Interesting Facts on Auroville

Auroville, the spiritual city, was the Mother’s greatest vision. This article takes a tour on the interesting facts on the spiritual city. It gives a bird’s eye view on the various stages that the city underwent during its culmination and construction.

The chief architect, Mr. Roger Anger (one of the foremost modern architects of France) put it, “we are building man, not just a city. Auroville wants to be new creation, expressing new consciousness in a new way and by new methods”. He said further, “we are already amid interesting experiments at the socio-economic level. Auroville is not to introduce the worn out labor-employer system. All are collaborators and all will be provided with facilities according to the peculiarity of needs. The residential houses are being financed by individuals, but they have agreed that the houses will belong to the community”.

The UNESCO has passed three resolutions supporting Auroville, unanimously, in 1966, 1968 and the latest being at it’s Paris session held during October-November 1970, wherein it requested the director general to take such steps as may be feasible within the budgetary provisions, to promote the development of Auroville as an important international cultural program.

Then by July 1974, there were about 300 voluntary workers on the Auroville site, representing India, France, USA, UK, Germany, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Belgium, Africa, Mexico, Tunisia, New Zealand and Malaysia.

The Aurovillians live in communities in temporary houses according to their work and inclinations. One of the communities name “aspiration” is about to enlarge in to an advanced colony accommodating 200 inmates. Research is underway to improve the quality of the soil by using organic fertilizer and organic pesticides.

The school in the Auroville is a bold experiment of adventure of ideas. East and west meet here spontaneously; the local children read and play with those of the westerners, in complete ignorance of the so called racial differences. When the Auroville was started, there was no guarantee of the financial support. But the organizers had an undaunted faith in the goodwill of humanity and they knew that help would be forth coming sooner or later. Thus the Spiritual city was infrastructured to make the Mother’s dream true.