Auroville was founded on February 28, 1968, when the delegates of 124 nations and all the states of India started the adventure by depositing a handful of their homeland's land in an urn.
Auroville was born from a vision of Mirra Alfassa, known as the Mother . This vision was developed in a project, submitted to the Indian government and approved by UNESCO, which considers Auroville an important experiment for the achievement of human unity, worthy of being supported.
The final project of Auroville is designed to accommodate 50, 000 people but currently houses only 2400 inhabitants from more than 50 countries.
La Madre, the creator of Auroville
More important than "how" is "why". Mother's biographers tell us that it was so many different things in her life. An artist, an occultist, a yogini, a guide, and for many people a spiritual Mother .
Born in Paris, she came to Pondicherry in 1920 to reach Sri Aurobindo . After assuming responsibility for the Ashram, he had the vision of an ideal city for an inner search and for an outward manifestation of progress, a city where it is necessary to serve the community and work for it but where at the same time work is the means to to express one's self and not a mere expedient to survive.
A place that belongs to no one, the center of an endless education, a bridge between past and future, which takes the best from every possible experience, internal and external, both material and spiritual. A place where to elaborate the current human crisis, which is not cultural or economic, but evolutionary.
How to define Auroville
As soon as I set foot in the office for media relations asking for official permission to write about Auroville, I was asked about the specific topic, and when I answered "Auroville!" Their reaction was "Oh ... good luck!" It must be remembered that Auroville is an experimental city, something "living", and that rules, guidelines and systems change very quickly; therefore to understand Auroville it is necessary to live it following its spirit of service, progress, truth and adventure . Many have tried to define Auroville before me. Let's see how.
Auroville is an experiment
Indeed it is. People from all over the world, of all ages, of all cultural models, of all classes come to make their own contribution and to represent every edge of humanity. As an experiment, Auroville is anything but perfect, it is an experience in the making . It is also a spiritual experiment, combined with a great social experiment, in turn composed of various different experiments: ecological, agricultural, scientific, artistic, linguistic, philosophical, engineering, educational, medical, food, and wellness.
According to Sri Aurobindo's vision, man is a transitional being, and to shape the next evolutionary step, he needs to elaborate the current evolutionary crisis not only through individual evolution but through a collective model, in a human unity.
Auroville is a dream
For many Auroville is a dream and a possibility made concrete, for others more a utopia. Many, even if they are not aware of it, are in search of a place like this, a place to test themselves, to live in contact with nature, without law enforcement, without religions or politics, where each member takes care of the community according to their possibilities, while the community takes care of him according to his needs; a door to reach what awaits us beyond the human being.
Auroville is an international community
It is by definition. Many people come here from all over the world to join the community, to study, work, or just to look around and benefit from all the possibilities offered by Auroville.
All together they constitute the city and its social fabric. English is the main language, but also French and Tamil (the local language) are official languages and it is a truly unique experience to work, study, play or relax listening to all the languages of the world. As a rule, local young people master two or three languages.
Auroville is a spiritual city
Yes, it is, but it is not a sect or a new age community, also because in Auroville religions have no relevance . Everyone is free to create and follow his own inner path without having to participate in common rituals or read any sacred text, much less obey a qualceh guru or teacher. Everyone on his path with his own pace.
The freedom to develop one's own inner life is one of the cornerstones and in children they begin to learn it from an early age. Inner work and the search for balance and well-being have the same importance as material work and practical duties. In Auroville also spirituality is asked to progress.
Auroville is not an ecovillage
The definition of ecovillage for Auroville is incorrect and reductive: although Auroville is an eco-friendly place, integrated into the forest, similar to a large green park, with organic farming projects.
From this perspective Auroville resembles an ecovillage but this orientation towards well-being, organic farming, respect for nature, etc., are only one aspect of Auroville, while many of its activities have nothing to do with the life of an ecovillage but rather with that of an evolutionary laboratory.
Auroville is not an "ashram"
Auroville does not place barriers and walls between itself and the rest of the world, and creates relationships and interconnections with it in every possible field. Auroville accepts all aspects of life to put them at the service of progress towards a harmonious future .
Auroville does not repudiate aspects of life that are more difficult to manage and does not embrace any dogma. Anyone can experience Auroville but in order to be part of it, you have to go through a one-year process, to allow interested parties to understand if Auroville's life is appropriate for them.
Auroville attempts to materialize the vision of its founders by following the guidelines regarding an individual and collective yoga .
