The Responsibility & Privilege of Building Auroville

For the last 23 years I have been visiting Auroville regularly. I have also presented the city of Auroville through the Lur Gozoa Association, especially two exhibitions of the city, the model of the Galaxy and its Master Plan. At the end of this letter, I expose my curriculum for your more detailed information. I have spent a few weeks in Auroville, on such important dates as Mother’s Anniversary and the 55th Anniversary of the City of Auroville, I have shared and held conversations with all kinds of Aurovilians, old residents, some of the pioneers, new Aurovilians, visitors… people of different nationalities. All these people seemed to have no other type of conversation than to give their opinion on the subject of the Galaxy and more specifically on the Crown.

I believe that the moment we are living is extremely delicate in the sense that the project of Sri Aurobindo and Mother is about to manifest itself in a progressively active way, finally after 55 years in which it has been slowing down for various reasons. The reasons for which the project has been stopped and slowed down for so many years are not relevant and it is not appropriate to count them and even less to personalize or name the different ways of manifesting the “fear” of realizing such a great work, not because of its size, but because of its significance.

The work, the project of manifesting the City that the World Needs, the City that will welcome the Humanity of the Future, to participate in it, in this laboratory, is very scary, it is an enormous responsibility, because it is not a matter of manifesting and building houses, roads, social premises, dining rooms, commercial places… etc., which also, of course, is a matter of course. The difficulties of building are solved immediately, mostly with money, with financing.

The problem comes, the fear of responsibility arrives when the construction of a project of colossal magnitude, born from the dream of some exceptional beings, is in hand. Those same exceptional beings, by Their Grace, have called in some subtle way all the people who are now living in what will be the City of Auroville. It is understandable that during all these years it has been difficult to prioritize the construction of the City taking into account the difficulties of financing. Finally the Matrimandir has been built, the soul of the City, its gardens, the lake (for so many years it was believed to be an “impossible dream” and thanks to new technologies it has been possible to build, nothing is impossible if someone already dreamed it, and in that case the Dreamers were, are exceptional), the different aids and donations have had to be distributed and prioritize the most immediate and necessary. It is understandable, even occupying land with the most immediate to continue to keep the spaces alive while building, but without losing sight of the ultimate goal: why and for what reason we are in Auroville, why I answered the call.

With new technologies it will be possible to do things now and in the near future, innovations that seemed impossible when Mother dreamed them up. It is clear that Auroville is not going to be the place from which new technologies are born for the rest of the world, but it will be the place where those technologies are used in unexpected and innovative ways. What is certain is that the very experience of living in Auroville, of overcoming the difficulties, of attending to the detachments to our way of living, the flexibility in changing our minds, our ideas, overcoming the need to want to reduce with our little minds with their egoic needs the projections of Beings who have come to push our evolution, is what will make Auroville different from any other human enterprise undertaken so far. This is the wonderful contagion. Reaching 50,000 people living in Auroville with those who one day managed to reach this goal, is what will give the critical mass necessary to replicate it in other places in the world. This is what the Auroville laboratory is based on.

Auroville is for the world, it is not for a few privileged people. The privilege is to live to build Auroville, to have heard the whisper of the Masters and to accept it.

At this time, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Sri Aurobindo’s birth, the eyes of India have turned to Auroville and have begun to recognize the figure of the Master in a strong way. Sri Aurobindo’s 5 Dreams resonate strongly and this seems to have activated the need to strongly support the building of the city, another of Sri Aurobindo’s dreams. “There should be somewhere in the world…”. Mother knew that no other nation could participate in the experiment, allow it. And 55 years later, India goes a step further and commits to fully fund the construction. And it begins to do so…

It is time to protect the Dream of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, supporting the construction, being as close as possible, contributing what we have learned. It is time to build and protect, being grateful. It is not time for unsustainable absurd confrontations that confuse, that generate pain and allow fear to have its way. The people who live in Auroville have to remember their Dream. The people of Auroville have to remember that they have gone to India, to Auroville, to become Aurovilians and that being Aurovilians does not consist only in living in Auroville, but in getting involved in building the city of Human Unity and overcoming all the difficulties, material, emotional and spiritual that this challenge demands. Remember the words of Mother: “To be a true Aurovilian …………” the 7 points that She lists and that I, although I do not live in Auroville I consider them as a reference for my daily Sadhana, how to be a true human being. ALL LIFE IS YOGA.

In Auroville there is no need to build bridges of understanding. Whoever calls himself a mediator is fulfilling a task that no one has asked of him and is not necessary. Only an exquisite equanimity can attend to the needs and approaches of all the parties involved and, in this sense, as far as I am concerned AVI Spain is not fulfilling the function of representing all the sensitivities that are taking place at this time and with its clumsiness (which I do not doubt has good intentions) is aggravating an issue that the good will of all the people involved will know how to solve with intelligence and heart.

I request, by means of this letter, that AVI Spain, in this case, cease with the particular personal opinions of its president. I do not believe that AVI Spain is being able to transmit in an equanimous, fair and serious way to the people it represents, the reality of the delicate and decisive moment that the Auroville community is living and that with its visceral appreciations it is being of little or no help, furthermore it is producing unnecessary confrontations.

I can provide documents addressed to AVI Spain that last year I already sent through the Lur Gozoa Association, if required. I understand that the way in which AVI Spain, in the figure of its president, continues to address and present the issue is inappropriate and seriously affects the honor of some people living in Auroville giving names and whatsapps, thus subtracting them ability to resolve personally in a serene way any injury that may arise due to the different ways of understanding and evolve with respect to the construction of the city according to the Master Plan, accepted and sealed by The Mother.

The impartiality in “telling” the story of the process that the Auroville Community is going through must be exquisite, in the case that the different AVI’s have decided that they must participate and transmit the evolution of this important and decisive moment. I understand that we must, all the people involved in different ways, transmit calm, serenity and support and above all confidence that the people will be able to solve it with the sure help of The Mother, who is taking care of them and of the City that the World Needs, the City of Human Unity.

A twinned embrace in Her Light.