Auroville has been in the making since more than 40 years and is founded in the memory of legendary freedom fighter Sri Aurobindo. The birth of Sri Aurobindo takes place in Kolkatta in the year 1872 after which he spends a significant part of his early life in UK. After coming back he is based in Vadodara where he works as a personal assistant to the Maharaja of Vadodara; whilst being a writer where he writes a series of articles to a weekly in Pune called “New Lamps for Old” expressing very revolutionary ideas. Sri Aurobindo infact is a revolutionary and ends up in jail for being so where he begins to practice Yoga and Pranayana which initiates some kind of an awakening within him.
This awakening is expressed by Sri Aurobindo via his poem Adwaita:
Adwaita
I walked on the high-wayed Seat of Solomon
Where Shankaracharya’s tiny temple stands
Facing Infinity from Time’s edge, alone
On the bare ridge ending earth’s vain romance.
Around me was a formless solitude:
All had become one strange Unnamable,
An unborn sole Reality world-nude,
Topless and fathomless, for ever still.
A Silence that was Being’s only word,
The unknown beginning and the voiceless end
Abolishing all things moment-seen or heard,
On an incommunicable summit reigned,
A lonely Calm and void unchanging Peace
On the dumb crest of Nature’s mysteries.
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo makes his way to Pondicherry in 1910 where he spends most of his time meditating and “establishing himself in awareness, which he termed ‘supramental’ and to assist everyone around him to achieve this level of awareness” (Dua, 2004). Mira Richard also known as Mother – joins him in 1914 and devotes her life to Sri Aurobindo, Auroville and of-course to enlightenment.
Founded on February 28, 1968 – The Foundation of Auroville – a township named after Sri Aurobindo is a living embodiment based on the ideals of Sri Aurobindo.
Today earthlings from all over the world gather in Auroville to reside in the awareness that Sri Aurobindo writes about in his poem Adwaita. These earthlings are known as Aurovillians where they have found a nest around the Matrimandir. The Matrimandir is a golden circular dome surrounded by twelve petals. Inside within the center is a big crystal bowl on which one ray of sunlight enters from the top of the dome that allows the Matrimandir to be lit up with natural lighting. When you enter this divine space it’s meant to be pin drop silence where all you can hear is the inner stillness of peace and serenity if the universe wills it. Its architecture is based on sacred geometry and it resonates a really intense energy (in my experience) which is radiated for a circumference of upto 5 kms around the Matrimandir.
Being the idealist that I am; discovering Auroville – is a dream come true. As a student of Global Studies – my dream is to see a world where all is one – where we are not identified by our religions, our nationality, our skin color or our wealth. Most people would argue that this dream cannot be true and is quite unrealistic. Like John Lennon’s legendary song – “Imagine” I guess I am a dreamer and am so very delighted to have found in my dream a place like Auroville.
An Initiation
So it is the end of the year of 2010 and my boyfriend Brett’s birthday is coming up and I am very keen on making a visit to Auroville as I had heard that it a place that attracts many spiritual seekers. Brett and me thus find ourselves in a car being driven to Pondicherry from Bangalore – I really would not recommend this drive to anyone as the roads happen to be really bumpy and a single lane highway with way too much traffic. This is back in 2010 so maybe it’s different now.
Pondicherry being a colony occupied by the french in the past still retains its french charisma from those colonial days where even now the streets names are french. We spend a night there and the next day we make our way to Auroville. As we register ourselves to visit the Matrimandir – the gentleman notices Brett’s date of birth on his i.d and tells us that if you happen to be in Auroville for your birthday you have the privilege to go and meditate in Sri Aurobindos private chambers. Brett is really determined to do this as he knows that it is meant to be and it makes sense why we are here now (I swear I never planned for this).
So the next day we make our way to Sri Aurobindos personal chambers and while we are waiting on the stairs outside his room for the doors to open – the healing has already begun for Brett where he begins to feel all forms of intense energies. We are then escorted to enter Sri Aurobindo’s room – where we spend about 15 mins sitting down silently and meditating. Once we get out it seems like Brett has received a direct initiation from Sri Aurobindo because he is completely knocked out – he is feeling nauseous, light headed, hot and cold at the same time and a range of other sensations. We head back to the hotel room and he starts purging and his body temperature is high, body is tense and everything is coming out.. from everywhere… Looking at him I sense that he needs some healing or a massage or something that can help transmute whatever he is going through and so I start surfing the web for healers in Auroville and I find out about about this place called “Quiet Healing Center”. I ring them and explain to them what Brett is going through and they tell me that they have a couple of healers and masseuses coming in a various times and they recommend one who is does deep tissue massage as well as sound healing with singing bowls and vocals that can help Brett. Sounds too good to be true and divinely perfect so I go ahead and book an appointment with this healer and a room for ourselves to stay there while Brett’s “processing” is being complete.
While Auroville happened to be a very powerful experience for Brett – for me I find myself basking in waves of intense electric energy where I am just soaking it all in. It is similar to an experience of receiving pranic healing or reiki but ten times stronger than any healing I have ever received in my entire life.
Locals on the beach outside Quiet Healing Center.
Bibliography:
Dua, Shyam. The Lumunous Life of Sri Aurobindo. Delhi: Tiny Tot Publications, 2004. Print.
Turiya Tatyana 