of social and cultural understanding.
After completing his A-levels, he studied Pali and Sanskrit at a Buddhist Pirivena and independently mastered Hindi to an intermediate level. In 1959, he was appointed as an English teacher in rural schools of Uva Province.
"The house was in close vicinity to the famous Saman Dewala. Its spiritual atmosphere aroused in him a spiritual curiosity that would guide the rest of his life."
He subsequently obtained a first degree in Western Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, and Buddhism from the University of Peradeniya, followed by a Master’s in Buddhist Studies from the Pali and Buddhist University of Sri Lanka.
In 1986, the British government awarded him a scholarship for a Master’s degree at a college of Education attached to the University of Edinburgh — an experience that exposed him to Western culture and education systems.
From his earliest years, Balasooriya harboured a profound curiosity for spiritual life. His search led him through encounters with occult teachers and spiritual masters in Sri Lanka, and eventually to the celebrated non-religious philosopher J. Krishnamurti in India — whose open inquiry into Truth resonated deeply with him.
He has hailed as one of the most profound spiritual teachers in Sri Lanka since 1971. For the last 50 years, the awakened consciousness has remained a constant guiding light, revealing deep insights into life, the world, and the universe.
As a spiritual teacher, his ultimate aim is to guide people toward heightening the level of human consciousness — elevating it, as he describes it, to the cosmic level.
"At that exact moment, my mind awakened itself to cosmic consciousness, where everything was One. The mind disappeared, and with the person at its centre, I lost worldly consciousness. Time stood still. A pure joy hereto unknown was released within and it was ecstatic."
"The same awakening occurred for the second time. Thereafter it remains part of life forever. To me, it is a guiding light revealing deep insights into life, the world and the universe. It is the ultimate source of vision."
Primary Education
Secondary & A-Level Education (English Medium)
B.A. – Western Philosophy, Indian Philosophy & Buddhism
M.A. – Buddhist Studies
M.Sc. – Education (British Government Scholarship, 1986)
