Auroville will become what it must be only if and when the people living there will stop lying.
The Mother.March 18th,1973
Sustainability – a new goal for Auroville?
One hears the word sustainability a lot these days.. It is used in all types of contexts by all types of people and probably means different things to different people.Technically it is a term used by economists and policy makers to denote a concern for the environment including all natural resources that are needed by man to sustain himself.It underlines the concern for sustaining and preserving all natural resources needed by men for their life and ensuring that they are used in a way that they are replenished and not destroyed.
Translated into more common usage I would define it as meaning a lifestyle for human beings that draws for its sustenance as much of material as is needed for a simple lifestyle and which can be replenished or replaced in some form or another. It implies a conscious control of human greed. It implies conscious holding back of the forces of development and money that seek more and more profit for their owners. Stated in this way sustainability is another way of saying “a simple life” which is also what Mother wanted for Auroville.
The point I am trying to make is that while sustainable development is a natural consequence of Auroville’s values it is not the principal aim.Those who are projecting Auroville as such are lying.
Auroville has aims that speak of transformation.The very first line of the Auroville Charter speaks of being a willing servitor of Divine Consciousness.The last line of the Charter speaks of achieving Human Unity.Those who have read The Ideal Of Human Unity by Sri Aurobindo know that Human Unity in the context of the vision of Mother and Sri Aurobindo means a spiritual transformation and nothing else.
Even scientists are coming to that conclusion.Here is a statement by one,”I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss,ecosystem collapse and climate change.
I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address those problems.
But I was wrong.The top environmental problems are selfishness,greed and apathy…..
……and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation.
…..and we scientists dont know how to do that.”Gus Speth
