The experimental township of Auroville turned 50 on 24 February. At the Golden Jubilee celebrations in Pondicherry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to Shri Aurobindo, his ideologies and his dedication towards the good of humanity.
It is important today to remember the vast extent of action and thought of Shri Aurobindo. A man of action, a philosopher, a poet, there were so many facets to his character. And each of them was dedicated to the good of the nation and humanity.PM Narendra Modi
“Auroville brought together men, women, young, old, cutting across boundaries and identities. Auroville’s Charter was handwritten in French by Divine Mother herself. The Mother set high principles for Auroville”, the PM said.
Modi stressed on how India has always allowed mutual respect and co-existence of various religions and cultures.
India has always allowed mutual respect and co-existence of different religions and cultures. India is home to the age old tradition of Gurukul, where learning isn’t confined to classrooms. Auroville too has developed as place of un-ending & life-long education.PM Narendra Modi
Auroville is spread across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, approximately 150 km south of Chennai and 10 km north of the town of Puducherry.
On its official website, Auroville is defined as the city of dawn – a place “where the need of spirit and care for progress overpowers the satisfaction of pleasure and material enjoyments”.
The township was created by Mirra Alfassa, Sri Aurobindo's spiritual associate, and was inaugurated on 28 February 1968. Here is Auroville’s four-point charter, as published on the official website:
- Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.
- Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.
- Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations.
- Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual human unity.
(With inputs from ANI and www.auroville.org)
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