The 'Auroville' experience

This was a visit that has been in my mind since I was 25. Yes, that long.

When I'd gone to visit way back then, there was this immediate connect. And to my questions about life there, when the guy at the visitors center had asked "do you have the calling?", I just knew that one day I'd be back. 

This trip was like a recce.

A recce to explore possibilities in Auroville.

As experience I'd say it provoked a lot in terms of 'senses' and 'feelings'......the feelings went from curious, disturbing, isolating, adventurous, scary, intriguing, fascinating and freeing. Each experienced in intensity. Intellectually I'm yet to process and get my mind around what it actually is, as it's something so offbeat and so layered......for now it's just a lot of feelings :)

If one is curious, if one is looking to broaden and deepen life's experiences, or 'has the calling' as that guy said.......it offers it in a microcosm.

First a little about what Auroville itself is.

Starting right from the name right.....when I was on my way to the airport a friend asked "where? where are you going? is this in India or where is it?"

Fair question. Etymologically it's from Aurobindo and The Mother..... Indian and French. 

It's a city, rather town, which is 'of the world' and not of any particular nationality. In that it breaches geographical or rather political boundaries. In it's population of about 5000 it has people from seventy different countries, with the largest community being Italian, then Indian, French, German, Japanese and so on.

They call themselves 'citizens of the world'....a 'laboratory of evolution' I read somewhere.

As you enter the visitors center, their welcome board reads like this:

While I'd been to the visitors center a few times over the last 25 years, this was my first into the township itself. I was piqued and full of curiosity, as I've wondered about it for a long time now.

As you enter, you see only jungle and mud paths. Aligned to nature and environment friendly is an integral part of their charter.

What started in the mid sixties in a completely barren piece of land just outside of Pondicherry, is today a lush jungle with a vibrant eco-system. The residences, and all buildings in fact, are pretty hidden by the foliage. Feels like an urban village of sorts. 

Most roads are like this.

Conceptually it was begun in the 1930's, when Aurobindo, then a revolutionary freedom fighter was put in jail for sedition, went through what's called 'the dilemma' and then started to write about 'human unity' and 'transformation of consciousness'.

Mirra (later called the mother), put into reality his thoughts. This was done with the backing of the Government of India and UNESCO. In 1966, UNESCO passed a unanimous resolution commending it as a project of importance to the future of humanity, giving them full encouragement.

It's been a journey since then, and while it's gone through, and going through, many a hurdle, what amazes me is that it is yet alive........ throbbing, struggling, yet living. Living an ideological and visionary dream, one that focuses on unity, environment, culture, arts, creativity and evolution of consciousness.........all such beautiful and wonderful facets of life.

To start with, a couple of pictures which speak for themselves, both pictures from a book.

When it began:

And now:

At it's center is the Maitri mandir, again an intriguing architectural design, totally 'a'  religious, what's called the soul of auroville........and  this massive banyan tree, which seemed to have a whole different energy of it's own.

I'm going to need a few posts to let the experience flow..... this one's starter :)