Human unity

Some would argue that healing is not possible without a change in the policies of the present administration which, they feel, is demolishing, brick by brick, what has been created over many years, and everything which they believe Auroville stands for.

Auroville Connect, a WhatsApp platform “dedicated to connecting people in and around Auroville who care deeply about the Dream, the Charter, and the future of this unique city and its experiment in human unity,” has now published an e-newsletter.

Michael Sandel, the Harvard professor, believes that many of us now live in a ‘market society’ where market values have supplanted other forms of human value like fairness and justice.

A year ago, architect David Nightingale talked about how Spiral Dynamics could provide one way of understanding the present situation in Auroville.

On Saturday, 1 March, the community was invited to come to Cinema Paradiso to hear community members telling short stories; transformative memories of the past or hopeful dreams about the future of Auroville.

In light of an interview published in Auroville Today’s October issue that presented a perspective on Auroville’s current governance situation, we feel it necessary to offer a different view that more accurately reflects the experiences and concerns of many in our community.

After nearly three decades of engaging with Auroville (along with over 100 other ‘sustainable communities’ around the world), a twice-aborted Newcomer process (first due to Covid and then to pursue my ‘dream job’ as Director of Education at the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland), and having just spent of 2.5 months there, I would like to share a few radical questions about the future of Auroville for your consideration.

The 29th February, 2024 will be the 17th ‘Golden Day’. The first one was celebrated on 29th February, 1960. An English visitor, Dick Batstone, described how the dominant colour in the Ashram compound that day was gold: Mother was dressed in gold, she stood on a gold silk cloth, her balcony was hung with golden embroidered satin, and even the flowers in the courtyard were gold.

Few are those from whom the Grace withdraws, but many are those who withdraw from the Grace. Sri Aurobindo

In honour of the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo, the Science and Spirituality conference took place in the Unity Pavilion between 13-15th February.

After touring Pablo Picasso’s museum in Barcelona, we could not resist buying a print of his masterly sketch of Don Quixote and his companion Sancho Panza, the characters from Miquel de Cervantes’ novel about the adventures of Don Quixote.

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown have brought large scale unemployment, poverty and hunger to the rural villages and urban slums of India.

Auroville recently hosted its sixth film festival, which included a heady mix of local and international films. Over five nights, the Town Hall area was abuzz with indoor and outdoor screenings, food stalls and live music, as people imbibed the opportunity to soak up films and to participate in film-related discussions.

Debashish Banerji is Haridas Chaudhuri Professor of Indian Philosophy and Culture and Doshi Professor of Asian Art at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS).

My name is QurratulAin Contractor and I am 27 years old. I come from Mumbai and have been living and working in Auroville since April, 2016.

When Antoine put together a group of female singers in Auroville and began rehearsing two years ago, his initial goal was to “share beauty and emotion” through music.

Understanding Auroville with the mind is like grasping a handful of ash that wafts away in the breeze. You say something about it, then realize that the opposite also is true.

In 2018, Auroville’s population crossed 3,000, growing by 8.2% over last year. But what might be more interesting from the perspective of human unity is the diversity of its residents – Aurovilians and Newcomers now come from 58 countries.

Looking at some of the old issues of Auroville Today, it’s fascinating to see how some of the articles could have been written just last week.

Dave Storey is an Aurovilian with a background in humanitarian and development aid. Recently, he announced that he was planning to run a course with Auroville Consulting on the theme of ‘Towards Resilience in a Messy World’.

Recently, discrimination has been a hot topic in Auroville. It was brought to the forefront by two Tamil members of the Working Committee who felt they had been ‘discriminated’ against by not being allowed to meet the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on his recent visit.

On the initiative of the Auroville units Restorative Auroville, Prisma, Auroville Village Action and Aikyam School, Auroville hosted a Walk of Hope for Peace and Human Unity to spread the message of oneness, inclusion and respect among Aurovilians and the village communities around Auroville on January 28th and 29th.

As a prelude to next year’s Golden Jubilee, a series of events took place in the nation’s capital in November to create awareness of what Auroville is, has achieved and aims to become.

The causes of the Brexit vote in the U.K. have been analysed exhaustively and exhaustingly. Most commentators agree that the immediate reasons included fear of mass immigration, loss of sovereignty, and a protest vote against a political establishment which was perceived to have abandoned the less well-off.

One of the strongest messages to emerge out of the Retreat discussions was the need to re-examine our present organizational structure, to make it more reflective of our core values and ideals and to strengthen the role of the Residents’ Assembly.

In October, the fourth Auroville Film festival took place. “The aim of the Auroville Film Festival,” says the Festival brochure, “is to connect with people and cultures within and beyond Auroville and to further the aspiration of human unity by showcasing films that develop the theme of human unity.”

Many visitors to Auroville have heard the ‘Russian Singing Bells’, a set of differently sized brass plates of rectangular shape, which are hit with several kinds of mallets.

Introducing photographer Sven Ulsa

Danaan Parry helped organize the recent American-Soviet-Indian exchange In Auroville. At one time he was a nuclear physicist, working for the U.S.