Some weeks ago as the crisis unfolded and the stay order was imposed on Auroville without any warning, I received a letter from a longtime friend of Auroville from AVI Germany which I am sharing here.

I have held this letter to my heart, to see just what Auroville means to people across the world.  The hope it carries is like a treasure in the lives and dreams of people who cannot be here but who are part of this adventure nevertheless, from far or near, shining the light of Auroville wherever they are. As Aurovilians we hold this treasure in trust, as willing servitors, for humanity as a whole. It is not ours to stop, or falsify, or divide.

Dear All, 

When I heard the news from Auroville,tears welled up in my eyes.

I cannot express in words how desperate this makes me.

I thought long and hard about writing something about this, because I have seen, read and experienced a lot in Auroville in the last 30 years.

I thought that after all this time it should be possible for the Aurovillians to come to some common understanding, at least to make a start.

If not in Auroville, where else should it be? In Auroville a small but very fine difference to the rest of the world should be possible. 

The Divine has no, really no limits and so many more (not to say “all possibilities”) possibilities than man can ever fathom. THEY can even work with governments. 

Also there are no limits for them.

So why is it that we humans have no faith in what we see every day, what we relate to every day in Auroville, whose earth Aurovillians get to walk on every day.

We read, try to live what Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have taught us.

Where is the value, if we don´t.

The Mother has given us Auroville – what a gift – what an opportunity – it exists only once in the world…

So what do we want? 

The endless quarrels among ourselves, the constant resistance, the resentment among each other and against each other should at least become less at some point. 

In my view, the Mother and Sri Aurobindo cannot work like this.

Nothing will stay as it is.

So why don’t we have faith? 

We relate to THEM, to what they have left behind and when faced with difficulties of any colour we have nothing to offer but to argue, to fight, to compete, to use violent language against each other, to outdo each other with comments and phrases and words that bring us apart instead of bringing us together. Creating Auroville together, building the city together, that is what I thought Auroville was also about.

If in building a city, a road – mind you it is just a road – roads are built, changed and rebuilt, changed again and rebuilt again….redesigned and built and rebuilt again….. thousands every day in the world – 

In Auroville a common ground cannot be found – and the construction of a road can move such riots – what is it to become? 

It is also about how and that a common ground is found and we develop the capacity to do that. Or is it not? 

What will it become in the future – in other projects?

The Mother wanted a city – no much more – she gave us the unique opportunity on the way to building a city – to develop ourselves – to see if at least a few appropriate people can gather there to create a possibility to prepare the next leap of consciousness – and to live it in a city – built by consciousness, where the soil is saturated with consciousness, where the buildings are constructed by people in love with the vision of building such a city together in peace.

It is only possible together in peace – otherwise we do not have to get up even.

We are all allowed to have a part in this and contribute something.

If we open quarrels like this for every project in Auroville and sink into them and feed divisions like this for decades and decades to come, what will we leave behind for the children, what will they do, what kind of city will this become?

This is exactly what they want. 

If we are not able at least to begin to build a little bit of the city in the way of this actually immense opportunity she gave us – to what will we look upon physically and spiritually? 

In deep surrender and everlasting love for Auroville.

Dagmar