The Heartweaving experiment

Auroville Today: What is Heartweaving and where did it come from?

Deven: In 2022 the International Advisory Council (IAC) chairperson, Dena Merriam, invited Raghu Ananthanarayanan to provide a perspective on the conflict in Auroville. This proposal was also approved by the Governing Board (GB) and the Auroville Foundation Office (AVFO). Raghu called me to assist him in speaking to Aurovilians who held different perspectives, and I connected him to almost 40 individuals with whom he had one-to-one conversations. He also met with working groups from both sides of the spectrum

Raghu has decades of experience in applying yogic principles in organisational and social development. On the basis of his first-level landscape study of the conflict in Auroville, he made a presentation of his findings and some ideas about the way forward to the Governing Board, the International Advisory Council and the Auroville Foundation Office and, later, through open sessions for Auroville residents and also a wider community through online participation. [A recording of Raghu’s presentation can be viewed at bit.ly/heartweaving]

One thing he discovered and liked very much was the ‘dreamweaving’ experiment, which brought together architects in Auroville to work towards a collaborative outcome for the Crown Road. But he felt there was also a need for what he termed ‘heartweaving’, where people with different perspectives would come together and, through sustained inner work, drop their resistances so that they could work together and manifest things harmoniously.

Therefore, an open invitation was extended for people to come together for a period of one year to attend a couple of workshops and to participate in regular group practices for heartweaving. About 25 people signed up and the experiment began in early 2023.

Did the people who signed up represent different perspectives?

Yes, they included people from different sides, from what could be termed opposite ends of the spectrum, as well as some who did not really identify with either side.

What practices did Raghu introduce in the workshops?

While the term ‘heartweaving’ is new, the process he uses is something he has been working on for several decades with groups and with organisations in order to improve their functioning and collaboration. He has taken core yogic principles and synthesised them with process work and some western psychological principles, like the archetype and shadow concepts of Carl Jung. The particular framework he used with us initially was based upon the allegory of ‘Samudra Manthan’ (churning of the ocean) between the ‘Devas and Asuras’ (forces of Light and Darkness) aiming for ‘Amrita’ (the nectar of immortality). Through theatre-based practices, we physically experienced the difference between fighting a tug of war and a Samudra Manthan in which we learn to coordinate towards achieving a common goal.

Can you share a bit more about other practices?

Sure. At one point he took some stories (“Prahalada and Hiranyakashyapu”, “Robin Hood”, etc) and used certain characters to represent universal archetypes or forces, like that of the ‘judge’ who believes only he is right and you are wrong, or the ‘victim’ who overlooks his role in the conflict and blames the other. As a group, we acted out a story twice according to the given script, and then on a third enactment could improvise and have a new outcome, and that’s when we could see magical possibilities emerge. When we operate from the space of a Saakshi (a Witness attitude) then a narrow judgement can be transformed into inclusive wisdom, a victim can be transformed into a healer and so on.

At another point he took the film “12 Angry Men” which we saw together as a group. We paused in between various scenes to enact theatre-based reflective practices to get an experiential understanding of the various archetypes. Personally, what I learnt from this exercise was how some ‘loud voices’ can dominate and give colour to narratives which would neither be true nor in the best interest of the collective, and how a ‘gentle voice’ with deeper truth and inner strength can guide the collective into taking a more conscious decision. So the kind of space we are holding in heartweaving is a space for deep transformation within ourselves and with each other.

At the base of all the processes and tools Raghu shared with us are yogic principles derived from the Yogasutra and Mahabharata.

Why did Raghu use the Mahabharata story for his definition of these archetypes, rather than what has been written by Sri Aurobindo or Mother? And how well do you think it fits with their teachings?

The wisdom in the Mahabharata is timeless. It highlights the importance and nuances of living a life rooted in dharma and Sri Aurobindo has given such a wide and deep meaning of this almost untranslatable Sanskrit word. Raghu feels that the archetypal terms he is using are universal and could be applied in any context.

Also, his experience has been that sometimes in communities, people used their own ‘special’ language as a way of winning arguments and avoiding addressing their shadows. This is why during the workshops he would tell us that if we refer to words from Sri Aurobindo or The Mother, we should also explain how we have understood them and what it evokes in us, so that we can avoid using the subjective understanding of their words as an absolute dogma.

The group has been working together now for almost three years. What progress do you feel you have been making? And has it had an impact upon the larger community?

It is difficult to measure the progress, but I can certainly say that the trust and bond between the people who are practicing together has grown stronger, and we have succeeded in creating a space where differing perspectives can be expressed so that we can work upon them with a harmonious collective aspiration.

As to the impact of our work upon the larger community, we try to carry what we have learned into our life and interactions with people and groups we are involved with in Auroville, but not in any missionary sense. 

I understand why you want as a group to keep a low profile, but have you ever felt because your work is so important that you need to be more proactive, to engage with those people who are in power at present who would not join the group on their own?

This keeps happening organically. Sometimes when situations – like the current decision to convert a farm into a technology campus – arise, people bring their recommendations for actions to the group and members provide feedback and suggestions. Wherever there is resonance, people take actions either as individuals or in small groups as residents (but not with the label of a heartweaver) and then keep bringing their learnings, challenges and reflections from the action back into the heartweaving group for feedback and support.

It has been decided from the very beginning that, as an amorphous heartweaving group, we don’t take any sides, and our communication from the administrative team is limited to invitations and updates for heartweaving workshops, practice groups etc. This way we are able to hold space for learning and transformation for people having diverse perspectives in a manner that is authentic, organic and based on trust. We are very open for new members to join this experiment.

Some people feel this is not the time to be talking with those in the other camp, not the time for healing and resolution because so much damage has been done, and this can only happen if those responsible have shown remorse and apologised for their actions. How do you feel about this?

If someone feels that refusing to talk to certain people is their way, then we respect that. Equally, we support those who feel that they can engage with the people from different standpoints with an intention to understand each other better and heal the wounds of the past.

Personally, I am deeply influenced by historical stories of radical transformation in the lives of Angulimala and Ratnakar when they met the Buddha and Narada respectively. In both, there was such a deep transformation from them cruelly killing people and robbing them to becoming an arahant serving people with compassion, or becoming the sage Valimiki who gave us the epic Ramayana. I believe that no matter what kind of forces are using a person, the potential for transformation is there in everyone. The question is, how do we create the right conditions for such kinds of healing and transformation?

Even in situations when one feels absolutely sure that one is on the side of dharma and eliminating the other who is on the side of adharma is the only answer, what are the qualities of the one who fights for dharma? In the Mahabharata, when all possible ways of peaceful resolution were extinguished and a war was the only option, through the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna tells Arjuna to fight from a certain inner poise of being, a sthitaprajnya (rooted in steadfast wisdom) which requires a great deal of chitta-shuddi (inner purification).

Do we need to repeat the mistakes of the past that lead to more violence and destruction? How committed are we to our own inner-transformation instead of pointing fingers at others? How sure are we that we are on the side of dharma when we think the other is on the side of adharma?

In my experience, the heartweaving framework, experiential tools and reflective practices offered by Raghu have helped us to see more clearly that we are all a play of the larger forces. They help us to recognise which forces or archetypes, in the given moment, are playing through us. They help us transform the fighting instincts and surmount our weaknesses and ignorance, so we can be closer to being the “willing servitors of the Divine Consciousness”, which is at the core of Auroville’s Charter and our purpose for living here in this emerging “city at the service of Truth”.

How have the IAC and the Foundation authorities responded to your work?

Last year in February, when we had a meeting scheduled with Dena Merriam, we were wondering what to say. We felt we had put so much effort into our work but the larger conflict was still going on, so what had we achieved? But when we shared with her what we were doing, she was very happy and said: don’t worry, the fact that so many of you continue to dialogue with each other despite your differences is a great achievement, and it will have its ripple effect. Around 20 of us also met Dr Jayanti Ravi to share updates and reflections. She appreciated our work and was supportive of what we were doing.

The Foundation supported Raghu coming in and was paying his travel and accommodation expenses. This makes some people feel that he may be biased toward the Foundation in his approach to the conflict.

Initially there was quite a strong feeling about this, and many people told me not to get involved as his findings would be biased or get misused. I went with the inner guidance I was receiving through my concentration in the Matrimandir and took a leap of faith because I felt we really needed a space where people from different viewpoints could listen to each other, and I believed it was worth trying it out with Raghu. Since then, our confidence in Raghu and gratitude for his offerings has kept growing, and even some of those who initially doubted him and were also quite vocal about it started to appreciate how his work has helped us.

Last year Raghu said that he had shared the basic training and tools with us and would now only intervene when we called him. We have only called him twice since to give workshops. The rest of the work continues through weekly or monthly practice sessions because the heartweaving participants are finding value in it, and we are able to hold space amongst ourselves. From the beginning of heartweaving in 2023, Naveen, who had worked with Raghu for many years, took the overall responsibility of facilitating the practice groups and later Sudha, Rajeev, Shivaya, Suzie and many others started contributing in either co-organising or co-facilitating the workshops and practice groups at different times.

In addition to heartweaving, I’m also involved in several other groups and processes that support healing and transformation in Auroville.

Are you optimistic that in the conceivable future there will be a solution to the conflict in Auroville?

Personally, I feel like the little squirrel who put a small grain of sand as its contribution to building a bridge from India to Lanka, or the little parrot from Jataka tales flying back and forth between the nearby river and the burning forest, wetting its feathers and then shaking them over the flames to release tiny droplets of water. Eventually, Rama Setu bridge did get built and the forest fire did get extinguished, and it all happened due to a sincere aspiration that was answered by the Divine Grace.

I am absolutely optimistic about the future of Auroville because Mother has said it is the Divine’s project and it will manifest, in spite of us! How much of it happens in our lifetime, who knows? This is dependent upon how well the instruments here allow the Divine Grace to work through them, so we cannot put a timeline on it. We can just do our bit with sincerity and truthfulness.

What has been your biggest learning from participating in the heartweaving process?

I think for me the biggest learning is becoming more aware of how these different archetypal forces flow through me, of the need to dissolve my own biases and judgements, to keep uncovering within myself one layer after another, and to realise that all of us are a work in progress, souls in evolution.

While I still hear some people in Auroville say that there is no point in talking to those who have a “contrary perspective”, when I see in heartweaving that people holding diverse perspectives and sometimes even opposite standpoints are able to see each other beyond their differences, I understand that transformation is a possibility; and that, despite holding opposite views, there is a meeting point in the psychic.

This realisation and experience have been very inspiring.