Auroville – A Spiritual Township
Auroville is an experimental township in the Villupuram district near Pondicherry in the state of Tamil Nadu. The main aim to develop this township is to live all the people in peace irrespective of the country and caste and live above politics. The main purpose of this venture is to realize the human unity above all. Auroville is founded by Mirra Alfassa (also known as the mother) in 1968. The literal meaning of Auroville is the ‘City of Dawn’.
Auroville was founded as a project of the Sri Aurobindo Society for the progress of humanity towards a better future by bringing together people of good mentality and aspiration. Today Auroville is recognized as the first experimental township for the development of the social, cultural and spiritual needs of humanity. The people in this organization are from 45 different countries and with different background. They meet together to discuss different subjects.
During the inauguration ceremony, the mother gave a four-point Charter setting forth her vision of basic living. The Matrimandir is situated here and silence is maintained in the area to preserve tranquility and peace. The entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called the Peace area. Centre of Matrimandir we can find a huge golden globe symbolizes future realization. Residence of the Auroville family is intended to work for the community. They can contribute personally, by money or by kind. There are guest houses, building construction units, information technology, small and medium scale businesses, handmade paper for stationery items and incense sticks are the main items produced here. This increases their economy. Other activities include afforestation, organic agriculture, basic educational research, health care, village development, town planning, water table management, cultural activities and community services.
Here the tourists cannot find any Ashram or tourist places. Tourists are encouraged to visit the Visitors centre which opens daily from 9.00 am to 17.30. Here one can view exhibitions, shopping facility, video viewing facility and cafeteria. Guest accommodation is also available. They charge Rs. 150/- to Rs. 4100/- per person per night depending upon the facilities. Guests have to fill an application and a card is made for them. Library service is also available for the guests.
Auroville is located 150 km from Chennai and 12 km away from Pondicherry. Chennai is the nearest airport to Auroville. Taxis are available from Chennai which costs Rs. 2000/- to reach Auroville. It takes around 3 hours to reach Auroville from Chennai. Frequent buses are also available which cost around Rs. 60/-.
The climate of Auroville is tropical. In the summers the temperature rises to around 40 degrees. Winters are the perfect time to visit Auroville and the temperature ranges from 24 to 30 degrees. Nights are normally cooler than days here.
For More Info: Places to Visit in Pondicherry and Pondicherry Tourism
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