I recently spent some time in Auroville and it was cool to learn about this “experimental community.” So if you’re curious about what makes this place special and…
What is Auroville famous for? Auroville is famous for sharing Integral Yoga with the world, building a town in the desert, building a 29-meter tall gold dome, buying the largest optically perfect glass globe in the world, and sharing healthy products like spirulina, seeds and more.
It’s actually a pretty weird and interesting place. Here’s what I learned as I explored the community and talked to the locals…
Integral Yoga
If you’re interested in a practical approach to yoga, then Auroville is famous for its connection to the founder of Integral Yoga.
You can find Integral Yoga classes on six continents in hundreds of cities around the world. You can become a certified instructor or take a retreat. They’ll help you practice a number of different types of yoga:
- Adaptive/Gentle
- Hatha Yoga
- Children’s Hatha Yoga
- Pranayama (Yogic breathing)
- Raja Yoga
- Restorative Yoga
- Stress Management
- Prenatal, Labor, Postnatal Yoga
- Meditation
If you’re familiar with Integral Yoga in the US, you probably think that the famous “Woodstock Guru” Swami Satchidananda was the founder of this popular form of yoga. However, he actually grew up in Tamil Nadu (the Indian state were Auroville is found) and studied under Sri Aurobindo, the true founder of Integral Yoga. And…
Auroville is named after Sri Aurobindo.
After teaching Swami Satchidananda, he then brought Integral Yoga to the USA, founded the city of Yogaville in Virginia, and helped it catch on worldwide. Now even celebrities like Richard Gere and Larry King have tried it.
My Own Personal Coincidence with Integral Yoga: There were Integral Yoga classes held near my apartment in Austin, Texas before I came to India. AND 10 years before that when I lived in a small town in Virginia, not far from Yogaville and I’d go there for yoga classes and some of their delicious vegetarian food.
What is Integral Yoga?
It’s an approach to practicing yoga, and as Sri Aurobindo says…
All life is yoga.
Sri Aurobindo
Everything you do is a chance to further your spiritual growth and your consciousness.
While some yoga and spiritual traditions seek to renounce the world and strive for freedom and liberation from the world… think about the stereotypical image we have of a spiritual seeker, living in seclusion in a cave. He has left the world behind to meditate and seek wisdom.
Integral Yoga seeks to integrate this approach, yet do it in the world and through relations with others. There are no set-in-stone practices you must do. There are not specific meditations or yoga poses. The main thing is to dedicate yourself to your work, whether that’s running a bank, writing a blog, or just brushing your teeth.
The whole of our life should be a prayer offered to the Divine.
The Mother
If you want to learn more about Integral Yoga, this book is a good introduction: An Introduction to Integral Yoga by Ashesh Joshi (click to check the price on Amazon)
You can read Sri Aurobindo’s work about Integral Yoga in the form of letters to his disciples in this book: Letters on Yoga, Volume 1 by Sri Aurobindo (click to check the price on Amazon)
Who is Sri Aurobindo?
Sri Aurobindo was a leader in the movement for Indian independence from British rule, in fact, he was thrown in prison for his participation in a political-influenced killing.
While in prison, he was moved by spiritual experiences and would hear the voice of another popular Hindu monk at the time, Vivekananda. After his release in 1910, he moved to the beach city of Pondicherry in South India and started focusing on spirituality.
For four years, he lived in seclusion and practice yoga. After he emerged, he began prolifically writing and wrote a number of books and a magazine. This period of his life continued for 7 years, and he was still relatively unknown.
In 1921, he stopped writing in his monthly magazine and retired from public life. There were a handful of disciples living with him at the time, but he was by no means a famous spiritual leader.
But between 1921 and 1926, his followers grew and grew, until the Sri Aurobindo Ashram was formed in Pondicherry. However, during this time it was actually The Mother who did a lot of the work to grow the community and start the ashram.
Sri Aurobindo Ashram: It’s about 10 miles from Auroville and it’s still a functioning spiritual community. You can visit to see where they lived and practiced. The samadhis (temple commemorating the dead) of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother are there for viewing. Open: 8 am – 12 pm; 2 pm – 6 pm
The Mother
Mira Alfassa and her husband Paul Richard first met Sri Aurobindo in 1914, when they visited Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo had started publishing his monthly 64-page magazine and he invited Paul Richard to help him.
However, World War I was starting at this time and Mira and Paul were forced to return to France.
In 1920, the couple returned to Pondicherry. However, Paul quickly returned to France and Mira stayed.
Mira was an active member of the community, a hard worker and was a natural when it came to spirituality. In time, Sri Aurobindo would call her The Mother. He thought of her as the physical manifestation of Shakti (the female version of divine energy). He thought of himself and her as one in the same, except only outwardly different.
In 1926, after Sri Aurobindo had a significant spiritual experience, he retired to a secluded life living in a small apartment. He would hold silent darshans a few times a year, but aside from that he spoke very little to his disciples or anyone. He would communicate through letters only.
Despite his absence, the community kept growing under the direction of The Mother and others. She organized and directed the building of the ashram which became more formal in 1926.
In a typical day at the ashram:
- 6 am: She would offer blessings to the disciples from a balcony
- 10 am: She would meet with the disciples one-on-one
- Throughout the day she would oversee the various departments like the library, art gallery, farms, photography and book printing, guest houses, nursing homes, and more.
- 5:30 pm: She would lead a meditation.
Building a Town in the Desert
Auroville sits on land that was once a barren desert. Now it’s a jungle and a famous town that’s been around for the last 50 years.
The town was started because the Sri Aurobindo Ashram was growing and more followers were arriving, so The Mother had a new intention…
There should be someplace upon earth a place no nation could claim as its sole property, a place where all human beings of goodwill, sincere in their aspiration, could live freely as citizens of the world, obeying one single authority, that of the Supreme Truth…
The Mother, except from an article, The Dream
In 1968, Auroville was founded. It was two years after Sri Aurobindo passed away, 300 followers and foreigners started an experimental town in a desert in India.
1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.
Auroville’s Charter
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.
In the last 50 years, Auroville has grown to around 3000 people. It is recognized by UNESCO and owned by the Indian government.
The Matrimandir
The Matrimandir is the beautiful gold dome in the center of Auroville. It is famous for having the largest optically-perfect glass globe in the world.
The globe sits in the center of the meditation chamber that seats 100 people. It’s not open to just anyone, but you can schedule a free visit and the wait is usually between 1 and 3 days to gain admission.
Anyone can view the beautiful golden dome though from a viewing area, and hundreds of tourists do so most days.
- The optically-perfect globe originally cost 230,000 German Marks (~$498,000 USD)
- It took 37 years to build the dome.
- The architect Roger Anger designed it in the shape of a lotus with 12 petals. It is a symbol of Divine Consciousness.
- There are 1415 gold-covered steel discs covering the dome.
- There is soil from 121 countries in the Urn of Human Unity
- Matrimandir means Temple of the Mother.
Spirulina, Seeds, Incense and other Products
If you’re traveling around South India, you may see products made in Auroville.
One of the ways Auroville funds itself is by the many businesses it operates. I live a few hours away and our local grocery store stocks items from Auroville such as:
- Spirulina
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Hemp Seeds
- Sprouted Sunflower Seeds
- Sprouted Almond Butter
- Flax Seeds
- Chia Seeds
There is much much more on their online store, and Auroville is a well-known “brand” in the area.
I buy a lot of their seeds and health food products because they are certified organic, and often raw or sprouted. They are more expensive, for example, I spent $10 USD for a small jar of almond butter 😳
They also sell handmade paper products they make into handicrafts. They can make lampshades, stationery and notebooks.
Even if you are in the US, you can find Auroville incense on Amazon (check the price here)
Related Question:
What is Pondicherry Famous For?
- Pondicherry is one of the cities colonized by the French and has a French Quarter.
- Sri Aurobindo Ashram draws spiritual seekers.
- Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus draws Christian pilgrims
- Rock or Promenade Beach has one of the largest statues of Gandhi.
- Paradise Beach is south of the city and has more nature than Rock Beach.
- Ganesh Temple has a live elephant some evenings.
- Learn to surf at the Kallialay Surf School.
