Divisiveness

The Working Committee selected by the Residents’ Assembly (RA-WCom) has vacated its temporary office in Kailash, an educational youth residency under SAIIER, after the Funds and Assets Management Committee constituted by the Governing Board (GB-FAMC) instructed the Kailash caretakers and residents to hand over the building to the Housing Service by the end of May. [see article on page ….]

“In absolute silence sleeps an absolute power” — Sri Aurobindo, Savitri Sometimes I feel I am drowning in words. And not only mine. For it seems that every day someone in Auroville is bombarding us with words, telling us what to think, to do this and not to do that, to listen to them and not to others.

One thing is evident at present: there is a complete breakdown in communication between those who favour the present developments and those who, for various reasons and to varying degrees, oppose it.

It is no secret that there are divisions within the community at present.

Today, more than ever, we need to trust that that Force is active here, and that we can contact it. For it means that what is happening now has a purpose, and those who are here now are meant to be here; that for the moment we are the perfect ingredients for something that needs to be worked out through the ‘pressure of consciousness’ which is exerted upon all of us.

It is hard to believe that anybody is happy with the present situation in Auroville. We seem to be trapped in a situation in which action inevitably leads to escalating reaction, to the serious detriment of our work, our health and social fabric, as well as to Auroville’s image in the larger world.

It is always foolhardy to offer conclusions when the dust has yet to settle during a major turmoil or, when, indeed, controversy is still roiling the community.

Recent disagreements in the community about the status and form of the Galaxy plan made me wonder about our belief systems in general. What do we believe in, and why?

This is really two books in one. The first book is an introduction to Auroville, the vision, the history and its inhabitants. The second book is a passionate advocacy of the need to build the city as soon as possible according to the original Galaxy plan.

There are two possibilities. The first is a step-by-step procedure based on the need of the day. This more or less corresponds to how we tackle the problem at present, problems are solved as they come up.

One name keeps coming back over the years, in connection with the Galaxy: Roger Anger, the well-known French architect. Soon after leaving the Beaux Arts, he constructed some buildings which were architecturally remarkable and which immediately associated him with the avant-garde.