When I switched on my laptop the other day, the Bing photo caught my eye and piqued my curiosity.
What was this incredible looking round gold building? Where was it? Was it real?
The photo was an aerial view similar to the one below
I quickly discovered that it was real. The photo was of an experimental town in India called Auroville and that glorious golden spherical building was The Matrimandir.
I needed to learn more…cue an evening of Googling and reading.
Auroville, is situated near Pondicherry, on the eastern coast of India in the state of Tamil Nadu.
“But it sounds French?” I hear you muse. It was designed by the French architect, Roger Anger. Auroville is also known as the City of Dawn and it gets its name from “aurore”, the French word for dawn and “ville”, the French for town/city.
The Matrimandir, the golden building that caught my eye on the laptop’s wallpaper is also known as the Temple of the Mother and the Soul of the City, and is built at the heart of Auroville in a large open area called Peace.
I was still intrigued….
Now for a brief history lesson (I’ll share more detailed info links below for the history geeks and curious among you)
Step back in time to the early part of the 20th Century and that’s where you will find the origins of Auroville. There was an Indian philosopher, yogi and maharishi called Sri Aurobindo. He was a political activist but whilst in jail, he had a mystical/spiritual experience that led to him developing a spiritual practice on his release that he called Integral Yoga. He settled in the Pondicherry area and collaborated with a fellow spiritual guru and yoga teacher, Mirra Alfassa, who was also known as The Mother to her followers.
In 1926 they founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. After Sri Aurobindo’s death in 1950, Mirra Alfassa continued their work, pursuing his vision, and in 1964 the Sri Aurobindo Society passed a resolution to establish a city dedicated to that vision- Auroville.
In her first public address in 1965, Mirra Alfassa, the society’s executive president declared “Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.”
Three years later on 28 February 1968, in front of representatives from 124 countries, Auroville was inaugurated. Mirra Alfassa wrote and delivered a four point charter, setting forth her vision for the city and its ethos of integral living.
- Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.
- Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.
- Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations.
- Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual human unity.
Initially self-governing, Auroville aspired to have 50 000 residents. It’s initial community was considerably smaller, numbering around 400. By the late 1980s two acts had been passed that saw the creation of a three tier governing system for the city formed of the Governing Board, the Residents Assembly and the Auroville International Advisory Council. These three tiers work in harmony and collaborate to continue to try to accomplish the vision for Auroville as set out in the charter.
So, where does the Matrimandir fit into all of this?
The Matrimandir, in all its glorious golden splendour, is the heart of the community. Matrimandir translates to Temple of the Mother and is a place of spiritual significance to the practitioners of Integeral Yoga. It’s foundation stone was laid at sunrise on 21 February 1971, Mirra Alfassa, the Mother’s, 93rd birthday. Sadly, she never saw the finished temple as she passed away in 1973. It took 37 years to complete the magnificent building with its stunning Inner Chamber and it was finally completed in May 2008.
Today Auroville has a population of circa 3000 from 54 different countries and has been endorsed by UNESCO. The temple and surrounding gardens are open to visitors. This is not a tourist site however. It is a place which should be visited in a quiet mental and physical state, a place of contemplation and meditation. You can book a visit to the Inner Temple on an individual basis for some quiet reflection.
I think I may just have added another destination to my travel “bucket list”.
Information links (for the curious)
Welcome to Auroville | Auroville
Matrimandir – The Soul of Auroville
Sri Aurobindo (sriaurobindoashram.org)
Integral Yoga (Satchidananda) – Wikipedia
(All images sourced via Google – credits to the owners)
Coral McCallum 