Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988

Symbols

The world of kolams

Grace

In a recent issue of News & Notes, a twelve-week course on kolams was announced. It would help people, it said, to “find their compass, reorientate and be able to prioritise direction, regulate boundaries and thresholds within themselves and the surrounding world”.

Sri Aurobindo and the Savitri Legend

Death claims Satyavan’s soul while Savitri pleads for his return to life

Sri Aurobindo was born on 15 August, 1872. Auroville Today has often published something related to Sri Aurobindo in this, his birth month, and this year we feature an article on his epic poem, Savitri, by Richard Hartz.

The Chariot of Jagannath: Auroville in the making

The three colorful chariots that carry the idol of Jagannatha, his sister Subhadra and his brother Balabhadra, at the Ratha Yatra festival, Puri

As a child, growing up in a Hindu household in Odisha, I was always intrigued by the images of Lord Jagannath and his siblings. Like most Hindu households, an entire room was reserved for the gods, and the main icons from Hinduism’s rich pantheon of reportedly 330 million gods were prominently displayed and revered.

Vaastu Shastra, yantra and Auroville

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On January 4th, 2022, during a Dreamweaving session, there was a presentation on the concept of Vaastu Shilpa Shastra. Auroville architect Mona Doctor-Pingel introduced the concept by explaining that Vaastu Shilpa Shastra is commonly translated as the ‘Science of Building’, and is a component of the traditional, collective and evolutionary knowledge systems of India.

Dreams in times of conflict

Crystal Light

Our dreams at night can offer perspectives that our cognitive mind can’t reach. They are potential doorways to understanding different dimensions of what is going on in our lives individually and collectively.

In memoriam - Bryan Walton

Bryan Walton

Bryan Walton, one of Auroville’s early pioneers, left his body on March 8 in Wisconsin, USA at the age of 80. Bryan left the USA in the mid-sixties for India in search for a better life, and eventually came to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in June 1971.

Origins

Annadhata (Farmer) by Pradeep Kumar

Pradeep Kumar’s exhibition Origins was held recently at the Centre d’Art in Citadines. Pradeep Kumar might work with a mostly monochrome palette, but the first thing that strikes the viewer of his multidisciplinary artworks is their intense originality.

In memoriam - Paolo Tommasi

Paolo Tommasi

Paolo Tommasi passed away in JIPMER on July 16th due to the COVID-19 virus. He had just turned 92 years. Paolo was born in Ancona, Italy in 1928.

Transparent or translucent? The crystal discussions

Auroville Economics

Aren’t we an economy Of butterflies and bees? A colourful autonomy Is what fate for each decrees. Butterflies sip precious nectar And enjoy it on the spot

A withered leaf and a butterfly

The flocks of birds from the North Fly away to the tip of the South. The sky in October is hesitating to rain. At that moment, that particular moment,