Transparent or translucent? The crystal discussions

On two days in early February, in a private house in Arati community, Friend of Auroville Michael Bonke showed invited guests a number of different prototype globes of various diameters: a polished globe made from natural rock crystal; a polished globe made from glass; three sandblasted glass globes; and two sandblasted Plexiglass globes. He also showed different models of the square with the four symbols of Sri Aurobindo to support the globe, carved in a golden-orange coloured stone.

Michael has been closely involved with the building of the Matrimandir over the years and is concerned that the building exactly reflects The Mother’s wishes. Projecting a ray of light on the globes from above and lighting them from below, he explained that these prototype globes had been made to better understand a conversation of The Mother, as recorded by Satprem in Mother’s Agenda, of January 10, 1970.

In this conversation, describing the Inner Chamber of the Matrimandir, She had repeatedly said that the globe for the Matrimandir would be translucent. “And a globe not transparent but translucent. Then, at the bottom [of the globe] a light will be projected upward and will enter the globe diffusely. And from outside, rays of light will fall unto the centre. … one day, I saw it like that, as I see you.”

This conversation follows a few earlier conversations with Satprem in which She described the Chamber. On January 3 that year, She had spoken of “a globe possibly made of a transparent substance, with or without a light inside, but the sun will have to strike this globe …sunlight must get in as a beam, not diffused.” She adds, “And the important thing is the play of the sun in the centre. Because it becomes a symbol – the symbol of the future realization.” In the same conversation she explained how the globe should be placed: “In the middle, on the floor, my symbol; at the centre of my symbol we will put, in four parts, (like a square), four symbols of Sri Aurobindo, upright, supporting a transparent globe. That has been seen.”

As The Mother had also talked about the possibility that the four symbols of Sri Aurobindo could be made out of stone, Michael also studied that.

The presentation drew different responses, mainly focused on the globes. Some invitees liked their translucency. They felt that the transparent globe which is now situated in the Inner Chamber of the Matrimandir is ‘cold’ with the light passing through it, while the translucent globes, lighted from above and from below, were ‘radiating sources of light, changing with the play of the descending ray’. They also expressed their unhappiness that they could see in the transparent globe people sitting opposite upside down.

Others objected. They experienced the translucent globes as ‘light bulbs’. They also observed that such globes would not allow the ray of light from the heliostat on top of the Matrimandir to pass through and touch the lotus pond underneath. Moreover, would a translucent globe allow for ‘the play of the sun on the centre’ ? This play is very visible now; and whenever a cloud passes the sun, the transparent globe turns at times translucent.

One of those who object is Piero Cicionesi, who was entrusted with the manifestation of the Inner Chamber. Pointing out that The Mother’s views on the Matrimandir were continuously evolving, as is shown in The Agenda conversations, he is convinced that the choice made for the transparent globe was fully correct and is in accordance with The Mother’s wishes. He explains:

“From the beginning of 1970 the Mother entrusted the architecture of the Matrimandir to Roger Anger. In a clarifying note, written in 1977, Roger gave many details of the process followed by him for the design, from the five different summary concepts he presented to the Mother at the end of March 1970, to the chosen concept in the spherical form as the Matrimandir was built. I helped from the middle of 1971 in defining and complementing all the drawings that were to be presented to the engineers in Madras, then followed the calculations made by them and proceeded by making the complicated working drawings to be used during the construction of the RCC structure.

“At the end of January 1970, I was allowed to read the conversations between The Mother and Satprem on the Matrimandir in the typewritten version that Satprem had prepared. But unfortunately, I was not permitted to make a photocopy. These texts only re-emerged at the end of 1973, and I then showed them to Roger who immediately distributed copies because they provided necessary explanations and complemented the sketch drawing that The Mother’s disciple Udar had made at The Mother’s instructions.

“Satprem’s role in this design process was limited to being a temporary intermediary between the Mother, Italian architect Paolo (whose role with Mother actually ended at that time) and Roger. He had only four conversations with The Mother on the topic of the Matrimandir, all within an 18-day period (from 31.12.69 to 17.1.70). But the design process lasted three years. Roger consulted the Mother many times after January 17, 1970, submitting models and drawings. Additions and changes continued to be made and approved by Her.

“All evidence points to the fact that the Mother, from the very beginning, wanted the ray of light to pass through the symbols down to the earth underneath the Matrimandir, the ray itself becoming like the supporting axis of Matrimandir. It is a beautiful symbol inspired by Her and cannot be ignored.

“In 1977, Roger had written, in the personal note mentioned above: ‘I had suggested to The Mother that the centre of the hall be left open under the symbol of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo so that the descending supramental force which would illuminate the ball, would also symbolically touch with its light the sheet of water situated at the level of the ground … The Mother has given me the same day her full consent for the totality of the plans, after having received all the necessary explanations and the detailed information that She had asked from me.’

“The first drawings of Roger, made in 1971, were showing all the symbols to be transparent (to be made out of materials such as plexiglas), centrally situated on a three meter wide opening at the floor of the Chamber. I later reduced that to 35 centimetres, and then once again to only 5 centimetres, enough to let through a limited part (about one third) of the ray that had passed through the globe, to be focused to the pond underneath the Matrimandir. The rest of the ray gives light in the Chamber. The idea to lighten the globe with artificial light from below was never further considered by Roger or by me, because there was no need.

“In the 1980s, Roger defined which persons would be responsible for the different part of the work, such as the outer and inner skin, the ramps, the discs, the petals and the gardens. I was entrusted with all the work related to the Inner Chamber. Roger asked me to fulfil two conditions: a) I would show him and get his approval of my preliminary drawings and models, which would include the symbols of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, the transparent globe and the ray continuing below the floor. b) He would entrust the inner chamber only to me (no interferences). I was glad to accept and fulfill these conditions.

“When the question came up how to make the globe we considered all possibilities: hollow or solid, in glass or in plastic. It became apparent that a transparent globe was the best and only choice that had the requisite quality for allowing the ray of light to pass through. After a long search with many top companies specialising in crystal glass it became obvious that only two German firms would be able to jointly make the globe. The firm of Schott in Mainz had the capacity to cast the globe to perfection, without any thread or ribbon-like inclusions or air bubbles. The firm of Zeiss in Germany would then polish the cast to a fully transparent globe of exactly 70 centimetres diameter, as had been approved by The Mother.

“In 1983-84, a study was done by Zeiss to assess the thermal impact of the sun beam from the heliostat on the globe. In June 1985, after visiting Zeiss, the decision was taken to go for a transparent optical globe. Auroville International then started the fundraising campaign and many people made donations. In August that year, Auroville International placed the order. The globe was delivered in June, 1988. But as the Inner Chamber was not ready, it remained in storage at Zeiss till April 1991, when it arrived in Auroville. On August 15, the Chamber was opened for concentration.” [see also AV Today #31, August 1991]. After a few days, on August 22, the globe was installed on a prototype stand with the four Sri Aurobindo symbols. In view of the weight of the globe of around 450 kilograms, it was later decided to make the stand in gold-plated stainless steel as stone would not have been able to carry the weight.

“Ever since, the Crystal Globe has been an object for concentration for thousands of people. Roger Anger, who passed away on January 15, 2008, never raised any objection to the transparency of the globe, nor ever mentioned to me that he wished it to be replaced by a translucent one.”

One of those who visited Zeiss in 1985 was the late Ruud Lohman. In his collected essays on the Matrimandir, published in the book A House for the Third Millennium, he gives his views on the meaning of the Matrimandir and of the globe. He compares the structure of the Matrimandir with its central rings at various levels to the chakras, the centres of consciousness in the subtle body. Then, introducing a text of Sri Aurobindo, The Seven Suns of the Supermind, where a description is given how each of the chakras is illuminated by a descending ray of supramental truth, he explains why the descent of the light cannot stop at the globe, the symbol of the heart chakra. “The descent does not stop at the heart-lotus, with the psychic. It is a basic fact that the highest touches the lowest, from the Sun to the mud of the Inconscient. In fact, this touch-down might well seem to be the most important, for without the mud beneath glowing up, the world would never change… the Supramental Light has to penetrate the very soil and a seed has to be sown.”

Commenting on The Mother’s statement that the play of the sun on the centre is the symbol of the future realization he writes, “An interplay takes place between two elements, an inter-penetration … a single ray of sunlight descending sword-like straight down, deep, deep into it, illuminating it from above, from within, from below. Not an un-illumined particle. Total transparency, absolute purity, thorough transmission. …

“One might wonder – and many do – why we don’t put a natural crystal in the centre, in the light of the Ray. Natural crystal is alive, it breathes, it communicates, it has a degree of consciousness. … Although natural crystal seems obvious and more symbolic, everything is pointing in the direction of man-made crystal. One begins to see why. Matrimandir as the highest aspiration of humanity to the light is the very thirst of Matter for the Light of the Lord. In simple lines, in an extreme soberness of symbols (no altar, no music, no pictures, no incense, no flowers) it expresses this openness to the light. At its very core, in its exact centre, it offers up a species of matter, man-made matter, which more than any other material is transparent to the light, receptive, ‘surrendered.’ Light passes through, if not fully, then as close to one hundred percent as any matter can reach. In this manner it is the perfect material to represent the hearts and souls and bodies of each one of us, the deepest aspiration of humankind and the earth to the Divine. This is Nature at her highest, purest; this is the Earth-Mother totally surrendered, totally transparent. … The sun is a symbol, one of the most powerful of symbols, representing life from on high, the heavens, the realms of the Divine. It is the Lord smiling down on us, giving life, giving health, giving joy. … Matrimandir in its simple symbol shows His Presence as a continuous outpouring of Light, and it only depends on our individual and collective receptivity how much of Him we can absorb. … To become the pure crystal without even one bubble of ego, and simultaneously, be, feel, live the Ray.”

The discussions in Auroville have started. Some say that the important thing is not what the crystal looks like, but that the Matrimandir, as has been stated by The Mother, should not become a religion, and that Her words on the Matrimandir should not be religiously interpreted. Others state that the crystal has been charged since it has been installed and should never be replaced. Then there are those who quote The Mother’s saying that the Matrimandir is under direct guidance of the Divine: would the Divine have allowed a transparent crystal to be installed if a translucent one had been intended?

Michael believes that it would be possible for the ray of light to pass through the translucent globe, which would answer one of the objections. In order to conclude his explorations, he has ordered two globes of 70 centimetre diameter to be made, one of natural quartz crystal, the other one of glass which will be sandblasted. These globes are expected to arrive in Auroville around August this year. The executives of the Matrimandir, aware that even the research into the creation of a different type of globe for the Inner Chamber is a sensitive subject, have decided that the next step will be to put up a demonstration of these two globes for all the community to see, in a space close to the Matrimandir, possibly in one of the petal meditation rooms, but not in the Inner Chamber.