The Auroville Retreat

The Auroville Retreat, which took place on 12th and 13th March, brought together members of the International Advisory Council (IAC), the Governing Board (GB) and around 160 Aurovilians to examine the present state of Auroville and to draft an action plan for the near future.

It was the culmination of two months of intense work, involving around 300 Aurovilians and 35 thematic work sessions. The original idea came from members of the International Advisory Council. They noted that, over the years, the Governing Board and the Advisory Council had received comments from some Aurovilians about what they perceived to be chronic blockages to our development. The Retreat seemed a good way to test the truth of these perceptions, to identify where the blockages lie and to plot a new way forward.

The stated objectives of the Retreat were: to reconnect and engage with the Auroville vision and its manifestation; to reflect on Mother’s vision for Auroville; to introspect and reflect on the spiritual growth of individuals and the collective; to reflect on the present realities of Auroville; and to envision where Auroville wants to be on its 50th anniversary (in 2018) and in 10 years.

The original idea was to focus simply upon governance. During conversations between members of the Governing Board, the IAC and the Vision Task Force this was expanded to include five key areas of Auroville’s life: governance, land and planning, growth, education and the economy. However, when it was noticed that youth and the bioregion were under-represented in the preparation groups, these two areas were also added.

The process

The preparation of the Retreat can be divided into four main phases. For the first phase, a resource group was formed in each of five main areas listed above. Over a period of four weeks, each group met four times for three hour sessions. They formulated the key values relating to their area, examined the present reality, identified the main challenges and then came up with insights that could provide new directions towards manifesting these values.

To allow the widest participation, virtual support groups were set up by the Residents Assembly Service to allow all Auroville residents to comment and provide inputs to the resource groups.

After four sessions, each resource group had come up with around 15 to 20 insights concerning their area. To understand the interconnectedness and possible interdependencies, a half-day session was organized during which the insights of each resource group were shared with all the other area groups.

The next step was to translate these insights into goals and ‘milestones’ that are measurable and able to be completed within a specified timeframe. To achieve this, a further one day session was organized for each area. The 3-5 major goals, with their associated milestones and timelines, formulated at each of these sessions served as source material for the Retreat.

Meanwhile, the bioregion and youth groups had been working separately. Two short meetings of the bioregion group led to a day-long session during which more than 40 participants drafted a dozen insights. The youth held some preparatory meetings which led to them putting on a “Festival of Ideas” at the Youth Centre, attended by more than 200 people.

The insights of these two groups were also fed into the Retreat process so that their priorities could be included in the drafting of the final goals and milestones.

The Retreat

The drafting happened during the two day Retreat itself. The Retreat began with the chief facilitator, Aromar Revi, Director of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, laying out the purpose of the Retreat. Then the facilitators of each area presented to the plenary the conclusions of their group, along with the facilitators’ observations about the process. The youth also made a well-received presentation of their own.

Then participants were divided into small area groups (with participants from the bioregion and youth invited to join one of the other area groups, depending upon their interest). They were asked to focus on a few critical milestones and think about how they could be implemented. Afterwards, the small groups from the same area came together and agreed upon their three most important milestones, or the ones they felt were the most immediately doable.

The next day further steps were taken towards the concrete implementation of milestones. Initially, some individuals from each area group met to identify one milestone from their area to be implemented. They then framed its ‘terms of reference’. This involved examining in detail the change that was sought to be made, what was needed to achieve it (including the human resources required) and how progress towards achieving this milestone would be monitored. This simulated the post-Retreat work that would be necessary to realize each milestone.

Each area group then presented their chosen milestone with its terms of reference to the plenary. At this point, Aromar Revi noted that some of the main challenges to their implementation were the ‘elephants in the room’ that nobody wanted to talk about. He proceeded to read out, to enthusiastic applause, a list of these elephants along with their possible syntheses that had been prepared by members of the Retreat Organization Team.

After lunch, a few area groups were asked to present their milestones and answer testing questions from members of Auroville working groups to see how well they could defend their plans. Every participant in the Retreat was also invited to indicate which milestones they would be willing to work upon.

The day ended with Aromar summarising the proceedings and Dr. Karan Singh, the Chairman of the Governing Board, giving an uplifting speech. Noting that Auroville is at a crossroads and needs a major change – “it either breaks through or breaks down” – he observed that he had never seen Aurovilians in a better mood and felt there was a new energy to move forward. And he promised that once the Governing Board received the concrete proposals drafted in the Retreat, “we will do whatever it takes to see that the breakthrough occurs”.

The Retreat concluded with the beautiful haunting tones of Chandra’s flute.

Post-Retreat

After the Retreat, the organizing group made a presentation to the Governing Board. It noted some of the goals and milestones arrived at for each topic area, along with the less tangible benefits of the Retreat, and suggested a way of changing our work culture and behaviour.

Subsequently, the organizing group met with the Working Committee. The organizers stated that the group would be dissolving itself after they had completed their report as their work was finished. It was discussed that while the Governing Board and Vision Task Force would retain an overview function, the Working Committee would be the holding body and ultimately accountable for the post-Retreat work, and that task groups would be formed in each topic area to work towards the implementation of the goals and milestones identified in the Retreat. It was also noted that regular evaluations of the progress made in all topic areas would be necessary.

Insights

The Retreat was undoubtedly a major event. It involved a large part of the active community and gained wide general acceptance, a rare occurrence in this community. The many insights and ideas generated during the preparation sessions and during the Retreat itself were often creative as well as challenging, and they can be mined for many years to come (a full report of preparatory sessions and the Retreat can be accessed at ras.auroville.org.in/retreat2015). It was particularly interesting to hear from groups like the youth and those from the bioregion, for the voices of these sectors of our society are often not heard or are distorted.

The youth, for example, mentioned that the way they are perceived in the community has to change: “we are not here to complain but to work with you”. They requested apprenticeship and mentoring programmes, as well as affordable housing, to allow them to fulfil a more active role in the community, and they plan to set up an Auroville Resource Team as an intermediary between youth who want to be active and the working groups.

One of the main goals defined by the bioregion group was to include sustainable bioregional perspectives in all our development plans. They pointed out that Auroville and the villages have many things we can work on together (solid waste management, water, organic farming, women’s empowerment, health etc.). However, Auroville should not enforce its priorities but ask the villagers what they want. In this dialogue, Aurovilians from the local bioregion can play a vital role: they can be the ‘bridge’.

However, the bioregion group concluded that Auroville could only work successfully with the local villages if Auroville was united, if Aurovilians were living examples of the Dream, and if the attitude of ‘us’ and ‘them’ was abolished.

There were also important insights from other topic areas. The education group highlighted the need for an organization to promote further learning in the community, and to provide some form of external recognition for the Auroville education that seeks to awaken soul consciousness rather than prepare students for examinations. They defined one of the main education goals as “a learning society of constant progress guided by the emergence of the psychic towards oneness”.

The economy group felt we need to develop a culture that supports innovation and diversity, and that Auroville’s economy can only grow if we focus upon our core strengths – research, education, training and environment. The money-driven economy must be replaced by a service-driven economy, and the in-kind component of our present economy must expand to reduce the circulation of money in Auroville. “In ten years Auroville should develop a self-supportive economy that is karma yoga driven.”

The governance group stressed the need to “restructure the existing working groups through a dynamic Residents Assembly that reflects a more vibrant and functional organization which is aiming for change with a sincere commitment to Auroville ideals”. It recommended, among other things, the strengthening of the Residents Assembly Service, an increased involvement of youth in governance through an internship programme, encouraging the role of intuition in decision-making, and the exploration of alternatives to our present ways of meeting.

The group focussing on population growth identified the key as an increase in the ‘actively-engaged core group” of our community. To do this, the entry process needs to be simplified and support and opportunities provided for those who really want to work for the Dream, particularly the young. This will require a major shift to “a culture of appreciation, collaboration, abundance mindset and proactive action”.

The land, town planning and development group concluded that land consolidation in the city and protection of the Green Belt land use must be made a top priority, that sustainability must become an integral part of our planning, and that co-development with the bioregion on issues like health, education, and work and sports facilities is essential. Tackling the thorny question of whether the building of the city should precede or wait upon upon the developing consciousness of its inhabitants, it concluded that “The planning and development of Auroville as a city and as a society go hand-in-hand”. The group also felt that work should begin on constructing key elements of the Galaxy Plan in the next 5-10 years.

These were only some of the many milestones that emerged from the Retreat process. During the Retreat itself, many of these insights were translated into measurable milestones with specific timelines for manifestation.

The common elements in all these findings included a strong desire to base all activities upon the fundamental values of Auroville, and to find effective ways of including and empowering the young and those from the bioregion in our discussions and our work. The underlying need that emerged was to foster a society of inclusiveness, sharing and trust based upon a common aspiration to live the ideals of Auroville.

Reflections

The stated objectives of the Retreat were, of course, ambitious. However, there was a clear attempt to reconnect with the Auroville vision, to reflect on present realities, and to come up with an action plan for the near future based upon the vision, clear timelines and a reiterative learning process. The success of that plan will ultimately rest upon those few individuals willing to drive change in the key areas identified in the Retreat, as well as upon the support given them by the larger community. (The youth group that formed during the Retreat is already active and has made a further presentation of its aspirations and plans to the community.)

From an organizational point of view, the whole Retreat process was a huge challenge. The initial organizers, the Auroville Campus Initiative group, were asked, on the basis of their experience of organizing the ‘Joy of Learning’ sessions, to coordinate the work of drawing up fact-sheets for each area. The assumption was that this information would suffice for participants to come up with goals and guidelines during the Retreat itself. It rapidly became evident that this would not work, and a whole series of preliminary meetings as well as extensive research were necessary during a short time period to generate the necessary foundation for the event. Organization on this scale also necessitated an expansion of the organizing team to include, among others, members of the Residents Assembly Service, a highly-efficient logistics supremo (Margarita) and a skilled group of ‘techies’ to run the back-office. Without such a formidable and committed team, the Retreat would not have been a success. And, perhaps, may never have happened.

Another person who played a key role in the planning of the Retreat was the chief facilitator, Aromar Revi. Aromar, with his vast experience of high level negotiation at national and international levels as well as his knowledge of Auroville, gave the initial structure for the two days of the Retreat and, when changes needed to be made, proved extremely creative and flexible.

One of the challenges that the organizers never managed to solve was the relationship between the concentrated work of the area core groups and the input from the larger community. The members of the Residents Assembly Service did a magnificent job in involving the larger community but too often, when the core group’s work was opened up to a larger community process, the result was a dilution of energy, repetition of the work done or the ignoring of important insights and proposals. This was not helped by the pervasive misunderstanding of the distinction between insights, goals and milestones, which continued into the Retreat itself.

The facilitators also noted that, while there seemed a remarkable degree of harmony within the groups, this may sometimes have reflected the fact that nobody wanted to surface the ‘elephants in the room’, those subterranean blockages which, time and again, have subverted the community’s attempts to move forward. The decision to expose some of them on the second day, along with an attempt to synthesise some of the main polarities, may have been one of the major psychological turning points of the Retreat, for it offered a possible way out of our dogmatic gridlocks.

There were other hopeful signs. The considerable efforts made to value the contribution of youth – the Retreat began and ended with performances by the youth, and their tables were deliberately placed at the very centre of the hall – resulted in what seemed to be a new sense of self-confidence in them and appreciation by others of what they have to offer as they sat and conversed on equal terms with older Aurovilians.

In fact, the real value of the Retreat may be an immeasurable one. For, by bringing together individuals who do not normally work together – young and old Aurovilians, Governing Board, IAC members and Aurovilians, and Aurovilians who have not been able to sit together for many years due to personal or ‘political’ reasons – the Retreat provided a space both for healing and for something new to emerge. This new dynamic and this ‘softening’ of ancient antagonisms will continue to make its effects felt for many years.

What, more than anything else, made this breakthrough possible was a tremendous collective thirst for change, for a movement forward based upon our ideals. The Retreat, for all its shortcomings – like its overlong, dense presentations and over-reliance upon the mind – relit that flame. It also provided structures, vehicles, for its expression in the years to come. And it provided the assurance, once again, that a community that is united in its desire to live the Dream can accomplish almost anything. As one of the organizers put it, “The main accomplishment of the Retreat was the rekindling of hope in the community”.

Perhaps it was no coincidence that, during the Retreat, ‘Power of Collective Aspiration’ was happily blooming outside the Unity Pavilion…