Auroville
| Auroville | |
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| town | |
Inuksuk at Auroville
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 Auroville
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| Coordinates: 12°0′25″N 79°48′38″E / 12.00694°N 79.81056°ECoordinates: 12°0′25″N 79°48′38″E / 12.00694°N 79.81056°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Viluppuram |
| Population (2014) | |
| • Total | 2,400 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil English and French |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 605101 |
| Telephone code | 0413 |
| Vehicle registration | TN-16,PY-01 |
| Website | http://www.auroville.org/ |
Auroville (City of Dawn) is an experimental township in Viluppuram district mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, India with some parts in the Union Territory of Puducherry in South India. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (known as "the Mother") and designed by architect Roger Anger. As stated in Alfassa's first public message in 1965, she states, that Auroville is meant 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.
Auroville (City of Dawn) has its origins in the French language, "aurore" meaning dawn and "ville" meaning city. Additionally, it is named after Sri Aurobindo (1872 - 1950).
At its Annual Conference in 1964 and with Mirra Alfassa as its Executive President, the Sri Aurobindo Society in Pondicherry passed a resolution for the establishment of a city dedicated to the vision of Sri Aurobindo. Alfassa was spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who believed that "man is a transitional being". Alfassa expected that this experimental "universal township" would contribute significantly in the "progress of humanity towards its splendid future by bringing together people of goodwill and aspiration for a better world." Alfassa also believed that such a universal township will contribute decisively to the Indian renaissance (Ref. Mother's Agenda, Vol. 9, dt.3.02.68).
A site, approximately 20 square kilometres of barren wasteland, some 10 km north of Pondicherry and 5 km from the coast was chosen for the city.
The inauguration ceremony attended by delegates of 124 nations, was held on Wednesday 28 February 1968. Handwritten in French by the Mother, its 4-point Charter set forth her vision of Integral living:
In the middle of the town is the Matrimandir, which was conceived by Alfassa as "a symbol of the Divine's answer to man's aspiration for perfection". Silence is maintained inside the Matrimandir to ensure the tranquility of the space and entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called Peace area. Inside the Matrimandir, a spiraling ramp leads upwards to an air-conditioned chamber of polished white marble referred to as "a place to find one's consciousness".
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Wikipedia