Auroville

Yesterday we visited Auroville which is a commune of sorts that started in 1968 & has been growing ever since. Residents are called Aurovilians & renounce all religion & material goals in favour of working for the good of the community & towards spiritual enlightenment through meditation.

About 1700 people currently live in Auroville from 30 odd different countries. The town has grown from a tiny patch of barren land to a huge community which is aiming to be self-sufficient & powered by renewable energy sources. The industries include organic farming, woodworking, metalworking, jewellery making & baking. The town has created 5000 jobs for local Tamils from the surrounding villages.

Paul was initially a bit cynical about visiting but it's impossible not to be impressed by what's been achieved here & we both found it fascinating. We had no idea that something like this was possible on such a large scale.

The photos are of Matrimandir which is the meditation complex right at the centre of Auroville. The giant golden golf ball has a white marble chamber in its centre & 12 red 'petals' or meditation rooms surrounding it. Unfortunately as they were busy working on the exterior we weren't allowed inside. The white structure is an urn shaped like a lotus bud where the founders placed some soil from their homelands at the inauguration in 1968. This area is surrounded by 15 gardens with flowers representing different emotional states. Not sure which emotion the garden we photographed represented but it was pretty serene.

It was an amazing place to visit & I'd love to come back here for a longer stay but South East Asia beckons. First stop Singapore...