An Aurovilian speaks of Auroville’s spirit of diversity and experimentation, and how a faction forcing their opinions is against that spirit.
Written November 2022
As I understand, Auroville was meant by Mother as a laboratory and an experiment. Auroville is well-known all over the world and has a good name for its efforts in afforestation of bare land and for quality and beauty. The city development should be in the same spirit, which means quality and creativity combined. The Dreamweaving group has contributed with many ideas and is a great example for collaboration which should be valued and made use of. People in India and abroad are looking at Auroville for inspiration.
The diversity of cultures, opinions and approaches is at the same time a chance and a challenge. Each of us has a responsibility towards the collective. Both listening and patience are essential to achieve sustainable development. In my opinion, development has to come from within and cannot be forced from above.
The autonomy of Auroville has to be preserved. Right now there is a faction of pretty strong personalities overpowering the majority of residents which is against the very spirit of Auroville. I find this is a very unhealthy situation and not at all beneficial.
Most Aurovilians gave their lives for this experiment and came for Mother’s and Sri Aurobindo’s vision. Unfortunately, the words of Mother and Sri Aurobindo are getting used to support personal and egoistic opinions. Some persons claim they know better what Mother wanted in Auroville and what is better for others who live here.
There are many Aurovilians who are extremely dedicated to their work and don’t make much noise. A minority cannot rule Auroville. Different opinions are fruitful. The different parties need to listen to each other and work together.
The present situation is one of mistrust and insecurity which is detrimental for Auroville as a lot of collective energy is lost and goes into fire-fighting. One example is the insecurity of the visa situation of foreigners in Auroville, which creates a lot of personal hardship. Foreign nationals leave behind their families and friends and often a much more secure life. The Indian Government should safeguard the foreign nationals who give their work and life for Auroville. At the same time I believe there should be also an exit policy and persons who purposefully abuse Auroville (foreign and Indian nationals) in any way would need to be taken off the Master list – of course only after a thorough examination by an absolutely neutral group of Aurovilians and in a very transparent process.
In recent times it is often said that not enough has been achieved in Auroville in the past years. Sorry, but I grew up in a village of similar size to Auroville. There was a small town hall office, one kindergarten and one primary school, a church, a place for sports, two restaurants and three shops for grocery items. Compared to that, Auroville has countless facilities and activities: schools from kindergartens to high school, the Visitor Centre, the Matrimandir, Bharat Nivas, Cripa and Pitanga Hall, a cinema, the Solar Kitchen and many other restaurants, guesthouses of all kinds and thousands of visitors, the townhall with a growing administration, volunteers from all over the world, many businesses who contribute some of their income, farms which serve the community, a telephone service, an electrical service, a road service, recreational activities and sports of all kinds, health facilities including a pharmacy, etc., and not forgetting the many outreach programmes for the surrounding village population.
Auroville is very complex and diverse and there are no easy solutions and recipes. The only way is to communicate and to strive for a collective process however hard it is.
By anonymous
Letters from Aurovilians to R.N. Ravi, November 2022
Chairman of the Governing Board, Auroville Foundation