Auroville today. City Experiment

Subject suddenly turned. All you have probably heard about the city of the future. And so it was possible to dig on this subject.
25 photos and many bukovok.

Auroville - "City of Dawn" - is located in the south of India.
The purpose of Auroville - create a "world city in which men and women of all countries will be able to live in peace and growing harmony, above all creeds, all politics above and beyond national differences».
Today Auroville - a city that exists as a social experiment under the auspices of UNESCO and the Indian government.





At the opening ceremony of Auroville, February 28 1968, which was attended by about 5,000 representatives from 124 countries of the world have put in a centrally located city of the future of the marble urn on a handful of native earth, symbolizing the unity of mankind.
The founder of the city - Mirra Alfassa (Mother), a follower of Sri Aurobindo.



According to the law passed by the Indian parliament, Auroville granted special status, which should contribute to the successful implementation of the principles enshrined Mother February 28, 1968, the opening day of Auroville, in the Charter of Auroville:
1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be a true servant of the Divine Consciousness.
2. Auroville - a place of infinite knowledge and progress, is the abode of timeless youth.
3. Auroville is scheduled to become a bridge between past and future. Using the experience of all the open inner and outer life, Auroville makes a bold breakthrough to the future of consciousness.
4. Auroville - a place of material and spiritual exploration and research for a living embodiment of Truth Human Unity.



City - Galaxy

According to the plan, the city is divided into four areas - cultural, residential, international and industry - diverging spiral of Matrimandir. Each area focuses on an important aspect of urban life. In each there are parks and green corridors, and the whole city will be surrounded by Green Belt - forests, parks and farms. The population of Auroville should be no more than 50,000 people. Auroville currently owns about half of the land needed for the construction and the creation of green belts, and now being a lot of work on the acquisition of the missing land. General development plan was approved by the Government of India. Today Auroville is about 2,000 people from more than 40 countries, more than a hundred villages, linked by a network of roads and bike paths, lines, telecommunications, electricity and water.



Though Auroville is still far from the realization of the ideal, some progress in the following areas.

Education

The main purpose of the educational programs in Auroville - give the child money and give him an opportunity to grow and develop integrally without losing touch with your soul. Gradually introduced system of free choice, allowing students to choose subjects, especially in the upper grades. At the same time particular emphasis on sport, physical education, which contributes to the harmonious and healthy development, as well as developing a sense of beauty programs that enable the arts.



Environment

Work Auroville rehabilitation of desert lands and planting has been widely recognized. For many years, it carried out an integrated program to restore the soil and restoration of groundwater, during which it was planted more than 2 million trees, built earthen ramparts to detain rainwater, in the general over several hundred kilometers, made ditches in the canyons built the dam, allowing avoid leaving water in the ocean, making it possible to restore the level of groundwater. This is necessary as the city and the surrounding bioregion.



Service

It is striking that Auroville, a population close to the village, a variety of activities is not inferior to the city. There are municipal services, busy with work, the right to all residents, reducing the need to use the money for vnutriaurovilskih needs. Many services are free for Auroville and financed from the Central Fund, forms the basis of the collective economy.



Businesses

Initially it was assumed that the industrial and commercial activities will be an integral part of the life of Auroville, keeping the city financially. Now there are about 170 enterprises engaged in various activities: manual work, offset printing, graphic design, making clothes, food processing, electronics; they provide architectural and engineering services is made, alternative energy systems, such as wind turbines and apparatus for the production of methane from biowaste. The size of these enterprises are mainly small, but in any case, part of their income or part of their products and services should be given directly to the development of the city



Organization

Over the years in Auroville established a flexible system of internal organization, which takes into account the development of the Mother Board: the experiment should not be bound by a set of rules and regulations. In fact, what is happening in the city every day, it is run by the various working groups, each responsible for a certain aspect of life. Serious decisions affecting the whole society, passed by the Assembly Residents (Resident Assembly), which consists of all Aurovilians over 18 years. A special law, passed in 1988 by the Parliament of India, created Auroville Foundation, a body which legally belongs to the whole Auroville property; At the same time, the law gives the city a unique legal status, specially adapted to help achieve the purposes set forth in the Charter.



Finance

Education, health, sports, concerts and services for some services Aurovilians free; in addition, it receives a majority of the companies, or from the working groups, some "support» (maintenance), sufficient to cover the basic financial needs. The ultimate goal is to eliminate all money circulation within the city, to achieve and to move to the collective economy and will be conducted many experiments.



In the city center is the Matrimandir, in Sanskrit - "Mother Church."
Matrimandir - gold-plated temple, 36 meters high, around which are located in 12 petals meditation room. In the upper hemisphere of the "Temple of meditation" is the main thing - the "inner room", a cylindrical shape and is fully lined with snow-white marble. In it, a short distance from the walls of the circle found twelve columns that do not support real - not even reach the roof.



In the center, on a pedestal formed symbol carved on the floor Mother and four symbols of Sri Aurobindo, lies the world's largest one-piece spherical crystal. This crystal ball with a diameter of about 70 cm was treated in Germany at the company "Carl Zeiss" and presented Auroville. In addition, in the Hall of nothing, there is always prevails silence, peace and coolness. Throughout the day, on-chip focus the sun's rays.



Sunlight reflected by a system of mirrors, electronically controlled, passes through a hole in the upper hemisphere and falls on the crystal ball, which illuminates with this light the whole room.

In order to get to the meditation, you must pass the "acquaintance" with the ball: you have to meet his eyes, and then retire, decide for yourself - whether you visit the meditation (known cases of refusal to attend a meditation after the "dating").



In Auroville, about three thousand people, including about 20 people from the Ukraine, the Baltic states and Russia. The most famous is a Russian citizen recently celebrated its centenary Dmitry background Morenshild, historian and native of Russia, the roots of Russified Germans. Dmitry background Morenshild allocated significant funds for the construction of the Russian Cultural Pavilion in Auroville and maintenance of the first inhabitants of the Russian community, which was a substantial help for the financial situation of our compatriots there was not easy.



People live in compact communities-gardens. All communities, and there are about fifty, in the tradition of Auroville bear the names of spiritual content: "Brotherhood", "Transformation", "Grace", "Aspiration", etc. The community can be from five to several dozen people, an average of 30-40. In each community on their own together people of different nationalities: Tamil, French, Germans, Bangladeshis, Dutch, Russian, about 30 nationalities.



The first Russian Aurovilians after Dmitry Morenshilda background came here in the early 90s. It was the color of the Russian intelligentsia. Some come to get an official invitation from the "Auroville Foundation", which has decided to attract the Russian people here, and it was the desire of the Mother. It is believed that without a "Russian" idea of ​​Auroville will be difficult to implement, due to the special nature of the Russian soul, its high spirituality, with the decisive contribution of the Russian people in the defeat of fascism.



For cooking in the central kitchen and dining area Auroville - Solar Kitchen - using solar energy.



This information center, where you can learn all about the history of Auroville, needs to get information about this and ask further development plans for the city:



Climate

In Auroville tropical climate. The rainy season lasts from October to November. The best time to visit - from December to March. At this time, the average temperature 25-30˚S. Since April, the temperature rapidly increases and reaches a peak in May and June, reaching 40 ° C and above. Sometimes in July and August from time to time rain falls and the temperature begins to drop.



Accommodation

Currently, the city can not provide accommodation to anyone who wants to join the experiment. You can stay in a hotel or agree with Auroville, which may be temporarily free living space. Some companies sometimes offer a hostel, of course, provided that you are there to work with. You can participate in the construction of a new community by investing their money and in return housing. You must accept the fact and you have to sign a document confirming that all property, built in the city, will belong to Auroville.



To get acquainted with the life of Auroville, you can take part in a study introductory program. The program includes accommodation with meals in one of the community of Auroville, detailed tours, participation in collective work, lectures and more.
I must say that Auroville, in fact, are closed uchrezhdeniyaem and you will not succeed in a short visit to participate fully in their lives. Aurovilians say that their life is "not a tourist attraction."



February 28, 2008 Auroville 40 years. In the photo - the land, brought in Auroville from around the world. On the birthday of the city ceremony of laying the ground from different countries in a special cup. Then the land was Shuffle, symbolizing the unity of the world, and distributed to all comers.



The founder of the city - Mirra Alfassa.



Cote also takes part in the life of a city of the future)



All I finished, I hope not tired)



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