Is this the World we Created?

As a child, I grew up with music from the band Queen, especially the song Is this the World we created?. I have always been deeply touched by its message. So beautiful, so simple and also so sad, so scary, so meaningful. Since childhood, every time I listen to it, a strong knot in my throat arises and a strong pain in my heart captures me. It feels like a magic power that has preserved this very same feeling from childhood to the present-day, and in those moments of hearing the song, I become the innocent child again in all its beauty, trying to change the World.

Although the song was written in response to the dramatic poverty in Africa, its message is completely interporal, which makes it even more powerful. It is an urgent reminder to me of inequality, unsustainability and the lack of life values which are so present in this World; a world which can be so unique, special and yet so controversial.

Then come the questions about the World we created. Why at some point in our lives do we lose our capability to be connected with our own selves and with the World? How can we, as human beings, be so indifferent and resigned to the reality between the “wealthy man sitting on his throne” and “the hungry mouths” all over the World? How can we offer something with one hand and take it at the same time with the other? How can we not think and realise that the way we choose to live today is putting us closer to losing tomorrow? When and why have we shifted from being to having? Why are we losing our childhood dreams and the respect for our common home, and becoming sheep following the dreams of an unfair society?

Well, I do not exactly know the answer to all these questions, but I can tell you that those questions are the main reason why I decided to come to Auroville as a volunteer two months ago. This decision obliged me to work very hard to make it happen, in order to allow myself to stay in Auroville for at least a year to give myself the means to answer those questions.

Although I still feel scared and somehow disturbed with the obvious bipolarity of human beings who are creating the World we live in today; I am still a dreamer, I still want to work and contribute for a better World.

The child within me is still here and is a World believer. And she keeps telling me not to give up and to preserve my childish innocence and naivety because small changes can have a huge impact on our planet.

I discovered Auroville as a world reference and inspiration: a place where we would see the world as one, without drawers, without life boxes, without borders; a place for dreamers, where utopia does not exist; a place where the purpose is to realise human unity, where we work for equal opportunities, where we believe that everything is connected, where we respect the beauty of diversity while working to carry together the same ideal and vision that the Mother mentioned; a place where we actively work to give a different focus and presence to money;

a place where we are truly conscious of the biggest problems in the world - the dramatic reality with climate change, waste of natural resources and destruction of our home planet;

a place where we know that the decisions of each individual are a determining factor to shift this reality.

I totally respect and love the Auroville history and the Auroville Dream. I also recognise that Auroville is a continuing experimental township, where we should respect and stimulate different perspectives and proposals that can help us to realise human unity. However from what I observed over the last two months, I honestly have to say that I feel disappointed with the reality happening today. Somehow, I feel that Auroville still holds a lot of similarities to contemporary society. I cannot yet feel Auroville being “the city the earth needs”.

I know that I obviously need more time to be fair, but my first perceptions and feelings were that Auroville is still, somehow, connected to inequality, unsustainability and the lack of life values. And especially with very simple and basic things such as the use of water, food, plastic, recycling, reducing waste, I felt clearly that Auroville doesn’t manage to work as a whole to address these basic issues. Although diversity is something very natural and beautiful, I cannot feel that people are searching for the same unified goal.

I know that life is a constant learning, and perfection somehow relies on imperfections first, but as Mother said, “Auroville should not fall back into old errors which belong to a past that is trying to revive.” So, are we not, in a way, falling back again into old errors that we are already conscious of? Do we feel that in Auroville we are all making an effort to be a world inspiration? Or, are the passion and the dreams of our inner child asleep?

Anyway, I still hold hope that Auroville can transform the dreams into reality and the time is here, is now.

Let’s believe again that small is beautiful. It is important to feel that you can still awaken the child within you.

I believe that this is the most brilliant way to make your and our dreams as human beings come true, and to create the World we need.