A visiting scholar reflects on the unique experiment of Auroville as linked to the spiritual philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, how its residents have integrated nature and evolved a place of harmony and peace.
.
Written May 2023
In a certain search for the “City of God” for over several decades and in many abodes, quite by chance, eight years ago I discovered Auroville over six days.
And I was overwhelmed.
Inspired by the spiritual philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, one of the grandest experiments in shared living started in 1968 in Auroville.
Since those six fateful days in February 2015, steadily and studiously I have been discovering the wonders and uniqueness of Auroville in a hundred different ways.
On its foundation, it was declared that Auroville was to belong to humanity as a whole, and anyone who was to choose, and was to be chosen, to live in Auroville “must be a willing servitor of the divine consciousness”. Together, Sri Aurobindo and The Mother envisioned the unfolding of the human consciousness and destiny into ever-widening realms of unity and harmony.
For the past three years Auroville has been my home in every exalted and existential sense of the word. Having lived for over fifty years as a student, a scientist, a cultural historian, a professor, a writer, a poet and an activist in several universities, cities and countries of the world, as an Indian by birth and spirit, coming to Auroville and discovering its myriad hues and colours and fragrance has been the grandest “homecoming” for me.
It is thus that Auroville, “the city of dawn”, has been evolving into a place of harmony and peace in all its myriad dimensions; here the resident community is an integral part of nature, and its ecological sustainability. Here, in no uncertain terms, everyone is trying to live and grow in accordance with the natural and divine principles of the universe.
As an unique experiment in harmonious and spiritual living, every day, and in every way, I believe Auroville is setting a stage for the unfolding of the human destiny that integrates the sacred and the secular, the mundane and the exalted, the unique and the universal in one seamless whole.
In my own humble ways, I continue to share the vision and poetry of great sages and seers like Kabir, Nanak, Blake, Tagore, Goethe, Cohen with many here in Auroville.
Auroville, and its vision, and the sanctity and the warmth that permeate every aspect of this very earthly place, remind us that when we are touched by the divine, then alone we find our true humanity.
By Sehdev Kumar