In this story we hear of reforestation, helping disabled children, seedbanks, and the possibilities when higher values guide a community.
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Written May 2023
With this personal testimony I wish to express how grateful I am to life as a whole and, of course, to the Indian Government for having been given the opportunity to live here in Auroville, a place where so many nationalities can meet, get closer to each other and learn more about our similarities and differences … a community that has a beautiful Charter as its basis.
When I first came here in December 1998 I started to work on a farm, then went on to help serve at the Solar Kitchen and was active in ‘Village Action’ where I taught English to young Indian girls/women. I also joined the gilding section placing gold leaves onto the glass panels that cover the Matrimandir… Since then I have been working for our Transition School supporting students that needed extra help with their English classes.
As I see it, a huge part of our planet is being destroyed by an attitude of go, go, go … always wanting more and more and in the process destroying our environment on which we all depend, without reflecting on the higher values of our common consciousness. When the ‘mother’ spoke extensively about the silence that connects us all and the importance of staying in touch with it, that is what she meant.
In Auroville the aim is the willingness to give up personal gains in favor of a basis of ‘togetherness’. Auroville stands as a living example for the world… that it is possible for more than 60 nations to work for a common goal and thus showing a way to spread peace. Wars are possible and men kill men without knowing each other due to fear and animosity that were incited in them. Living together and getting closer one can learn so much and overcome external differences.
A smile can erase a lot of preconceptions. Maybe many things could be better here, but isn’t that true for everywhere? Unfortunately, to eliminate wars seems impossible but we are certainly going in the right direction. I wish with all my heart that the spirit of Auroville will survive, also as a sign that there can be a better world for Humankind. It can show that with some goodwill and optimism a better way of living can be achieved.
What makes me so enthusiastic about AV is seeing how many wonderful ‘units’ we have created to improve the quality of life on so many levels. For instance there is our project DEEPAM, that is looking after handicapped children from our neighboring villages, going around with a van to pick them up and care for them. Then we have our community ‘Pichandiculam’ where for over 30 years some of us have created seedbanks of rare indigenous and often endangered species of plants for food and medicinal purposes. These seeds are sorted out and mostly taken care of by local village women. We also pioneered international seed exchange.
Before our pioneers started cultivating the ‘desert like’ landscape, the topsoil of this huge area was washed through canyons into the ocean leaving the earth even poorer after the monsoon. Thanks to our reforestation and harvesting units this has changed. If you want to learn more about this, I highly recommend watching a video made by our forest group “EVER SLOW GREEN”. After seeing it you will no doubt be as enthusiastic about AV as I am. First, one million were planted, then two million, and now we have about three million trees, most of which are indigenous and adapted to the harsh climate. One of the consequences is, of course, a cooler temperature that everybody can enjoy.
As is to be expected many of our ‘units’ are about environmental issues like treatments of waste or using it for construction purposes and becoming as ‘wasteless’ as possible. Through our ‘reach-out’ program, we get in touch with many other parts of the world to spread Sri Aurobindo’s teaching. There are many more beautiful projects but they won’t fit into one page.
You can see AV is not meant to be just another city but to have an effect on more subtle levels where understanding and love can grow and expand.
By Sylvia Zimmermann