Issue Nº303

While we project Auroville as an international township dedicated to human unity, in fact we do not know much about each other’s lives and aspirations.

“I love Auroville because it’s my home. I love Auroville because of the freedom I have, because of the beautiful nature I am surrounded with every day, because of all the cultures and variety of people I am constantly exposed to, because of the wonderful school I go to, and all my amazing friends I have met here.

“I hear that you’re leaving Auroville.” The words stung more than I thought they would. Even after years of developing a thick skin and learning to shrug off Auroville gossip, somehow this statement still pinched.

Why am I in Auroville? I choose to stay here because I am inspired by Auroville – by its dream and ideals, by its people and their stories, by its beauty and unending possibilities.

In Auroville as a toddler and then raised there from the age of 8, I left Auroville in 1993 at 18 to pursue university studies in America. Although I worked part-time through my education, I still finished my degree with close to $20,000 in government-funded student loans.

I was born in Auroville, but at the age of 14 I chose to go study at the Kodaikanal International School. I had always wanted to get out. I was always told that Auroville is a special place, and my parents were both here for that reason; but when you grow up it is not so evident why Auroville is special.

My name is Manjula, I was adopted at a young age by Sanjeev and Miriam, who have lived in Auroville for a long time. The Auroville experiment on human unity in diversity started right at home.

In 2009, the World Bamboo Congress in Thailand declared the 18th of September to be World Bamboo Day (WBD). This day is intended to raise awareness of bamboo, one of the best renewable resources, as one possibility for meeting the growing needs of our global population.

Art Break Day is a community art event which occurs in locations around the world on the first Friday in September, including 29 sites this year in Mexico, the Netherlands and the US.

On August 15th, the new Auroville website was launched. It was the result of almost two and a half years of work. Manoj, who leads the technical team, first became involved with the Auroville website in 1998.

Transforming Lives, an introduction to Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga, is a compilation of articles by Larry Seidlitz that have appeared in the journal Collaboration over the last ten years.