THE VISION AND THE SOUL Earth needs a place where men can live away from all national rivalries, social conventions, self-contradictory moralities and contending religions; a place where human beings, freed from all slavery to the past, can devote themselves wholly to the discovery and practice of the Divine Consciousness that is seeking to manifest. Auroville wants to be this place and offers itself to all who aspire to live the Truth of tomorrow. 20.9.1969 * Auroville: At last a place where one will be able to think only of the future. At last a place where one will be able to think only of progressing and transcending onese

AUROVILLE CHARTER 1)Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness. 2)Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages. 3)Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations. 4)Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity. 28.2.1968* * Greetings from Aurov

Synthesis of Cultures ... the unity of the human race can be achieved neither through uniformity nor through domination and subjection. A synthetic organisation of all nations, each one occupying its own place in accordance with its own genius and the role it has to play in the whole, can alone effect a comprehensive and progressive unification, which may have some chance of enduring. And if the synthesis is to be a living thing, the grouping should be done around a central idea as high and wide as possible, and in which all tendencies, even the most contradictory, would find their respective places. That idea is to give man the conditions of life necessary for preparing

Relation with Villagers Those who are in contact with the villagers should not forget that these people are worth as much as they are, that they know as much, that they think and feel as well as they do. They should therefore never have an attitude of ridiculous superiority. They are at home and you are the visitors. + 1969 * To the inhabitants of Aspiration: A relationship that is not only cordial but friendly with the inhabitants of the neighbouring village is absolutely indispensable. For the realisation of Auroville the first step is to establish a true human fraternity—any shortcoming in this regard is a grave mistake whic

SOME FUNDAMENTALS Auroville and Religions We want the Truth. For most men, it is what they want that they label truth. The Aurovilians must want the Truth whatever it may be. Auroville is for those who want to live a life essentially divine but who renounce all religions whether they be ancient, modern, new or future. It is only in experience that there can be knowledge of the Truth. No one ought to speak of the Divine unless he has had experience of the Divine. Get experience of the Divine, then alone will you have the right to speak of it. The objective study of religions will be a part of the historical study of t

THE MOTHER ON First Edition 1977, Reprinted 1993, 1999 © Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry, India. Published by Madanlal Himatsingka on behalf of Vak Trust, Pondicherry - 605002 Filmset and printed at All India Press, Pondicherry - 605001 This is a collection of messages, talks and answers from The Mother which relate to Auroville. It is not exhaustive but fairly complete. With the exception of three passages in the second chapter (A Dream, The Ideal Town, Synthesis of Cultures) all the items included here refer specifically to Auroville. An asterisk* following the dat

THE MOTHER ON   AUROVILLE   Content   Pre-Content   Post-Content     The Vision and The Soul The Soul: The Matrimandir   Conception and Birth A Dream; The Ideal Town; Synthesis of cultures; Divine Initiation; New Consciousness; Auroville Symbol; Auroville Charter.   To Be A True Aurovilian Conditions for Living in Auroville   Some Fundamentals Auroville and Religions; Unity, Harmony, Collaboration; Work and Discipline; Truth and Falsehood; Money; Cleanliness;

CONCEPTION AND BIRTH A Dream There should be somewhere upon earth a place that no nation could claim as its sole property, a place where all human beings of good will, sincere in their aspiration, could live freely as citizens of the world, obeying one single authority, that of the supreme Truth; a place of peace, concord, harmony, where all the fighting instincts of man would be used exclusively to conquer the causes of his suffering and misery, to surmount his weakness and ignorance, to triumph over his limitations and incapacities; a place where the needs of the spirit and the care for progress would get precedence over the satisfaction of desires and passion

Matrimandir Construction Q : For the construction of the Matrimandir, will only Aurovilians do the work or will there also be hired workers and other people of good will? It is preferable that the work be organised without paid labour so that it is sure to continue in all circumstances. 16.2.1971 * As we are in a period of construction, it is imperative that the Aurovilians who live at the Centre work on the construction of the Matrimandir. Those who do not want to work on the Matrimandir should not live at the Centre. 10.4.1971 * The safety and strength of the construction should come before personal qu

GUIDANCE IN YOGA Moral laws have only a very relative value from the point of view of Truth, besides they vary considerably according to the country, the climate and the period. Discussions are generally sterile and without productive value. If each individual makes a personal effort of perfect sincerity, uprightness and good will, the best conditions for the work will be realised. (Reply to a member of the Auroville study group) Aug, 1966 * Everything can be part of "sadhana"; it depends on the inner attitude. Naturally, if one lets himself be invaded by the Western atmos-rhere, farewell to the sadhana. But even in the most ma