AUM 2008 - About us

About AUM

Attendees enjoy a moment of light and laughter at AUM 2005.

	AUM The All USA Meeting (AUM) is an annual conference for people interested in the vision of Sri Aurobindo and Mother, the practice of Integral Yoga, and the sustainable international community of Auroville -- and for those interested in consciousness, evolution, and the future of humanity.
	People come to AUM for various reasons: to widen their understanding of Integral Yoga, to experience a deeper spiritual reality, and to network with others on the evolutionary path. For some, AUM is like a "movable darshan," generating a special atmosphere that transmits a Presence helpful for individual and collective progress.
	Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo, one of the foremost Indian philosophers of the 20th century, was a political activist, poet, cultural commentator, mystic, and spiritual leader. He mastered 11 languages and was nominated for the 1950 Nobel Prize in literature. His teachings synthesize the impulse toward material perfection and rational clarity of the West with the profund spiritual wisdom of the East -- as well as a new vision for a "supramental" life on earth. Brief biography • Wikipedia article
	The Mother The Mother, also known as Mirra Alfassa, worked with Sri Aurobindo for the manifestation of a mode of consciousness beyond mind, which Sri Aurobindo called the supermind. After Sri Aurobindo's passing, the Mother continued his work of psychological and physical transformation. An account of her experiences is given in Mother's Agenda, an intimate record of the last 18 years of her life. In 1952 she established the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, and in 1968 she founded Auroville, the City of Human Unity. Brief biography • More on the Mother
	Integral Yoga The aim of Integral Yoga is an inner self-development by which the individual can, in time, discover the One Self in all and evolve a higher consciousness than the mental -- a spiritual and supramental consciousness that will transform and divinize human nature. Sri Aurobindo's teaching • Wikipedia article
	The Sri Aurobindo Ashram Founded in 1926, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram today has about 1,200 members. The larger Ashram community, counting the 400 students of the Centre of Education and the hundreds of devotees who live nearby, consists of more than 2,000 people. In the sadhana (spiritual discipline) at the Ashram, there are no obligatory practices, no rituals, no compulsory meditations or systematic instructions in yoga. Aspirants are left free to determine the course and pace of their practice in accordance with their own natures. But the general principle of the sadhana is the same for all: there must be a surrender to the Divine and an opening to the Divine Force so that it may work to transform one's being. Sri Aurobindo Ashram home page
	Auroville Auroville is a universal township-in-the-making for a population of up to 50,000 people from around the world. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity -- in diversity. Auroville is recognized as the first and only internationally endorsed, ongoing experiment in human unity and transformation of consciousness, also concerned with -- and practically researching -- sustainable living and the future cultural, environmental, social and spiritual needs of humanity. Auroville home page
	Auroville International USA Auroville International USA (AVI-USA) is one of many centers around the world that function under the umbrella organization called Auroville International, which strives to help Auroville in various ways. Representatives from the centers meet annually to make decisions and to exchange information and resources. We would like to thank AVI USA for its generous donation to the Rocky Mountain AUM. AVI USA Web page
	Foundation for World Education The Foundation for World Education (FWE) grants money to incorporated nonprofit organizations to support the vision of a transformed world espoused by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. We wish to thank FWE for its continued support of past AUMs, and its generous donation to AUM 2008 in the Rockies. FWE Web page