Letter

Hello Aurovilians,

Sub: The Tourism Challenge in the May 2018 issue # 346.

This question from you: Does it help or harm us? But what about the opposite? Do Aurovilians help people who come to Auroville as a tourist, a guest, or a volunteer with some interest in Auroville?

Did Aurovilians ever ask visitors: how do you experience Auroville? What can be better? And what’s your feeling about us Aurovilians? And .........?

When I was in 2005 visiting Auroville I met some volunteers, young students, and guests and all of them had the same complaint: Aurovilians are not open , there is no dialogue, they are angry when you criticize Auroville. Aurovilians have no free thinking, they always say: Mother said this and that. But what about you Aurovilians, what are you as an individual? What about your community? What about this Charter of Auroville? And then this problem with money, how to deal with it? What a confusion!

And Aurovilians give you the feeling: we are better than you. So what do you expect if there is this attitude?

Of course Auroville is not a place just for fun, and people who visit Auroville have to respect your privacy. But it is up to you to learn to deal with it and look at and understand both sides of the challenge. And if you develop rules regarding tourism, don’t forget that this tourist is also a human being, who has his or her life and level of consciousness. What do you know about the world? Why not learn to deal with the world and her challenges?

With Greetings

Angela, Belgium