Most of the communities that exist in Auroville — as semi-autonomous communities, that is, with their own social structure and goals, texture and color — were founded by a few energetic people who wished to manifest the vision of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother in a particular and personal way. Some are recent, some have existed since the beginning (in 1968). Some are small (Sadhana Forest is run by a family of three from Israel — with a lot of interns running about), and others larger (Aspiration currently has upwards of 50 participating members, and a number of other long-term "guests"). They all share a common goal, and that is unity of human spirit and human endeavor in a single, intentional city.
India as a country has embraced that vision, in fact (rightly) sees this aspect of its cultural heritage and current social structure as its contribution to the peaceful future of our species: the politics of nonviolence and society of communal realization. They passed law in the early seventies to protect the vision of the mission of Auroville, and continue to support the project in many practical ways — funding and support of infrastructure, as well as direct funding of a number of scientific or social projects which are run within the circle of the community.
Today Manny and I rented bicycles… that is, two-wheeled, pedaled vehicles. Numerous parts were missing or inactive, a bare boned Bike that you pushed hard uphill and pushed a little less hard downhill… a bike like everyone else's bike, a bike that has been doing work for people for many many years. So now it is only fair that you do a little in return, don't you think?
Well, we rode down and out of Auroville proper, in the direction of Pour Tous, the Auroville cooperative grocery store. It is several kilometers away, and we took back roads to smaller tracks to walking trails to get there. Everything is presumably well-mapped, down to those walking trails… but then everything is poorly-marked, so we did manage to find ourselves somewhere other than where we expected, a little bit sweaty, at the gate of a Brit who fortunately happened to be talking to his workers at the time, and who somewhat sardonically pointed us in the right direction, with a "'Spect I'll be seeing you again in ten minutes!" as his cheerful farewell.
Well, his directions were fine, and we found ourselves in the town of Kuilapalayam, the closest settlement outside of Auroville proper, and 2/3 of the way to the Indian Ocean beaches. Once we had finished our shopping, the community of Aspiration was literally just across the road, and we decided to stop in for a visit.
I was intrigued with the place, as it is one of the largest intentional communities in Auroville. We were welcomed by a student who has been living there for about a year as a "guest", and invited to have lunch with them. After hearing our story, and of our interests, we were quickly introduced by our francophone hosts to Djoti, a Tamil man of 40 or so, who has lived in Aspiration for 20 years. He was born in the area, attended Auroville schools (as public schools did not extend into higher grades) and was invited — surely on account of his intelligence and spirit — to attend a private high school in the States. He studied outside of Greenfield, MA, and hoped to continue to college there but, funds and opportunities lacking, he returned and worked with the community since.
Djoti was extremely open and helpful — yet another shining example (literally, shining a very good light) of the kind of people who inhabit this part of the world and this project as a whole. Another man — now I forget his name, the local names does sing into my memory yet — added color and comments, and we talked theory and philosophy of community for an hour over good curry and yogurt.
Aspiration was the first community in Auroville, and was the port of entry for over 80% of the current Aurovilian population. There was no housing on the mud plains at the time — this is before all the pioneering replanting took place — and those who came from abroad needed a place to set their feet down, before proceeding to establish new communities within the project's properties. The community continues to function as an intentional one, sharing meals and other pragmatic aspects of living in close quarters, as well as sharing a common philosophy — that of Sri Aurobindo, political thinker, philosophical visionary, teacher and activist. They follow his writings and practices, but not as a community — individually in their own homes.
Other communities have followed the model of Aspiration. "Creativity", another community closer to Auroville's center, was modelled directly on the processes and group dynamic of Aspiration. Adventure is a small group working with intention on the principals of living and sharing some resources. Verite, of course, we visited briefly in my last blog entry. A few more lean this way.
Every day a dozen experiences, a half-dozen meetings, and a couple of real enlightening moments… almost always accompanied with a smile.
Today the sun is out. Manny and I return to the Matrimandir this evening to meditate — the power of that experience something I cannot really share. And after dinner we will stop at Bharat Nivas for a concert of world-class quality. More music in life and in act.
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