Chairman of the Governing Board

Societies are very complex organisms. Authorities in totalitarian societies attempt to diminish the complexity – which they see as a threat to asserting their will – by rigidly controlling the population through indoctrination and various instruments of coercion.

Letter from three members of the Auroville International Advisory Council to the Chairman, Auroville Foundation, regarding Annapurna Farm & and the Memorandum of Understanding with the IIT Madras.

To: Shri R.N. Ravi, Chairman, Governing Board, Auroville Foundation. Subject: The MoU with IIT Madras & Land Use Concerns Dear Shri R.N. Ravi ji,

On 14 August Dr. Karan Singh, who has been Chairman of the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation for more than 20 years, briefly visited Auroville.

It all started in September 1998. Jean-François and I were at home when a group of teenagers, familiar faces from the Auroville schools, walked in with a quiet determination.

On 20 March, the Ministry of Education, responding to two Right to Information requests dated 25 and 26 February, sent the applicant a copy of the Minutes of the 68th Meeting of the Governing Board (GB) of the Auroville Foundation held on 5 December 2024, which have since been widely distributed in Auroville.

“In this as in all great human aspirations and endeavours, an a priori declaration of impossibility is a sign of ignorance and weakness. For by the doing the difficulty will be solved.”

The Government of India has still not appointed a new Secretary nor a new Acting Secretary to replace former Secretary Dr Jayanti Ravi, whose term of office ended in July 2024.

On 29th February, Svaram inaugurated its new Sound Garden at the allocated 2-acre site for its projected campus in the Industrial Zone of Auroville, in the presence of Special Guests of Honour, Thiru R.N.

Dr. M.S Swaminathan, distinguished agricultural scientist and the leader of India’s Green Revolution, passed away on Thursday 28 September, at the age of 98.

Recently, our Chairman is reported to have asked whether Auroville was not meant to take sanatana dharma to a higher level and create gnostic beings.

Gabi Gillessen qualified as a yoga teacher in 1997, and is Chairperson and Senior Tutor of the Irish Yoga Association, running teacher training programmes.

The Chairman of the Governing Board and Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri R.N Ravi, accompanied by three members of the Governing Board, Smt.

The Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu and Chairman of the Governing Board, Shri R N Ravi, visited Auroville on 18th and 19th of October, 2022. He was welcomed by the Collector, Mr.

After completing his higher studies at Delhi University, Dr. Jai Singh joined Auroville in 1992. His wife and children joined a year later. Jai has been a member of the Auroville Council, and has also worked at SEWA, Village Action and New Creation School.

On November 23rd, the term of office of Dr Karan Singh and the other members of the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation came to an end.

Dear Aurovilians, I was particularly happy to read the cover article by Guy Ryckaert in the February edition of Auroville Today in which he has stressed the fact that the Mother looked upon Auroville as the spiritual workshop for the development of overmenhood.

Members of the Governing Board visited Auroville on 23rd – 25th January to attend their 55th meeting. In an open session with the residents on Thursday, 23rd, the Chairman, Dr Karan Singh, admitted that the Board could have acted differently in relationship to accusations they had received concerning certain Aurovilians [see Auroville Today # 366, January, 2020].

On September 8th, 2019, Dr. Karan Singh, the Chairman of the Auroville Foundation, inaugurated the Mahalakshmi home for elderly Auroville residents.

The Journey of Auroville is a project under the special grants from the Government of India for Auroville’s 50th anniversary. Officially started with the Auroville Expo in Delhi, which took place in November 2017 and comprised an exhibition and two conferences at the Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts and the UNESCO Office, this 50th anniversary commemorative project has evolved into a festival format to reflect the many facets of Auroville’s vision and realities over the past fifty years.

During the community interaction with the Governing Board members on September 8th, Dr. Kiran Bedi, the Lt Governor of Pondicherry, lauded Dr.

On February 26, Dr. Karan Singh, the Chairman of the Auroville Foundation, inaugurated the Auroville Archives. The building houses a treasure trove of Auroville data.

On February 28th 2018, Auroville will celebrate the anniversary of its 50th year. The occasion presents an unprecedented opportunity to honour the birth and vision of Auroville, to increase the recognition of its relevance for India and the world, to attract people of all ages from India and abroad to visit Auroville and participate in the events, and to document and share its journey of 50 years.

Kailash, a youth community in the centre of Auroville which houses 14 teenagers between 16 and 21, celebrated 15 years of existence in September last year.

Dr. Karan Singh has been reappointed as Chairman of the Auroville Foundation for a period of 4 years by the Minister of HRD by notification dt.

On September 8th, the Auroville community, in a public gathering at the Unity Pavilion, bade farewell to the members of the Governing Board whose term of office ends on October 28th.

Alain Bernard first came to Auroville in 1972. Since then, he has been involved in many key areas, including the economy, education, the Press and, most recently, Village Action and the Sustainable Livelihood Institute.

During the recent visit of the Governing Board, its Chairman, Dr. Karan Singh inaugurated the Educational and Research Network of Auroville, which connects us to the National Knowledge Network of India [see Auroville Today No.313-14].

With the demise of Dr. Kireet Joshi on 14 September 2014, the Aurobindonian firmament has lost one of its brightest stars. Born on 10 August 1931, he studied philosophy and law at the Elphinstone College under the University of Bombay.