Building a ‘New Earth’

Every so often a story comes along that captures the spirit of Auroville in a unique way, bringing to light aspects of its deeper purpose of transforming the world we live in to create a spiritualized life on our planet. ‘New Earth’ is one such story, captured in a colourful coffee table book with hundreds of vivid flower mandala images accompanied by a few short texts. Conceived and photographed by Avigal Lemberger, the book is intended as a meditative opening to the language and significance of flowers and mandalas.

The New Earth story started on October 13, 1972 when Auroculture brought an all- flower compost to The Mother who “put her lovely hands on it and meditated on it.” This original batch has been constantly added to, and taken from, in a homeopathic manner, so that a direct link back to Mother’s first touch and concentration remains. Before her passing, Auroculture designated Avigal to follow in her footsteps with the work of creating this ‘New Earth’.

The gathering of fallen flowers for composting has continued since on a daily basis. In addition to collecting from the Matrimandir’s garden, every Sunday at 4am the team heads early to the Samadhi in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram to pick up those flowers which will not be reused or given as prasad (blessing) and bring them back to Auroville.

The harvested flowers offer a last flourish of their beauty and vibrations in daily and uniquely created mandalas before they become part of the alchemical New Earth. It is these fleeting images which are so vibrantly captured in this book. Sometimes the colours and shapes that are chosen later reveal deeper meanings and synchronicities, one example being the Indian national colours of orange, green and white emerging in one mandala only for the creators to later realize it was Indian Republic day.

Mother attributed a profound spiritual significance to flowers and named plants to indicate the inner attributes they bring. In response to a question of whether flowers kept their force after decaying Mother replied:

“Perhaps it brings energy to the soil, that’s quite possible; but still, when it decays it is good only to make manure to grow other flowers. But if it dries up, it is preserved, it can remain for quite a long time”.

CWM Vol 6., p 231.

Auroculture was convinced that the vibrational work with flowers had a power to affect not just Auroville but also the world. She wrote, “Through observations it has been seen that the manifestation of a higher consciousness in matter through plants is not only a possibility but a reality. Mother has given to us a whole book full of vibrations She has identified while meditating with flowers. She has very much used flowers for Her Divine Work and also to change circumstances and happening.

“In the many years of collecting tons of flowers and making earth out of them, it has been regularly observed that wherever these flowers were used new things manifested and there was a change in the environment... Transformation flowers would change things and with Prosperity flowers abundance resulted... Plants that have been planted in this substance made from flowers and treated in a special way transfer their energy change of structure or consciousness to other plants of the same species... This work is very fascinating and if done more extensively will one day lead us to many still undreamed of possibilities.”

Auroville has a history and ethos of working with nature to transform eroded land back to forest. This vibrational flower mandala offering, and the composting of those flowers, combined with the blessing that came through Mother’s hands onto the soil, is a special addition to the Auroville story of working deeply with nature to transform the very earth we live and walk on.

For more information: newearth.org.in