Bertrand
"For in this
ideal place money would be no more the sovereign lord"
Excerpt from "The
Dream" of The Mother, August 1954
The community kitchen, which epitomizes community living, no
longer serves free meals. Auroville’s restaurants make little or no difference
between guests and Aurovilians: all must pay. Housing is almost never provided
free. If Aurovilians wish to give free workshops, concerts or shows, they
usually have to pay a rental fee for the venue. Aurovilians are renting rooms
or apartments to others. Office spaces are offered for a fee. And the list goes
on. Everywhere today, Aurovilians
request money from other Aurovilians for goods or services. There are still
exceptions, some areas where the original spirit is maintained, though they are
becoming increasingly rare. Some institutions and individuals still offer free
health care, services or classes, and Auroville’s cultural performances are
usually offered for free to the co...
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4 Comments
Given that there are numerous experiments in alternative economies around the world - a number of which could almost have been inspired by suggestions from The Human Cycle - it is quite sad to see what appears to be the lack of imagination regarding alternative economies in Auroville.
Surely there must be a group of residents somewhere in Auroville who have studied some of these many alternative possibilities and are working toward their realization?
Really, nobody is doing this in Auroville?
(Also, I have noticed that almost no articles in Auroville Today have comments - is there anybody here?)
Dear Dan and Bertrand.
I have just returned to the UK after a two week stay in Auroville with my family and two friends in the hope that I would discover the Dream what I had read about in Mother's Vision and that the dream would still be alive still today. I am afraid that what I saw and experienced was far from the ideals Miss Alfassa so poignantly expressed in her recorded discourses.
Myself, a State Prosecutor, my wife, a Teacher,and friend, a Doctor all came with the intention to see if Auroville was the place we would move to and give our skills and experience to and serve the ideals of Human Unity and Peace however what we all saw was like what you would find in London, New York, Delhi or any other commercialised city - money as the soverign lord, inequality and possessiveness.
I wholeheartedly agree with Bertrand's piece.
I hope that Auroville will change for the better otherwise it will become just another indian tourist attraction!
Well observed Bertrand.
Given the very challenging ideals of "The Dream" and the Charter
of Auroville it just needs time. Making mistakes and going the wrong direction is not the end, as long something is learned and done better.
It's meant to be an experiment. Roll up your sleeves Aurovillian's and come up with a great solution. Certainly more "problems" will crop up to keep you battling on to fulfil "The dream" .
Wilf Schenk
Scotland
Savitri, April 24 2016
I was in Auroville a couple of months ago and I made the same reflections as all of you guys.
It 's kind of hard to see Auroville evolve in that trend.
We badly need a shift in consciousness for things to change for the better.
We have to promote Mother's teachings and dreams again and see to it that every single Aurovilian and newcomer grasp the real meaning of Auroville's existence. It's downshifting and sharing here not capitalism.That's it.