Imagine a city free of crime, poverty, money, government, and hardship. That’s the utopian vision for Auroville, a township in India that’s dubbed “the City of Dawn.”
There is no authority, legal or political, nor a person of power, that the inhabitants need to respect. There are no written laws either.
Instead, there is only one supreme universal truth by which the city runs; citizens work toward harmony, love, and acceptance, and prioritize education and research.
Auroville is located in South India, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, India with some parts in the Union Territory of Puducherry in South India.
It was founded on 28th February, 1968, by Mirra Alfassa (known as “The Mother”) as a project of the Sri Aurobindo Society. Mirra Alfassa was the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who held the notion that “man is a transitional being“.
Mother believed that the “universal township” of Auroville would contribute decisively to the Indian renaissance.
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.
— Mirra Alfassa
In terms of physical development, Auroville aims at becoming a model of the ‘city of the future’ or ‘the city the earth needs’. It wants to show the world that future realisations in all fields of work will allow us to build beautiful cities where people sincerely looking towards a more harmonious future will want to live.
One of the most remarkable concepts of Auroville is its master plan, laid out in form of a galaxy – a galaxy in which several ‘arms’ or Lines of Force seem to unwind from a central region. It was designed by Roger Anger.
People who inhabit Auroville come from around 50 nations, hailing from all age groups, social classes, cultures and backgrounds. The town has no restrictions – everyone is welcomes to come and to find his own peace. In short, Auroville represents humanity as a whole.
Originally intended for 50,000 people, only about 2,500 permanent residents live there today, and around 5,000 tourists visit every year.
There is no concept of religion in Auroville!
Auroville believes in the service of truth, beyond religious conviction. There is a temple at the centre of the township called “Matrimandir”. It is of spiritual significance for those who practice Integral yoga and doesn’t belong to any particular religion or sect. Inside, there’s enough room for about 100 people to pray and meditate.
Matrimandir at Auroville city, India
Or politics
There is no authority, legal or political, nor a person of power, that the inhabitants need to respect. There are no written laws either. Instead, there is only one supreme universal truth by which the city runs; citizens work toward harmony, love, and acceptance, and prioritize education and research. Despite the community’s internal struggles, it flourishes almost as an independent nation!
There is no concept of money either!
Aurovillians use no money – they have a whole economy functioning on principles of sharing, giving, and exchanging. There is a distribution center in the city where both citizens and strangers can get a meal, but mainly, people produce what they need and exchange items with neighbors, without any aspirations of earning from the barter economy.
Auroville is self-reliant in the truest sense of the word.
Auroville has its own architecture and town planning bureau. It has archival facilities, research institutions, an auditorium, 40-odd industries, restaurants, farms, guesthouses etc! It even has a high density of computers, a dedicated e-mail network (auronet) for the residents.
This city is positioning itself as a model of sustainable eco-city. It is a method developed by the multi-cropping, combining fruit trees, cornfields and orchards, organized into 15 farms, reaching an area of 160 hectares. In this way, they ensure much food, so supply the population.
Starting from the seventies, they have started a process of forestation, and today the city is settled within a belt of forests and fields, making it one of the cleanest places on earth. They have implemented systems of wastewater treatment, as well as systems of ground water depletion.
In this epic city, the buildings are made based on an experimental architecture, as they are constantly changing. This is because these structures seek to optimize the use of renewable energies and their main objective: reuse and recycling.
Source: Official Website of Auroville
