Auroville Revisited

If there is a dwelling on Earth whose founding vision is soaked not just in boldness and foresight, but possesses a numinous quality, then all roads must lead to Auroville. Nestled in a plot of about three thousand acres; hyphenated with the former French colonial outpost of Pondicherry (now Puducherry) and walking distance from India’s Coromandel coastline, Auroville — also known as City of Dawn — holds a unique position not just in India but in the world.

If there should be a place on Earth where humanity and all nations could claim as their own, notwithstanding those that are inimical to each other, then that should rightly be Auroville. Abode to over 3000 people from 59 countries — as per the 2021 census — Auroville is one of mankind’s biggest experiments in human unity. It is a place for its inhabitants to obey a single authority, that of the Supreme Truth and a place where competition and the relentless drive for wealth accumulation remain peripheral. Developed and afforested on once barren land it is quintessentially a picturesque place. Here, Nature instils beauty that surfaces in artistic forms such as painting, sculpture, music and literature and where the biggest investments of its people lie in building human relationships. Such was the vision of Mirra Alfassa, the founder of Auroville and affectionately known as ‘The Mother’.

My introduction to The Mother and her spiritual mentor Sri Aurobindo took place in my late teens when I became aware of the following my uncle and his family had developed. Several years later, my wife and I made our maiden visit to Pondicherry and Auroville. What a revelation it was to learn Auroville’s history and to experience its soul that resides in the marvellous Matri Mandir, (an unusual meditation hall) located at Auroville’s geographical centre. I remember having engaged in conversations with some of its inhabitants and was awe-struck to discover how people from all four corners of the world took to making this place their home. I discovered Auroville to be a treasure trove of art and craft and offering scores of interesting activities all with a strong underlying conviction in community values.

A visit to Matri Mandir can be an enthralling experience

So, last year when my fellow community-member Bhavana Nissima proposed Auroville as the site for an in-person get-together to a sub-group of Capra Course alumni it dawned on me that there couldn’t have been a more synchronous choice. Fritjof Capra, the eminent systems scientist, and convener of the Capra Course has long espoused a unifying vision. Could Auroville be a manifestation of that vision?

To cut a long story short, Bhavana’s suggestion stirred a lot of excitement but also some misplaced apprehension. Around that time there had been protests in Auroville due to changes proposed by its new administration and there was also talk on how the Government of India was silencing critics by refusing to renew visas of long-standing inhabitants. It took a call or two with Auroville community members to provide assurances that Auroville remained a safe and an excellent option.

A few weeks ago, seven Capra Course alumni from all over the world accompanied by three spouses and a sibling flew into Chennai one morning to take the scenic coastal drive to Pondicherry. Our first choice was to reside at Auroville but given that some were travelling with family members we compromised on making Pondicherry our base.

Pondicherry, the erstwhile French territory, retains its heritage charm in the locality which goes by the names of French Quarter and White Town, the latter because it once was a magnet for Europeans. Pondicherry remains as quaint as it was in my last visit. This time, we reached in the evening and the next day we were all set for an early ride to Auroville. After all, we had bookings at the Matri Mandir which can sometimes be hard to get. The experience was spell-binding, quite the same as what it was the first time except that this time I was with a group.

We emerged from the Matri Mandir, all smiles and blissful and impromptu we engaged in a group-hug…a tidal wave of oneness, celebrating five years of community and camaraderie after countless Zoom calls. We then sat down in the banyan grove in the Matri Mandir precinct as if we were one with the soil, the air and the sunshine. We were celebrating in stunning silence. While exiting Victor pointed out the largest and most beautiful lotus flower I have ever seen.

That afternoon, we dropped in to meet Sanjeev Ranganathan and Bridget Horkan both practitioner coaches of Radical Transformation Leadership. Our first visit was to Udavi School to engage in a huddle with Sanjeev and his team. Sanjeev serves as the principal of the school which also houses STEMLand, a social enterprise devoted to skill building and connects remotely with the offices of a semi-conductor company. What was striking about this visit was that technical education and skills are imparted in a way that is made to blend with one’s inner capacity building instilling a care and concern for social causes and Earth democracy. We were quite taken aback by stories of social and cultural change.

Next stop was our visit to Thamarai an after-school program run by Bridget who hails from Dublin. Bridget co-founded Thamarai twenty years ago but this NGO is much more than an after-school enterprise. Its focus is on community development.  On enquiring what brought her to Auroville, she shared her journey and how her family was supportive in her making the move to Auroville.

The next day we decided to do some fun stuff. One of the most fascinating places to visit here is Svaram studio. Our hosts were Tommaso, from Italy, and Zech, from Hongkong who painstakingly showed us around. As Tommaso said “Svaram is essentially about sound” and I would add it’s about avant garde instruments that can mimic, for example, the sounds of the seas, the wind, thunder and the like. Here, I stumbled upon the most beautiful gong I have ever seen. We all tried our hands at different instruments and it was a happy discovery to witness the hidden talent within our group. Adjacent to Svaram studio is the Svaram Garden, a park filled with instruments where one can test their abilities in an open-air environment.

Our next stop was Solitude Farm and Cafe, a 100-acre farm that has permaculture as its central focus. Lush greenery, an expansive nursery and a charming café in the lap of nature welcomed us. The farm is a champion of organic farming and local food consumption and is a living example of community education and celebration.

Our sojourn through Auroville got over in the blink of an eye and left behind memories which I am sure will stay with everyone for long. I recall the initial excitement of our group followed by hesitation because of Auroville’s political challenges and while writing this piece I started pondering on the future of Auroville. On my previous visit to Auroville in 2012 I hadn’t experienced the slightest whiff of political dissension but this time however, the media has been abuzz with the tug of war between two factions that threatens to divide Auroville and its unity, its very raison d’être. Honestly in the two days that we spent here visitors would likely not get a sense of its subterranean currents.

As the saying goes, there are two sides to the same coin. One faction sees Auroville as going through a dangerous phase of development that would weaken its bond with nature and spirituality. The other faction claims Auroville to be an exclusive club of some three thousand individuals which translates into an acre per capita. In the backdrop is The Mother’s vision of a thriving township of fifty thousand people that in over 50 years since its founding remains unfulfilled.

There is nothing new about Auroville and political meddling. It has been subject to interference since the 1980s but it has always emerged unscathed. The truth is that there is a middle path and as my friend Bhavana stated “despite the divide, there are enough people holding Auroville together”. In the final analysis, there is nothing wrong with Auroville that cannot be corrected by what is right with it. This too shall pass.

Feature image credit: Auroville.org

Shakti Saran is a systems thinker, writer, consultant, and the Founder of Shaktify, an initiative to power changemakers