"Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity". --The Mother |
Lotus-shaped urn: symbol of human unity
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This was the first public statement made on Auroville by the Mother, founder of Auroville, in 1965. Three years later, at the inauguration ceremony of Auroville on 28th February 1968, youth representing 121 nations and 23 Indian states placed a handful of earth in a lotus- shaped urn on a barren plateau in South-India. A new city was born, dedicated to peace and a hopeful future for humanity. -- a "site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual human unity." (Auroville Charter) Today, about 1500 people from 30 countries are, in cooperation with the local population, engaged in wasteland reclamation, soil and water conservation, reforestation, organic farming, rural development, education, health care, renewable energy, arts and culture, handicrafts and small-scale industries, appropriate building technologies, architecture and town planning. The city, envisaged for 50,000 people, will radiate out from the central Matrimandir gardens in four zones: International, Cultural, Residential and Industrial. A large area for environmental restoration of the indigenous tropical forest and organic farming, called the Green Belt, will surround the entire city area.
At present, Auroville's development according to its original plans is being threatened by rapidly escalating land prices and increasing real estate speculation on the Auroville plateau. Securing the remaining land is now urgently needed for:
This presentation on Auroville will be conducted by Guy Ryckaert and Shivaya, long time residents of Auroville. |