On Auroville 2022 to 2025

On Auroville

2022 to 2025

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Here are some texts – short and longer – which I have shared in Auroville within the last three years – without commentary (what has been taking place in Auroville since the end of 2021 has been well documented elsewhere).

- 1: Page 3 : 02-03- 2022: “One missing piece” - - 2: Page 6 : 14-04- 2022: “Your attention, please”

- - 3: Page 7 : 27-04- 2022: “To all”

- - 4: Page 8 : 03-05- 2022: “To the team of „Evolving galaxy‟”

- - 5: Page 9 : 09-05- 2022: “Communiqué” - - 6: Page 10: 14-05- 2022: “ Towards Auroville”

- - 7: Page 23: 23-05- 2022: “An invitation to each and all” - - 8: Page 25: 25-05- 2022: “Come, let us do it!”

- - 9: Page 26: 04-07- 2022: “Itinerary, or how to grow together in truth” - 10: Page 40: 24-08-2022: “Open Letter addressed to all”

- 11: Page 41: 11-11- 2022: “Open Letter to Sri R.N. Ravi”

- - 12: Page 44 : November 2023: “Open letter to Bharat Mata‟s r epresentatives” - - 13: Page 46: 15-11- 2023: “Embodying the spirit of Auroville upon earth”

- - 14: Page 49: 19-04- 2024: “Who owns Auroville?” - - 15: Page 56 : November 2024: “For a new beginning” - - 16: Page 62: 12-12- 2024: “Auroville and its destinies » - - 17: Page 76: 15-02-2025 : « In conversation with AV Today »

18: Page 81: Appendix: “An old open letter dated 1987”

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-1: 02-03-2022: “One missing piece … (With reference, amongst many other pronouncements, to a talk Alok Pandey was requested to give recently on the present issues of planning and governance) Here is a person for whom many of us have great respect and whom we greatly trust, who was asked to give his views on our present predicament; in principle all he said is most sensible and yet he, just as many others, just as most of us, keep ignoring or f orgetting that when, for instance, he speaks of Mother‟s own formation for the “city at the service of Truth”, it is not to the present model of a master plan that one should refer to but to the first model She had approved, that of a nebulae. This was end of 1965, beginning of 1966 and, in this same period of time and stage of Her Yoga, She tries several times to explain Her experience of the supramental Force as to be so rapid, intense and radiant that it was imperceptible; the first model of the nebulae, besides integrating Her own symbol of the Divine Mother acting in the manifestation, seems to reflect this immobile radiance in all directions equally. Perhaps this was felt to be, by the team of architects involved under Roger‟s direction, too static, lacking dynamism and life and therefore various attempts were subsequently made to “animate” it. Here and now this open letter is meant to help us reflect more deeply. Our arguments are bound by dualities and polarities, and in yielding to these oppositions, we lose ourselves and become weaker as a collective. To simplify this contribution, we need to remember inwardly and consciously that the Force of Truth, the Force of the Future of our species, is not moving either one way or another, one direction or another, it is acting in all ways at once from a perfect Oneness. Here below is an extract of the Mother‟s Agenda relevant to the nebulae, followed by corresponding drawings and a sketch of Her own “formation”. (And it would be so very much easier if more of us would take the trouble to immerse themselves in the reading of Mother‟s Agenda and Sri Aurobindo‟s works, for so much of our “positions” would become ridiculous and prehistoric to our own eyes and we could at least smile at our gimmicks!!!)

1966, April 23rd: Excerpt from a conversation with Satprem, which starts by Mother handing Satprem a brochure on Auroville: MA, p. 91-92; Gaz, Vol. 8 No 1, pp. 9 & 11; AVMW, p. 62-63.

French. Conversation. No tape-recording available. The photos are very pretty. One is quite like a nebula.

It seems to be going very well. A very widespread collective response, and from the two opposite sides: the whole Communist side is moving, and the whole financial, American side is moving. There is an effervescence. It‟s sure to work, I KNOW it exists – the city is already there (it has been for many, many years). Interestingly, my creation was with Sri Aurobindo in the centre, then

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when Sri Aurobindo left, I let it all rest, I didn‟t budge anymore. Then it suddenly starte d coming again, as if to say, “Now is the time, it must be done.” Very well. The Muslims would say, “It‟s fated.” It‟s fated, it‟s sure to exist. I don‟t know how much time it will take, but it seems to be going fast. The city already exists. And the remarkable thing is that I simply told Roger the broad outlines, asking him if he was interested.24 Then he went back to France and he received my formation (my old formation, which I myself had left asleep); he received it there. I found that very interestin g. He received it, he said to me, “It came all at once, I seemed to be possessed by something, and in one night the whole thing was done.” And the interesting point is that an architect friend of his25 came and worked with him and participated in the creation; he is now quite enthusiastic, and he is a man who has very extensive contacts with all Communist Europe, including Russia. And he is thrilled to pieces. So, on that side, it‟s working well. And in America, too, it seems to be working. And that‟s pre cisely what I want – that these two countries [U.S.A. & U.S.S.R.] clashing with each other should come here, and each of them have a pavilion of their culture and ideal, and that they should be here, face to face, and shake hands.

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-2: 14-04-2022: “Your attention, please! Here is one of the very last messages of Mother‟s, written in Her own hand: « Auroville will become what it must be only if and when the people living there will stop lying . M.” Here Mother points to our worse enemy, the one who can hide within each of us. Its slow poison can act in many ways and under many forms. It has caused innumerable disharmonies, for it has over the years eroded and compromised the flow of mutual trust amongst us all, to the extent that we have succumbed to a proliferation of rules and regulations – which will never ever be able to replace this trust of pure gold, the trust within each of us, the implicit, tacit, unconditional trust that each one of us loves the truth and no matter what will always strive to serve it as best as one can. There are so many manners of lie, from the most ordinary and gross dissimulation to the practices of dissembling and misleading, of hoax and imitation and all the sophisticated techniques of false representation and perverse usage of images and signs. It is certain that each one of us is concerned, without exception for even if one has progressed on the path, one still catches oneself lying here or there in subtler ways, so long as an integral sincerity is not established, and thus the task is continual, a task for which we can be grateful, in the Mother‟s Light, Force and Lov e, so that Auroville may exist and serve the Truth. When we are not able to rely on one another in our commitment to this service, we are weak, exposed and deprived of the sense of unity; therefore, the cause of our difficulties lies within us, as does the remedy; but a renewed determination as well as a lucid and honest assessment of our condition – not a pleasant exercise – are asked of us: we cannot escape it, if we do truly want to move ahead. (This is my observation. It is not a judgment, but a way to share my prayer.)”

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-3: 27-04-2022: “To all: Silence. Where are we?

This old rotten dictum: „if you are not with us, you are against us…!‟ , which caused so much damage in the early years of Auroville, has „resurrected‟ with accrued vigor, and our ethical codes seem to have been swallowed whole. To deliberately designate one‟s people to public and official opprobrium appears to have acquired a novel legitimacy. This opens all the doors to defeat and ruin. Let us all drop our weapons and concentrate! Is it still possible for us to awaken and to choose silence – and, in that offered silence, to call the truth of Auroville?”

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-4: 03-05-2922. “To the team of „Evolving Galaxy‟: Greetings, The work you have been doing with this regular bulletin is very helpful, as you try to maintain clarity; often you urge everyone who reads it to join some action or sign some petition and you may not know really why some of us do not follow suit. The thing is that this dichotomy, this conflict of views, interpretations and suggestions is not new, it has been simmering and sometimes gaining, sometimes losing ground to stage a battle, but even the practice of seeking outside support and intervention to bolster a particular viewpoint is not new at all; what is unprecedented is the scale and the conjunction of political climate, symbolic anniversary and the very type of personality and drive to break through ethical borders. It is our collective failure that we have been unable or unwilling to address this internal conflict in a true way – the way Mother has indicated in so many of Her messages and answers. So now it has gone to a higher level of urgency and resolution. To obtain the removal of some from a particular working group meant to represent the community will serve no purpose at all and only force matters further away from any possible offering. (I had initially felt all 7 members of the Working Committee were equally at fault in the sense that they had not alerted the rest of us in time about the looming formations, whatever their individual opinions may have been and therefore all 7 had somewhat betrayed the trust we placed in them, but the larger meetings did not debate this issue at all and now it makes no sense to induce worse entrenchments amongst us) You are inviting comments and suggestions, so here are some: In fact it is plain and simple – I feel the only way for us to increase our receptivity to the Grace is to stop arguing and to choose silence. I have written of it to all a couple of times on Auronet, but everyone seem to be addicted to more statements and counter- statements and expounding one‟s own views. So now I would suggest again to act in silence: for instance one could call everyone, and I mean everyone, to sit in complete silence near the Foundation office, without any animosity or rigidity, just sit in real silence, and call for Harmony and Clarity on the way forward; to repeat this action perhaps daily every day for an hour or so, without expectation, in ho nest offering to the Mother‟s Force. There are battles raging everywhere; we must surely try our very best and not let the moment pass without a real progress being made. This is what I can suggest at the moment. Divakar ”

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-5: 09-05-2022: “Communiqué. In a single sentence: The purpose of Auroville is to become conscious of the Divine presence in Matter and to serve its progressive manifestation. Thus… Then, rather than yield to delirium, mockery and insult, can we not concentrate, in silence, on the s ignificance of this sentence?”

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-6: 14-05-2022: “ Towards Auroville:

The city the Earth needs, the City at the Service of Truth * Shakti - The Mother Who is She?

She, the Mother: Never and nowhere in the entire history of this earth has such a complete and integral incarnation of the Shakti taken place; this is a fact, an absolute fact. No past or present emanation or manifestation of the Shakti ever can compare to the Mother‟s. She who, on any given day or night of Her material life, would experience such states of consciousness as most seekers, saints and sages, would not dream to reach in a lifetime, She was here for 95 years: here upon this earth, here amongst us all, here in a fragile human body, here to serve and here to work and here to act and here to call down a new age and a new being: a more complete and integral expression of the One. She, who poured ceaselessly and unconditionally on all She met Her love and care, Her knowledge and Her Force and Her power of Harmony, She who would gather every being, however ignorant or even antagonist, to Her bosom and place in the light of the One, She came to do Her Work: to open a passage and a way in our humanness for the next stage of evolution in Matter. For this task She unreservedly gave Herself: She gave the example of total and thorough surrender and absolute dedication. These are not mere words: explore the innumerable accounts and descriptions of Her actions and Her care, delve into the universe of Her own words and expressions, and ponder what He, the Avatar, Sri Aurobindo, ever said of Her, then

you will begin to sense the measure of Her Presence and Her Being. And yet She will remain incomprehensible to the human mind.

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In India we have the term “Shakti”, which encompasses many aspects and levels of expression: the Creatrix, the Energy-Force of Consciousness, the activating Power of the Supreme Paramishwara, the Mother of all beings and of all worlds, the Infinite, Detailed Puissance of Manifestation; it is also, in more immediate and practical senses, the energy that translates concepts and ideas into effective actions and concrete situations. It is sometimes understood as Prakriti, which is the infinitely resourceful force of Nature, whether of a terrestrial order or of another, subtler one, complementing the still vision and conception of the immovable spirit or Purusha.

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As a principle of effectuation, one may identify multitudes of “Shaktis” in various domains and India teems with their forms and characteristics, associated with particular deities and concerns. However, She, whom we name the Mother, stands above all, is free of all and embraces and surpasses all. She, the Mother and He, Sri Aurobindo, She and He, He and She: And so She wrote: “Without Him I exist not – Without me, He is unmanifest.” Srimirraaravinda. Their Work was to bring down the next principle of consciousness into the play of forces, that principle which is replacing the Mind at the helm of evolution. This They have done. And They have begun to hew the way into the most material consciousness, so that Matter itself will become directly conscious and expressive of the highest state of existence. This last has been the Mother‟s Yoga, Her adventure into the unknown through Her own body. Through Her Yoga of the Earth, She has anchored the new consciousness into that of our material cells and showed the possibility of a thorough and integral conversion of living matter to the Presence of the One in all – That which cannot be named, nor defined but can be partially and gradually experienced by whoever turns wholeheartedly to the essential and eternal divinity in all that is. Throughout Her physical existence upon earth this time, She has shown and demonstrated by example and direct action the power of consciousness: how, with receptivity and dedication to the true Consciousness-Force, all can be achieved in terms of ever progressive harmony. First She and He, He and She, broke through the barriers of human consciousness, well above the highest realms of the mind, beyond all dualities and polarities and reached into the vibrant infinity of conscious plenitude. Returning They proceeded to open, illumine and permeate the planes, forces and beings of the mind and those of life itself, till They could set the grounds for a beginning of a collective realization. But the most arduous and brutal task remained, that of opening the sub layers of our condition, the caves of our obscurity, the dark fundaments of our humanness. Unbeknownst to the world at large, They delved and fought and strove relentlessly, till They could establish the very first signs and premises of a new being in Matter, a being that would grow in awareness and self-expression through the growth of its aspiration and receptivity to the Force of Truth.

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Then He withdrew on the other side of the veil that is called “death”, so as to set a base of action right besides the physical plane, while the entire responsibility of the actual progress was left with Her. Indeed She was left in front, apparently alone, to lead and guide and venture ahead and open the way and set the conditions for the passage, invoking and calling down a new Descent, ceaselessly working at the purification and unification of Her own physical being and action. She widened and diversified Her immediate environment and propelled all around Her towards the future of the human race. Undoing all the walls of conditioning and refuting the division between Spirit and Matter, She affirmed and served and incarnated the true purpose of this manifest world, demonstrating that by union and unity only will humanity fulfil its mission. Not by strife nor by renunciation, not by domination nor by submission, not by competition nor by meek acceptance will mankind realize its true self, but by discovering and serving the truth of oneness. Even though the Mother had long harboured the seed of a new creation upon this earth – a new man and a new city have been repeatedly attempted as heralds and promises of a yet distant future -, it was only then, only now, now that She could turn this “house of flesh” into a blessed abode for the One, at least in terms of experience if not as yet in form and tangible expression, it was then only that She could set in motion the process of a more collective step of accelerated and concentrated evolution, so as to prepare the cradle of the new being. It was then and only then that She could call forth the birth of Auroville. It could be but a tentative approximation, a first collective expression of human aspiration and urge towards a truer life upon earth, but it would eventually develop a capacity for self-realization, provided its participants kept the flame alive and growing. The Mother, by definition, has innumerable children; yet there are those souls that have again and again followed in Her footsteps upon earth, souls that are no longer seeking for their own repose or liberation, but commit to the fulfilment of the eternal promise – when the whole earth will at last become the material site of living oneness and unlimited becoming. To each She opened Her arms and gave Her blessings, even to those whom physical birth had temporarily blinded to their own truth of being. She had already gathered around Her a few of Her eternal attendants, and been able to nurture and protect them so they could again, this time, assist in Her task. And thus the Mother sent Her call. The birth of Auroville and the Mother‟s Yoga

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But She knew that no one could, if She ever had to also withdraw, stand in front on Her behalf.

Auroville was born on the 28 th of February, 1968, just a week after Her 90 th birthday.

Two processes were simultaneously speeding up in Her own body. She was visibly ageing.

And yet whoever entered Her immediate physical atmosphere experienced the concreteness of the Presence: all in Her and about Her was filled with Presence, there was only That, Conscious Force, Infinity incarnated, total wakefulness, absolute peace, unlimited love, direct knowing, inexhaustible strength, irrepressible power of harmony... Both Her action and Her atmosphere were increasingly tangible. There were more and more days when She would see hundreds of individuals filing before Her in Her upstairs room, in utter silence. At the same time She relentlessly pursued Her Yoga for the Earth, in the rapidly awakening consciousness of Her “cells”, Her physical, material aggregate, every part and organ and function undergoing a tremendous change of awareness and this caused extreme crisises, the contradiction becoming agonizing. The more She advanced on this unknown path, the more She experienced the direct interrelatedness of everything and the more difficult it would be to communicate what existed beyond our words and thoughts and concepts, yet more From the onset of their Work together, She and He had determined that one of the first objectives would have to be the development of a capacity to prolong the life of the body for as long as would be needed; not immortality as yet – for that was meant for another species, free from the present processes of reproduction and sustenance -, but an equilibrium of the cells that would allow for a harmonious continuation and self-renewal so as to serve the task to be accomplished. But this demanded an environment which was not available to Her and it gradually became obvious that She could not go on being physically accessible and active while concentrating on the requisites of this new Yoga – this concentration implied an effective protection from contagion, and a measure of understanding, of perceptiveness on the part of her physical entourage, and such did not seem to be sufficiently available. Meanwhile and in close correspondence with the march of Her Yoga, the entire world was as if rushed onwards and Her constant concern was to ensure enough harmony was actively spread so as to avoid destruction. truly and immediately than all of our routine-ruled existences. She was in two worlds or two conditions at the same time. Who could understand?

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More and more men and women far away, as if by some internal invisible magnet, would be attracted by Her Force and, often bewildered and unprepared, would cross a threshold they did not know existed and find themselves responding to Her immensity and committing themselves to serve Her, ever and ever, come what may. But in Her close entourage, very few were those who were silent and receptive enough so She could still try and explain or describe or evoke Her growing experience of the new being, of the being yet to manifest, and of its consciousness. Most, however unwittingly, would meet Her with their habitual, unchanged humanness and throw on Her the ordinary formations of age and decrepitude and inevitable demise – of death. And She could not find anyone whom She could entrust with the task of organizing and orienting the outer work, such as the adventure of Auroville. She, the Shakti above all, has access to the full knowledge of all processes; yet here, in a tiny precarious human body, She must still discover, uncover, identify those secret keys that have been set in living matter till the day comes when there is no longer any need for the intervention of death. She, the Shakti above, is the source of innumerable formations and representations of Her aspects and powers; and She, the Mother, can issue permanent emanations of Her conscious Presence as and when necessary and this She has done repeatedly for each of those She accepted in Her work of transformation. But collectively too, She has issued such emanations that would ensure a degree of protection and guidance – and this She has done for Auroville as well. As Her Yoga progressed, She saw the need of withdrawing from the personal and of weaning Her children, teaching them silently to become aware of Her Force and Presence directly. In 1969, She found that the new consciousness had somehow taken root in the earth-atmosphere and started to play an active part in the general work and also to watch, almost as a coach, over those individual sadhaks and seekers who were receptive. She began to delegate. On the day of the birth of Auroville, She had written and read out its Charter: The Auroville Charter 1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But, to live in Auroville, one must be a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness. 2. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.

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3. 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 realizations. 4. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual human unity.

After a while, those who had chosen to start actually living there, on this red barren plateau, asked Her for their basic guidelines: the challenges were high, the questions were many, what could serve as their laws of conduct and indicators of the progress to be made. So, She half dictated and half wrote: To be a True Aurovilian The first necessity is the inner discovery by which one learns who one really is behind the social, moral, cultural, racial and hereditary appearances. At our inmost centre there is a free being, wide and knowing, who awaits our discovery and who ought to become the acting centre of our being and our life in Auroville. One lives in Auroville in order to be free of moral and social conventions; but this liberty must not be a new slavery to the ego, its desires and its ambitions. The fulfillment of desires bars the route to the inner discovery

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which can only be attained in peace and the transparency of a perfect disinterestedness. The Aurovilian must lose the proprietary sense of possession. For our passage in the material world, that which is indispensable to our life and to our action is put at our disposal according to the place we should occupy there. The more conscious our contact is with our inner being, the more exact are the means given. Work, even manual work, is an indispensable thing for the inner discovery. If one does not work, if one does not inject his consciousness into matter, the latter will never develop. To let one's consciousness organize a bit of matter by way of one's body is very good. To establish order around oneself, helps to bring order within oneself. One should organize life not according to outer, artificial rules, but according to an organized, inner consciousness, because if one allows life to drift without imposing the control of a higher consciousness, life becomes inexpressive and irresolute. It is to waste one's time in the sense that matter persists without a conscious utilization. The whole earth must prepare itself for the advent of the new species, and Auroville wants to consciously work towards hastening that advent. Little by little it will be revealed to us what this new species should be, and meanwhile the best measure to take is to consecrate oneself entirely to the Divine. - The Mother This impersonal Consciousness-Force had reached far and wide and each of those who now came to Her was representative of a type of humanity, as well as of a particular sort of contradiction and to each of them She gave Her entire attention: She thus could give as unstintingly of Her Self to the hardened bandit as to the most cultured aristocrat; She would open the recesses of their hearts and reveal to them in a single glance the pure grace that resided within and above them. She and He have changed the perspective of what is termed “spiritual progress”: to realize oneself, to rise above the mind and become aware of the Infinite, to merge into the One Self of all, to try and help mankind to unfetter itself from the yoke of attachment and physicality and find peace - such aims were no longer sufficient or even relevant, as the entire world was plunging into such upheavals and mutations as had never ever before been experienced. There is, They came to say, an intent and a purpose behind evolution and man, the human being as it is, cannot be its last stage. Man is great, man is vile: h umanity‟s contradictions cannot be the ultimate realization of Nature‟s forces - the Oneness that sustains all that is has not manifested yet. And so They explained and showed and demonstrated the real nature of evolution: each of its stages is led by a principle of consciousness, first came the Life principle, then came the Mind principle, and each had to develop to its utmost through the living species and specifically through mankind, with the help and agency of gradual individualization. This is, so to say, the framework, as far as the “objective” reality is concerned.

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And there is another, inner process, that of the birth, growth and development of the innermost being, which is pure consciousness – existence, love and knowledge - ; at first it is but a spark, then a tiny diamond in the dark, secret in the deepest recess of the heart; then it slowly, through lifetimes and innumerable associations, matures and develops into a conscious presence, able to choose and to guide and to serve. This presence within , She and He have designated as the “psychic being”, the child of the One, who is to serve the labor of transition to the next stage and act as the pure agent of the new progressive incarnation. And this is the first discovery, the central key without which one cannot begin to serve Auroville. For who, what part of us human beings, can know what it is to be the “willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness”? Up until May, 1973, one could still hope to communicate with Her externally, through one of Her s ecretaries, or even on one‟s birthday one could still be given the grace of kneeling at Her feet. And She could still try and speak of Her experience of the true consciousness that is to manifest in Matter to a few trusted aides. And then Her door closed to all, but a few attendants and eldest disciples. Aurovilians had to learn and rely on whatever measure of inner sense had awakened in them and, if and when they had the time for it, on Their written teachings. Auroville was born international, beyond borders and cultural divides and each individual choosing to join had therefore to make a great progress out of one‟s conditioning: the adventure of Auroville immediately brought up most of the issues and questions facing humanity‟s limitations and it was merciless in its scope and exigencies. They had had the opportunities to ask Her a number of questions, already, practical as well as psychological ones; Her answers were always direct and to the point and She would give Her blessings to every good-willed attempt and initiative turned She however repeatedly underlined the absolute necessity of being truthful, of loving and serving the truth in everything, in every movement and every situation; She said that without this condition being observed, Her protection would be impeded and noted numerous times that the new consciousness at work in the world was intent on it being thoroughly practiced so as to open the way into the future. Many years before, She had issued a New Year message to the world at large: “Men, countries, continents, the choice is imperative – Truth or the Abyss.” In so many ways She would warn that untruth is our worst enemy and can hide in each of us, its slow poison undermining all efforts at harmony. towards the future, a future of conscious harmony in Matter. Her wisdom was unerring and applied in every domain. Nothing was to be neglected, everything was important.

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She would also warn that self-scrutiny is indispensable and no one has the right to impose one‟s view as exclusive but must, i nstead, try and integrate all viewpoints into a progressive and inclusive practical approach. She issued a number of statements, such as: “I can work with you only if you do not say a lie and are at the service of Truth.” This here is one of Mother‟s last hand-written messages: “18 -3-73 Auroville will become what it must be only if and when the people living there will stop lying . M.”

She the Mother, She the Shakti, withdrew on November 17, 1973, at 7.25 pm, at the very minute the concreting of the four pillars of Her temple in Auroville, the Matrimandir, was completed. Her emaciated frame, with its fierce expression of concentration, was exposed for all to see until it was placed in a casket and laid over Sri Aurobindo‟s i n the central courtyard of the Ashram, on the morning of the 20 th of November, in utter silence. Almost 49 years have passed. As I write these pages, my laptop marks the date as 4/22/2022 – the 22 nd of April of the year 2022, and Auroville is experiencing what is perhaps its most crucial crisis; the year is also marked as the 150 th anniversary of Sri Aurobindo‟s birth, which the present dispensation at the apex of the Central Government of India intends to celebrate demonstratively as a boost to its program of revival cum development. And now, what?

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So far the Central Government was there as a protector, a guarantor and a benefactor; but it has recently shown signs of claiming the entire “project” as its own and being determined to manage it according to its criteria, with the help of its own machinery. Perhaps the fact that some of us have not only welcomed, but even invited this intervention out of their frustration with the lack of a unified vision for the outer development of Auroville, feeling entitled to do so as their service to its speedy materialization, has in the larger community taken on the character of a betrayal; it has reenergized the old divisive notion of “us and them”, and this has left everyone dazed and uncertain and prone to discouragement and doubt. So indeed, this would perhaps be a dual cause of distress: the heavy overtaking of a still fragile and fumbling collective balance by a blind exterior power fed with simplistic rules of engagement and conduct on the one hand, and on the other the consummation of a deep divide in our understanding or perception of the meaning and purpose of Auroville.

And this would be reason enough to try and call, in words, thoughts, feelings and commitments, the impregnable truth of Auroville.

Certainly we each and all have failed Her in so many ways. Certainly we each and all have tried and served Her in so many ways. Who is to judge, who is to check the scales?

Almost every time in the past that we followed the advice of trusted friends of Auroville and turned to the Central Government for help, be it legal or financial, we may have further compromised the destiny of Auroville; today the time seems to have come when this power claims its dues – and who are we to protest? Our schools have been funded by it, our built roads and some of our collective edifices have been financed by its grants; our remaining strengths in terms of independence and autonomy are that none of the lands have been bought with Government monies, nor most of our residences and infrastructure, services and productive units; but of course a Government has all the rights and as more than half of us are of “foreign” origin, we are but tolerated on the soil of India and have no say. Auroville is actually 54 years old. There are about 3.500 permanent residents and on any given day of the year there are many thousands more actively participating - employees and workers, relatives, guests and visitors. Not many of us who were amongst the first inhabitants are still here; many have died; many have moved away and come back, or not returned yet. Children born in the early years have in turn become parents and grand-parents.

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Over 50 nationalities are represented presently, with about half the extant population being Indian born and more than half of that hailing from neighboring villages. Every year that has passed has brought its batch of entrants, with their respective traits, understanding and baggage. As no hierarchy could be set, no central authority identified and no conclusive way of governance could be found – as yet -, the entire collective must therefore constantly adapt and reconfigure itself and try to integrate the imports – world views, habits, learned techniques, expectations – carried in by each of these newcomers, while trying to maintain, sustain and develop a dynamic of progress towards a truer life upon earth. Today, in the name of development, the threat looms vividly of it all being leveled down. Each of us wonders, how have we come to this, how have we become so weak and confused? No one ever said it would all be sunlit and easy: She warned, the way may be arduous at times, it may take many years, but Auroville will be…! Yet there is this doubt: have we, by dint of our own failings and insufficiencies, moved out of the Protection? For it is not just a matter of this band of privileged human specimen, each with their complex personality and burdens, attempting to become receptive to a new consciousness and a new order of manifestation: it is a matter of some proportion, however infinitesimal, of this living humanity, willingly turning to the true future of the earth, with aspiration and genuine self-giving, so that it can be changed and made sufficiently responsive for the new being to begin incarnating. We are not here for our own self-realization but as servitors, willing to offer all of their human condition and substance to the Force and the Light and the Consciousness that are working everywhere to open the way, in Matter, to a Have we, then, neglected it, obscured it? Have we, absorbed by the constant flow of day to day preoccupations and concerns, incidents and instant challenges, let it be veiled and become dormant? Any collectivity will be traversed, energized and occupied by tensions: tensions between apparent opposites, apparently irreconcilable viewpoints, competing urges and drives and mismatched interpretations of common objectives; She and He have shown us where are the tools of consciousness to build a growing harmony – and these tools are within us. Thus we have little excuse for being so tardy and even less for indulging in divisive posturing. lasting, ever progressive harmonious equilibrium. This is our “dharma”, the law of our existence .

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We cannot blame the wrong political or social system, or the narrowness of any doctrine: we have us to blame only. Of course, there have been many waves of assault, and much pollution and damaging infiltration have taken their tolls, which were not and are not within our field of progress, or, rather, have not risen from our domain of experience: the formidable and monstrous growth of consumerism all over the world is but one of the sources of erosion, waste and loss of ethical standards all around; and whatever we as a community were able to achieve as an example of integral progress and a more balanced way of life is rapidly being besieged and contaminated by the mounting tide of greed and callous, careless “development”. But have we not lacked practical wisdom and clear-sightedness, have we not favored our own comfort over the need to contribute actively to the future of our neighbors, for instance? She, the Mother, would never give orders, unless She was certain of the capacity, ability and receptivity required to follow them. Whenever the occasion was given Her, She would say how She wished this or that to be, to happen, to proceed, but She would not insist when the response was not forthcoming or when She saw other formations were being driven; She would simply then give Her blessings – with the caveat that Her blessings were always and invariably for the realization of the truest possibility, whatever that would be, and however long it might take. So often we tend to behave like orphaned blinkered brats: we have Their immense knowledge at our disposal, we have access to Their conscious Force, we enjoy Their care and the absolute clarity of Their vision and yet we pick from the shelves Their cut- out sayings and use them as projectiles, indignantly protesting the others‟ ignorance. But we forget that our given playground is sacred: Auroville is sacred, in the sense that She, the Shakti, has dedicated it to the “Supreme Lord” – as She would call That which cannot be named and yet is our source and our one goal – and so it belongs to the Divine, and no lesser power can claim it, nor should we misuse it. Today it is plain for all to see: this gigantic, hybrid, gracelessly assembled creature crouching upon the Earth, sniggering… “you will all come under my control or be destroyed…!!!” And from its perspective, Auroville is neither welcome nor well-appreciated – and so we have had our share of adversity, from without as from within. She has conceived and given birth to Auroville in such a way that it has in-built properties and vibrates in unique frequencies, so to say, much like a receptor and amplifier in the world‟ atmosphere: none of our actions may be particularly heroic, none of our products particularly sublime, but each carries that vibration, which is connected directly to the Force of the new consciousness and, in that fashion, we have a greater responsibility and the demand on us is greater for purity, integrity and receptivity.

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Let us never forget that Auroville is an adventure, it is for trying, experimenting, making headways into the unknown, for a future worth all the troubles and the throes of evolution. Whoever we are, or happen to be, in the moment, we are humanity seeking its plenitude and unity of being. Let us hold on, no matter what, let us hold on when the going is rough, let us hold on even when it all seems to derail, in the very actuality of our faith and perseverance is our power of progress and fidelity to Her victory. And since the central purpose of Auroville is to form and establish the required environment for the cradle of the new species, we know what we need to realize collectively: a milieu of solid peace and living, ever responsive harmony, ever perceptive of its needs.

Fraternally, Divakar – Auroville, April 25, 2022.

***

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-7: 23-05-2022: “An invitation to each and all :

In 1978, the four concrete arcs defining the sphere of Matrimandir, having risen from the first slab supported by the four pillars (Mahalakshmi, Mahakali, Mahasaraswati and Maheshwari), met at their upper ends into a single concrete ring: the “Ring of Unity” was cast in the night of the 28 th to 29 th of May. Indented into its inner surface are the sacred words: “Aum Namo Bhagavate” This was the material expression of humanity‟s aspiration to a truer world upon earth, a world of truth, unity, harmony and unlimited progress. The sphere these four arcs would hold and contain would itself become the site of deeper learning and serve as a relay for the Consciousness-Force working upon earth. We all understand, at least intellectually if not through personal experience, that any conflict is only truly and lastingly resolved when each one of its participants has been able to effectively communicate one‟s views, accept and integrate the differing views and reach an understanding and a sense of direction that are superior and more harmonious and balanced: an all-round enrichment rather than a loss. However we have yet to realize this progress collectively. When the Ring of Unity was cast, Aurovilians were experiencing the throes and pangs of a deeply challenging dispute and intractable misunderstanding with the original administration of the “project”, the S.A.Society. And now a chasm seems to be gaping between us – and within us as well – that is currently described as a clash of commitments to apparently irreconcilable versions of the future. Assuming – in good faith – that this present turmoil is arising from such a divergence of approaches to the physical development of Auroville, it is perhaps a good time to return to the basics: what are we actually aspiring to achieve? New forms expressing a new consciousness. So? No one who is, from near or far, committed to the growth of Auroville, can ignore or deny the precedence of consciousness: it is the growth of consciousness that can initiate the right forms, those forms that can serve the harmony of tomorrow. Where are we? And to begin with, what are the lessons we have learnt from whatever we have already built in Auroville, in terms of practicality, adaptability, the best possible relationship between the individual and the collective life, the best use of resources,

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the most sustainable and resilient association of materials, the most meaningful organization of services…? What is our experience of living in our built environment, what are the elements we find worth replicating and those we find unsuitable in the long run? What do we learn from the actual suburban development gradually encircling the territory of Auroville? What are the qualities we need our environment to express? When we say, for instance, that we must move earnestly to the next level of participation and build for 20,000 residents in a few years time, providing infrastructure for the ulterior level of those 50,000 individuals presented as the “finish line”, what are the values we expect all these newcomers to respect and practice so they can all find their respective place and activity and contribute further to the realization of the Auroville Spirit upon earth? In this perspective, not just as architects and builders and planners, but as “us”, whoever we are, can we do together a research work, honestly and diligently, so we can arrive at a shared sense of priorities? When in the 1970s we had to find some way out of the void (we had no legal existence and could not overtly function as a community), there was no chance for a research to be undertaken collaboratively with the members and affiliates of the SAS, and eventually the only possible way forward appeared to be through the involvement of the Central Government of India via an Ordinance and an Act of Parliament. Today we may have a chance to invite everyone involved, and that includes representatives of the Central Government of India, to join in this research and try and reach a clear sense of direction which will be of significance not only to us here but to contemporary India and the world as a whole. The choice of referring to the Ring of Unity was partly due to its date, in the month of May, the 29 th ; could we, (and why not, really?) take that coming 29 th of May as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to togetherness, come what may?!!! Let go of our recriminations, our hurts, our misgivings and our doubts and rigidities and … smile and work and progress????!!!

Best wishes to all”

***

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-8: 25-05-2022: “Come, let us do it! Hallo hallo everybody, what is the matter? Is it a case of conflict hypnosis? Let's move on and forward! We are all agreed that a Detailed Development Plan is needed. So? Let us do it! We can ALL decide to begin this work now, we have the capacities, the creativity, the knowledge required, everyone can join and contribute, the kids too! Let ALL our Committees make the same decision now, let ALL members participate, this is the time and the opportunity to let Auroville magic operate. The Dream Weavers can provide the framework, everyone can state the priorities, we can agree on a time span, and on a budget.

And try and have something ready for Sri Aurobindo‟s birthday! Anyone has any good reason not to take that step together? I don't think so!!! Let‟s!!!”

***

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-9: 04-07-2022: “Itinerary, or how to grow together in truth:

To Sweet Mother

(A note of reminder: As we are presently confronted with the reality of an effective takeover by the representatives of the Central Government of India, assisted by a few Aurovilians who see in this radical intervention the only way to reestablish the ideal development of the city of Auroville, and we must observe the many departures from elementary ethics and even consider the possibility of expulsions, of brutal interruption of the experiment and of forced exile, it is most necessary to find in ourselves this certitude that has carried us through the years, the certitude that the creation of Auroville is the Mother‟s offering to That which she named „the Supreme Lord‟ and that therefore Auroville, its truth and its destiny belong to Him, whatever may be the appearances and come what may.) We are in the summer of 2022 and Auroville is occupied by a battle of perspectives, a conflict as absurd as it is noxious, as if all the participants were deported and alienated from the one essential priority, that of the progress of our consciousness, which all difficulties and seeming contradictions can serve and hasten if only we remain aligned and centered in our aspiration to grow in truth. I would so much wish to show, for instance, the inanity of this obsessive insistence on physically realizing an urbanization plan that, however attractive it may still appear, s NOT issued from the supreme source of the adventure of Auroville, a plan which one can in no way attribute to the conscious and ever present will or vision of the Mother, nor consequently charge with her authority; but how to do so without raising such a racket and opprobrium that the very significance of the message will be neutralized? Nonetheless, let us try, to approach the issue, to keep strictly to the facts: not a single document signed by her, nor a single record of her words, indicates anywhere her will to see this particular plan materialized, about which mountains of arguments and whole panoplies of legal terms are nowadays displayed. This famous plan of the galaxy, which has been revised, amended, modified, altered, studied, criticized, worshipped so many times and in so many ways over the five decades of Auroville‟s existence , if it has indeed initially appeared in one of its first versions on a brochure printed as information to the public and an invitation for donations and contributions, at the back of which Mother had signed her blessings, prior to the official inauguration of Auroville, not only has never been developed as a detailed execution plan taking into account all existing parameters, but represents a model which is different from the one originally appreciated by her as a clear translation of her formation – that of a nebulae with its immobile radiation in all directions at once, instead of this later one of a galaxy rotating leftward. Introduction:

Nevertheless, it was evidently indispensable for the collective adventure of Auroville to be provided with a general plan which would serve as a guide and a goad so as

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to preserve and encourage the thrust and commitment of each and everyone towards the future, a future that would address humanity as a whole, rather than be the reserved domain of an elite, however representative it may be. And in this perspective, Mother has given numerous indications on the functioning of the city to be, its mode of living, its approach to material goods and assets, or on the spirit of harmonious and diverse simplicity that ought to reign. On the internal structure of the city too She gave, through Her own sketches et recorded descriptions, the guiding principles: at the center, the sanctuary of Truth – which She eventually named „Matrimandir‟, with water around it and the Park of Unity around it all, all of it within a zone of silence; then the four large petals marking four main principles of activity – international;, industrial, cultural and residential; and, finally, at the external edge, ensconced between the rounded borders of the four petals, the service areas, relating to the „outside‟. In fact, She has given all the indications one could ever wish for on the contents and almost none on the forms, for it is the life of progressive consciousness that would discover the corresponding forms – and not the other way around. As for those rare occasions when She Herself drew precise forms, these have been consigned to the Archives: for instance, Her detailed sketch of the Urn which would contain a handful of soil from every country, just as Her outline of the access to Matrimandir or that of its entire area. It is only for the description of the inner chamber of Matrimandir that She insisted on the exact dimensions and the presence of all of its elements. Many a time, She remarked that details did not interest Her, in the sense that these would be elaborated as we move along without any predetermined fixity, unless She had SEEN what must be realized – as for the inner room of Matrimandir, as we all know, but also as for the park at the centre of the city, the „most beautiful park in the world…‟ Often in our debates we refer to „the Mother‟s will‟, but this is a human notion, formed by the human ego, and it is not thus that one may open to Her way. For that, one must first become conscious of Her presence, learn to recognize Her atmosphere and live by Her grace; there is no ego in Her. There is a conscious Force of Truth and Harmony that moves ahead, pushes and works ceaselessly, through everything. So, what follows, what I shall express in the coming pages, which one will read or reject, may shock, disorient, upset, or lead to more pondering, finding echoes and resonances . But I do promise that each word will have matured and risen from experience – mine, ours, that of Auroville as a collectivity, that of all for whom Mother and Sri Aurobindo are the bearers of Truth upon earth.

The sense:

My sources are exclusively the written or recorded words of Mother and Sri Aurobindo, exclusively. Now I shall enunciate without explanation a number of choices or orientations which the collectivity of Auroville has made or taken during the five decades of its material existence, which have contributed to its alienation (partial) from the true

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