I really miss Auroville

I could never have imagined living in Auroville. Now, I can’t imagine my life without having had this experience. I arrived in India for a voluntary work at Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Delhi in 2007. Things did not go as planned and a friend from Brazil who was in Auroville convinced me to come and spend a few days here. After a week, I had an amazing place at which to volunteer – Isaiambalam School – an incredible place to stay – WDK – and had met friends that would become, and still are, my family. The week became six months and even an interview with the Entry Group – I was sure I wanted to live in Auroville.

The plan was to go back to Brazil, save some money and in maybe five or six years come back and establish myself in Aurovlle. Again life’s plan was very different than mine. After a year and a half I had a good amount of money and a heart ready to move back and start my story in Auroville. But I did not come. Why?

Since the first day I felt myself deeply connected with the city, the people, the Mother’s visions, Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy. The Newcomer period was great, actually I never felt like there was a difference between being a Newcomer and an Aurovilian, that I was and still am an Aurovillian from my first day in Auroville. What is incredible is that there are so many amazing opportunities for innovation, creativity, you can do whatever you want here.

Sure, as everyone else, I had tons of criticism and found lots of faults while I was there. I guess that, once you are inside, you take things for granted, so it is easy to point a finger, to have negative opinions. Although I also think, if this is made from the heart it is a sign that you care for the place and you want to find solutions. I loved how everyone could find tons of solutions to all the problems Auroville was facing.

But, like in any other place in the world, we would do little about it. I feel we tend to idealize Auroville as this magic place and forget its really reason to be, which is to show humanity we can do something different together. But we must DO!

So why did I leave Auroville? In my case, it has nothing to do with my age or with Auroville itself. I felt there was somethings I wanted to do on a bigger scale. Have being born and raised in Sao Paulo, I had this feeling of needing to do more for the world, and particularly South America, “outside my own bubble. Also at that time – I don’t believe this anymore – I was missing something I thought I could only find in big cities. Also I really missed my family, and if I lived here permanently on a maintenance in Auroville I couldn’t see how I could visit them often in Brazil. This remains the biggest reason why I haven’t yet come back to Auroville. For me the money situation was a big challenge in Auroville.

I really miss Auroville and the life I had there. For me, the biggest treasure of Auroville is the people. It is amazing to me how many people, from ages 3 to 90, live in my heart from those three years I spent there.

And I often say I miss the Mari I was there. And this is why I also want to stay here in Sao Paulo for a while, because this Mari needs to exist everywhere; it is not an outer place that makes who we are but a inner one. So perhaps once I find this place wherever I go, life will bring me back to Auroville. Because I may have physically left Auroville but it will remain part of who I am eternally.