Auroville

diplomacy

Hello guys!

Could I have your opinions on Auroville (if you've got any, that is)? I heard of this place some time ago and I have done some research on it. I am really tempted to give it a try this fall to see what it's like as I have wanted to relocate to India for a very long time. I showed it to one of my friends and her reaction was "It's a cult!" but I also heard from another friend that the UN was involved with it when it opened.

Thanks!

abracax

It's a very interesting place, I have stayed there several times over the years with friends who were residents. You can't actually stay there without an invitation from someone or advance arrangements with the guest committee (they have a website). You can stay in Pondy and visit, however. It was a cult originally, but it has become more of a French hippy commune slash paranoid outpost. I don't know too much more because my friends are all outcasts from the Oo-topia.

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Yuri_S

I found this place really comforting and inspiring. It's green, spacious and quiet - dramatical contrast to surrounding India So, you are free in your preferences. If you want to step away from a crowd and have a rest - you can have it. If you want to be involved into the communal life - you can have it too.

ragz

its a great place. You can visit as a tourist. As abracax said, you can stay in Pondi and visit the ashram in the city and also Auroville. I think you can try the meditation thing too.

Yuri_S

Frankly, I can't see any reason to stay in Pondy.

In fact, much better to stay in Aurovile and visit Pondi - it's just few km away.

dillichaat

Disclaimer: I'm a biased capitalist swine who's out of reach with his inner self BUT who has a finely-tuned scam-detector. Read the following, keeping this in mind.

I visited in 2005 as a tourist but just very briefly. To me it looked, smelled and felt like a cult but hey, if that's your thing, why not? I talked to their p/r guys and a couple of questions obviously made their karma turn black (questions about self-sufficiency, financing, a long-running land dispute with some local people and the fact that all the people I saw doing hard labour in the sun happened to be locals and not the white-clad elite).

Why not go and take a look for yourself? But before checking in I'd go scout as a tourist.

capt_mahajan

If so, that is a disqualification.

Some of it looked like a scam to me, too. And some of it looked like it was about a bunch of foreigners finding a way to stay longer term in India than they otherwise would, but I dunno for sure.

And the climate is terrible.

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atala

This is only partly correct. You can go and stay there as a regular tourist, like at a normal tourist destination. Advance arrangements are only required at peak tourist times (Xmas-March), when all the places are fully booked. At other times it is easy to find a place, except that it requires some driving around until you find the people to ask about their guesthouses. Therefore it is easier to contact the guest-service first, before going there. But this is only a logistic limitation, not a kind of restriction as though you actually required an invitation or something. http://www.aurovilleguesthouses.org/gs-profiles.php

Besides this, I am a bit amazed about the level of misinformation presented here on this thread, given the fact that a lot more was written already in other forums here.

About the question whether cult or not, it is a question of one's point of view. Auroville was founded with a straightforward philosophical view in mind and is trying to orient itself accordingly. When it comes to philosophy and cosmology, often people's innermost convictions are triggered. So you will find all kinds of levels of engagement in people living there, from liberal anarchist to strict fundamentalist, while the main thread of interest is the attainment of a higher realisation in a universalist view stressing human unity and internationality. If you want to see that as cultish, you are free to do so, but you have to acknowledge then that every social endeavour that is based on a vision of some kind has a cultish aspect to it. The special feature of Auroville is that the vision is based on an understanding of the Vedas with a Western interpretation, as Sri Aurobindo, the philosopher behind the vision, was a Western-educated Indian intellectual, who only later in life discovered the wealth of the Indian ancient wisdom.

nikhilsegel

My point of reference is a trip we made to Auroville and Pondicherry about 4 years ago. If things have changed I really wouldn't know.

Conceptually Auroville is a wonderful and beautiful experience. I can not deny that. The intentions and resolutions by the people there are beautiful and innovative.

Experientially though, I was left with a slight feeling of unease that due to the fact that the originator (The Mother) is no longer alive, you get a feeling of conflict and politics in the establishment. There is a divide between the original inhabitors and the newer ones.

Is it a cult, I agree with some of the thoughts above, whether it is or isn't is not relevant as you have to experience and decide that for yourself.

Would suggest that you visit, spend some time and see if it works for you.

Cheers

green gecko

I had a fantastic experience visiting Auroville and would definitely recommend a visit to anyone in the area!! There are so many activities to do, events to take part in, places to visit, people to meet... the more you throw yourself into the place the more you will get out of it. You do need to explore a little and ask around to find out what's going on but despite what I heard, residents are more than open to including visitors in the community (at least the ones I came across). If you want to learn about sustainable living practices and be exposed to all sorts of environmental projects, Auroville is a perfect place to be. I found myself volunteering in a community in the "Green Belt" of Auroville and ended up living there for almost 3 months. I visited a number of communities and projects around auroville including a medicinal forest, a food forest, organic farms, eco-building projects and more. There's all sorts of classes you can do from dance to meditation to clay to cooking to body percussion... many for free or a small donation. Whilst it's definitely not a perfect place in practice, it's conceptually a very interesting community and worth a visit.