Up early. Went with a mature German guy who is also at the guest house residing and taking meals. He was going to Auroville to meditate, and so we shared the cost of a taxi. He went off to meditate at the Matrimandir, but I could not until I had registered to get permission. I did this, and walked 15 minutes along a route to the Matrimandir. I took pics along the way of spiritual qualities suggested by THE MOTHER. I show some in pics below. It was a good walk, and I ended up looking at the Matrimandir viewpoint. There is too much to say about it. It is a huge gold ball ( Aurosphere). The area around it has been cleared as we are looking at a forested area around Auroville, which was the community set up by THE MOTHER. Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, are the spiritual leaders of this area and the area is world famous. There are 12 gardens, each denoting a flower, a colour, and a spiritual quality associated with it. Basically the spiritual position is that we are all one brotherhood of human beings, and we are united in the quest of peace joy, and spiritual attainment. Yoga is the force that links it all. Sri Aurobindo had a type of yoga called Integral Yoga. It is too involved to explain here, and all available online. I have seen libraries of books outlining the spiritual philosophy, in many languages. Man is imprisoned by his mind, and embraces the next step of spiritual evolution as supra mental, or super man.Definitely look online and you will get a very good idea. I came here as a yoga teacher, Aadil Palkivala suggested this was the best place in India to meditate. The yoga studio I went to in Mumbai is run by his brother, also a follower of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.
I spent time looking at various displays, one in the Visitor centre, and another building outlining visually the philosophy visually. Very impressive. There are various coffee shops, and I had snacks at the cafeteria and the food was outstanding. Water is dynawave, which is better than reverse osmosis. Lots and lots of foreign tourists from all corners of the globe, especially Japanese. I looked around the boutiques and bought an OM T shirt in blue of course, and a few other goodies. I have a book on the thoughts of Sri Aurbindo on yoga, and may lend it to my fellow yoga teachers in Edmonton on return. This is certainly a place for yoga teachers to visit, but anyone interested in the brotherhood of man. Beethoven comes to mind, as his Ninth Symphony is all about this. The Matrimandir (envisioned by the Mother ) is closed Tuesday so I am booked to be taken around it Wednesday, and allowed to meditate. No cell phones or bags allowed! No pics inside but I will describe it for you on Wednesday. Here are some pics I took
Above: Guna and I on his motorbike, stopped to check out this Pongal crowd of musicians on the back of a truck!
Lots of noise and of course they adore pics!
Below: the beginning of the walk to the Matrimandir view point
Below: check the right pic showing the 12 spiritual qualities
Below: another spiritual quality related to a flower along the way.
Below: the Banyan tree, the geographical centre of Auroville. Banyans are spiritual trees in India
Below: 2 pics of the golden sphere
The red stone petals are of a lotus flower, and each of the 12 petals leads to a garden.
Below: from a distance.
Banyan tree: note the aerial roots that grow down, and establish another tree: amazing!
All roots growing horizontally and eventually vertically
Below: check out the interconnecting roots
Above:the big main trunk, and below frangipani flowers in the visitor centre garden.
I spent time looking at various displays, one in the Visitor centre, and another building outlining visually the philosophy visually. Very impressive. There are various coffee shops, and I had snacks at the cafeteria and the food was outstanding. Water is dynawave, which is better than reverse osmosis. Lots and lots of foreign tourists from all corners of the globe, especially Japanese. I looked around the boutiques and bought an OM T shirt in blue of course, and a few other goodies. I have a book on the thoughts of Sri Aurbindo on yoga, and may lend it to my fellow yoga teachers in Edmonton on return. This is certainly a place for yoga teachers to visit, but anyone interested in the brotherhood of man. Beethoven comes to mind, as his Ninth Symphony is all about this. The Matrimandir (envisioned by the Mother ) is closed Tuesday so I am booked to be taken around it Wednesday, and allowed to meditate. No cell phones or bags allowed! No pics inside but I will describe it for you on Wednesday. Here are some pics I took
Hey Dave, that is so cool that you went where Aadil suggested you visit while in India. I remember him mentioning in his literature from his weekend workshop about the Mother and Sri Aurobindo :)
ReplyDeleteHey Dave,you have coped with this cell phone issue and it sounds like you have good energy.Thanks for sharing the ups and the downs. Pat from Encounters says hi.
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