Auroville...

[Gauracandra]

I noticed the editor of IndiaDivine has put up some letters by Aurobindo. I don't know much about his philosophy, but I've heard that Srila Prabhupada said that Aurobindo was philosophically correct on a number of points. A few months ago I saw a program on the Travel channel regarding Auroville. It wasn't particularly long so I didn't get a real good sense of it. The one thing that struck me was a building that was shaped like a giant ball. What is this building? And is there a reason for its curious structure? Also, where does the community of Auroville stand today (ie. who manages/maintains it etc....). I found the letters by Aurobindo very interesting and was just curious to get some more background info.

 

Gauracandra

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

The ball shaped building in Auroville is the Matri Mandir ("Temple of the Mother"). I am not sure as to who came up with the design, but the original concept was by the "Divine Mother", the disciple of Sri Aurobindo. When you enter the building there is a spiral walkway that moves upward going around the sides of the "ball". In the center of the building, you enter a dark meditation room. In the middle of the meditation room is a large round crystal, which is supposed to draw positive energy and aid you in your meditation. Everyone sits around the crystal silently and meditates. It is quite a large room. Outside of the Matri Mandir there is a large banyan tree where Aurobindo had done meditation. Some people feel that tree to be more powerful in aiding meditation than the crystal inside the temple.

 

Today Auroville is quite independent from the Ashram. It is more of a commune, with each person living their own lifestyle and doing their own thing. There is no living guru in the ashram, and as such, everyone basically does what they like. As far as I have observed, no one practices the yoga that Aurobindo himself practiced. He was the last follower in his own line.