The Soul of Auroville

Architecture and Symbolism

A presentation of the “Soul of Auroville”, its

architecture and what its parts and totality symbolise.

This document is destined to architects and all those

who wish to know more about the “Mother‟s Shrine”.

November 2014

Version

Compiled by Gilles Guigan gillou@auroville.org.in

1

Table of Contents Pages

Table of contents 1

Brief history of Matrimandir (conception and construction) 2-4

The Banyan Tree 5

Auroville‟s Dedication Ceremony 6

Auroville Charter 7

Symbol and meeting point of Auroville‟s aspiration and of the Divine‟s answer 8

The Mother‟s Shrine 9-11

Sri Aurobindo on Religions 12

The Mother on Matrimandir and Religions 13-14

Foundation stone(s) of the Matrimandir 15

The Matrimandir and the Mother‟s symbol 16

The Matrimandir and the number 12 17

Facing East 18

Counter-clockwise rotation 18

The Amphitheatre 19

Layout of the oval-shaped island 20-21

Accessing the Inner Chamber – a preparation to experiencing the Chamber 22

The Mother on access to Matrimandir and its gardens 23

Architectural concept 24

Vertical sections of the Matrimandir 25

Structure 26-27

Outer face 28

Four entrances 29

First level and central staircases 30

Second level and spiral ramps 31

Inner skin 32

Inner Chamber 33-34

Area below the Matrimandir 35

Twelve meditation rooms inside the “petals” 36-37

Twelve gardens and their significances 38-39

Twelve gardens and their central flowers 40-41

Future Lake and water supply 42-43

Top of the Matrimandir 44

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Brief History of Matrimandir 1965: The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, started speaking of her intention to build,

north of Pondicherry (now Puducherry), a “universal town where men and women of

all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all

politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.”

She invited a French architect, Roger Anger (1923-2008), who was a regular visitor

since 1957, to design it according to this simple sketch she had drawn.

She explained that, at the centre of her town, there would be a “Park of Unity” and

that, in this park, there would be something she called at first a “Pavilion of Truth”,

or “Pavilion of [Divine] Love”, or “Pavilion of the Mother”. Eventually she named it

“Matrimandir”, which she translated in English as “The Mother‟s Shrine”. She

added that the “Park of Unity” would consist of twelve gardens representing the

“twelve attributes of the Mother” and that eventually the Matrimandir and its Park of

Unity would be surrounded by a Lake.

March/April 1967: The Mother decided that a lone Banyan tree would be the

geographical centre of the future town. At that time the site was almost totally barren.

Early 1968, she gave their names to Matrimandir‟s twelve Gardens:

Existence, Consciousness, Bliss, Light, Life, Power,

Wealth, Usefulness, Progress, Youth, Harmony, Perfection.

28th February 1968: Auroville‟s Dedication Ceremony took place (see below).

Soon after groups of volunteers started settling on this barren land; they build simple

huts and had wells bored. They then started planting trees (primarily to have some

shade), growing food and building schools (to educate their children) and workshops

(to start earning money for Auroville). It is interesting to note that these volunteers

who had come for a spiritual endeavour (realising human unity) had to dive into raw

matter. This was to be expected because, unlike in some other paths, Sri Aurobindo‟s

and the Mother‟s yoga implies putting consciousness into matter.

Late 1969: The Mother explained to an American horticulturist, Narad, whom she

had called to start designing and creating Matrimandir Gardens „It must be a thing of

great beauty, of such beauty that when people come they will say “Ah, this is it”. It

must be an expression of that consciousness which we are trying to bring down‟. She

added: „One must know how to move from consciousness to consciousness‟.

3

1st January 1970: The Mother asked Roger Anger to start designing the Matrimandir,

saying that she had had repeated visions of its Inner Chamber. She gave him a

measured drawing of it, which an Ashram engineer, Udar, had drawn according to

her instructions (see below) and said she had not „seen‟ the rest of the building.

March 1970: Roger Anger presented to her a model of the Inner Chamber along with

the five models of the structure which would house it.

She rejected the three

pyramidal models saying

one should not walk on

Matrimandir and opted

for the model on the right,

a slightly flattened golden

sphere – and Roger Anger

worked further on this

concept.

1970: In answer to repeated questions from an Ashram artist, Huta, the Mother

dictated this reply: “It has been decided and remains decided that the Matrimandir

will be surrounded with water. However; water is not available just now and will be

available only later; so it is decided to build the Matrimandir now and surround it

with water only later; perhaps in a few years‟ time… The Matrimandir will be built

now and water brought round it later.”

February 1971, the Mother approved Roger

Anger‟s latest model, that of Matrimandir and of

the oval-shaped island on which it is to be

located. This model defined the island‟s layout

and contouring with its twelve gardens, the

Matrimandir and its 12 “petals”, the banyan tree,

the Amphitheatre, etc. This Island has the same

oval shape as Matrimandir‟s vertical section but

is ten times larger (360 m x 290 m).

4

21st February 1971: Laying

of Matrimandir‟s foundation

stone. Excavation work

started three weeks later, on

14th March. At first only a

few Aurovilians dug, but

the excavation was so large

that some 400 local

labourers were hired to dig

it faster.

Early 1971: A plant nursery

was established in the

vicinity of Matrimandir to

acclimate, propagate and

study the plants required for the gardens. When the Mother was asked whether the

Aurovilians working at Matrimandir Nursery should stop working there and help dig

the huge hole required for its foundations, she replied: “No, the gardens are as

important as the Matrimandir itself.”

21st February 1972: Actual construction started with a first concreting (foundation).

In one of her messages, the Mother wrote: “The Matrimandir wants to be the symbol

of the Universal Mother according to Sri Aurobindo‟s teaching”; and early 1972, she

named Matrimandir‟s North, South, East and West pillars after the four „Aspects‟ or

„Personalities‟ of the Supreme Mother, that is respectively: Mahakali, Maheshwari,

Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati; and the twelve meditation rooms, which are located

inside Matrimandir‟s twelve large „petals‟, after her twelve „Virtues‟ or „Qualities‟:

Sincerity, Humility, Gratitude, Perseverance, Aspiration, Receptivity,

Progress, Courage, Goodness, Generosity, Equality, Peace.

17th November 1973, 19h 25: Completion of the concreting of the four concrete

pillars which now support the Matrimandir‟s flattened sphere. Exactly at the same

time the Mother left her body.

1994: Completion of the Inner Chamber. People are concentrating in it ever since.

21st February 2008: After 36 years of construction, the Matrimandir, its twelve large

petals, the twelve meditation rooms within them, its twelve small petals and all the

main pathways (except that at the edge of the future island) were completed. All this

without the involvement of any contractor but with local labour.

Presently (end of 2014): the gardens of Existence and Consciousness are complete;

that of Bliss is nearing completion and plans are being finalised for the remaining

nine gardens. Test ponds are being created to test various things for the future lake.

It will take some more years for all Matrimandir gardens, other elements of its island

and the surrounding lake to be complete.

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The Banyan Tree

The Banyan tree soon after the Inauguration Ceremony

Lone tree in a totally barren landscape

March/April 1967: Time had come to locate the centre of the future town. Roger

Anger, the architect to whom the Mother had asked to design the future town,

brought to her a map of the area north of Puducherry. She was in her room at the

Ashram and had never set foot in that area for, at that time, there was no motor able

road leading to it. She concentrated and pointed to a particular location on the map.

The architect took a jeep and drove to the area she had pointed at and found there a

solitary banyan tree in an almost totally barren plateau overlooking the Bay of

Bengal. The Mother was very happy about the presence of a banyan tree, a tree

regarded as sacred in India, and decided to make it Auroville‟s geographical centre.

During Auroville‟s Inauguration Ceremony, it provided shade to an exhibition on

Auroville. At the Mother‟s request, a stainless steel ring bearing the words (in Tamil

& French) “Auroville, the City at the Service of Truth” was placed around its trunk.

Banyan Tree with some of its aerial roots. Note the trees in the background

This Banyan Tree (Ficus Benghalensis) belongs to the Ficus (fig tree) family and is

now probably around hundred and twenty years old. Banyans produce „aerial roots‟

which grow down from branches towards the ground and take root to become new

trunks. (The diameter of this banyan is now kept at approximately fifty metres so that

it remains in proportion with its surroundings.)

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Auroville’s Dedication Ceremony

Auroville’s Dedication Ceremony on 28

th February 1968

On 28th

February 1968, some 5,000 persons gathered near the Banyan tree, around a

smooth circular excavation at the focus of which a small mound had been created

with, at its top, a white Urn in the shape of a lotus bud. Temporary structures had

been erected all around this excavation to enable all participants to sit in the shade.

A young woman and a young man representing

each Indian state and each country of the world

carried a placard bearing the name of their

respective state/country and walked up the

narrow path leading to the Urn. Once there,

they placed a handful of soil from their

respective state/country inside it. The Auroville

Charter, handwritten in French by the Mother,

was also placed in the Urn before it was sealed.

The Mother, whose ninetieth birthday had been

celebrated one week earlier, was in her room in

the Ashram, which she wasn‟t leaving since ten

years. At the beginning of the ceremony, she

read out in French her welcoming message and

the Auroville Charter; her words were

broadcast live at the ceremony by All India

Radio. Translations of the Charter were then

read out in 15 other languages (Indian and

foreign).

Exhibition under the Banyan Tree

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Auroville Charter

[Welcoming message]

Greetings from Auroville to all men of

goodwill.

Are invited to Auroville all those who

thirst for progress and aspire to a higher

and truer life.

Auroville Charter

1. 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.

2. Auroville will be the place of an

unending education, of constant

progress, and a youth that never

ages.

3. 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

realizations.

4. Auroville will be a site of

material and spiritual

researches for a living

embodiment of an actual human

unity.

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Matrimandir is the Symbol and meeting point of

Auroville’s aspiration and of the Divine’s answer

There are two powers that alone can effect in their conjunction the

great and difficult thing which is the aim of our endeavour, a fixed and

unfailing aspiration that calls from below and a supreme Grace from

above that answers. (Sri Aurobindo, “The Mother”)

Let the Matrimandir be the living symbol

of Auroville’s aspiration for the Divine.

The Matrimandir wants to be the symbol of the

Divine’s answer to man’s aspiration for perfection.

Union with the Divine manifesting

in a progressive human unity.

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The Matrimandir wants to be

the symbol of the Universal Mother

according to Sri Aurobindo’s teaching.

*

Matrimandir is dedicated to the Universal Mother, a Presence or Being that has been

experienced and worshiped, under different names, in most cultures of the world

since time immemorial. The ancient Egyptians named her „Isis‟, the Incas

„Pachamama‟, the Japanese „Kwannon‟, the Hindus „Aditi‟, the Catholics identify her

with „Virgin Mary‟, etc.

Matrimandir isn‟t dedicated to any particular emanation or incarnation of the Mother.

Sri Aurobindo explains below the difference he makes between the “universal” or

“cosmic” Mother and the “individual” Mothers.

* * *

“… it will be the „Pavilion of the Mother‟; but not this [the Mother points to herself]:

the Mother, the true Mother, the principle of the Mother. (I say „Mother‟ because

Sri Aurobindo used the word, otherwise I would have put something else – I would

have put „creative principle‟ or „realising principle‟ or... something of that sort.)” (The Mother, Mother‟s Agenda, 23.06.65)

* * *

If the same being appeared simultaneously in a group where there were Christians,

Buddhists, Hindus, Shintoists, it would be named by absolutely different names.

Each would say, in reference to the appearance of the being, that he was like this or

like that, all differing and yet it would be one and the same manifestation. You have

the vision of one in India whom you call the Divine Mother, the Catholics say it is the

Virgin Mary, and the Japanese call it Kwannon, the Goddess of Mercy, and others

would give other names. It is the same Force, the same Power, but the images made

of it are different in different faiths. (The Mother, Questions and Answers 1929-1931, Page: 18)

* * *

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The One whom we adore as the Mother is the divine Conscious Force that dominates

all existence, one and yet so many-sided that to follow her movement is impossible

even for the quickest mind and for the freest and most vast intelligence. The Mother

is the consciousness and force of the Supreme and far above all she creates. But

something of her ways can be seen and felt through her embodiments and the more

seizable because more defined and limited temperament and action of the goddess

forms in whom she consents to be manifest to her creatures.

There are three ways of being of the Mother of which you can become aware

when you enter into touch of oneness with the Conscious Force that upholds us and

the universe. Transcendent, the original supreme Shakti, she stands above the

worlds and links the creation to the ever unmanifest mystery of the Supreme.

Universal, the cosmic Mahashakti, she creates all these beings and contains and

enters, supports and conducts all these million processes and forces. Individual, she

embodies the power of these two vaster ways of her existence, makes them living and

near to us and mediates between the human personality and the divine Nature.

The one original transcendent Shakti, the Mother stands above all the worlds and

bears in her eternal consciousness the Supreme Divine. Alone, she harbours the

absolute Power and the ineffable Presence; containing or calling the Truths that

have to be manifested, she brings them down from the Mystery in which they were

hidden into the light of her infinite consciousness and gives them a form of force in

her omnipotent power and her boundless life and a body in the universe. The

Supreme is manifest in her for ever as the everlasting Sachchidananda, manifested

through her in the worlds as the one and dual consciousness of Ishwara-Shakti and

the dual principle of Purusha-Prakriti, embodied by her in the Worlds and the Planes

and the Gods and their Energies and figured because of her as all that is in the

known worlds and in unknown others. All is her play with the Supreme; all is her

manifestation of the mysteries of the Eternal, the miracles of the Infinite. All is she,

for all are parcel and portion of the divine Conscious-Force. Nothing can be here or

elsewhere but what she decides and the Supreme sanctions; nothing can take shape

except what she moved by the Supreme perceives and forms after casting it into seed

in her creating Ananda.

The Mahashakti, the universal Mother, works out whatever is transmitted by her

transcendent consciousness from the Supreme and enters into the worlds that she has

made; her presence fills and supports them with the divine spirit and the divine all-

sustaining force and delight without which they could not exist. That which we call

Nature or Prakriti is only her most outward executive aspect; she marshals and

arranges the harmony of her forces and processes, impels the operations of Nature

and moves among them secret or manifest in all that can be seen or experienced or

put into motion of life. Each of the worlds is nothing but one play of the Mahashakti

of that system of worlds or universe, who is there as the cosmic Soul and Personality

of the transcendent Mother. Each is something that she has seen in her vision,

gathered into her heart of beauty and power and created in her Ananda.

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But there are many planes of her creation, many steps of the Divine Shakti. At the

summit of this manifestation of which we are a part there are worlds of infinite

existence, consciousness, force and bliss over which the Mother stands as the

unveiled eternal Power. All beings there live and move in an ineffable completeness

and unalterable oneness, because she carries them safe in her arms for ever. Nearer

to us are the worlds of a perfect supramental creation in which the Mother is the

supramental Mahashakti, a Power of divine omniscient Will and omnipotent

Knowledge always apparent in its unfailing works and spontaneously perfect in every

process. There all movements are the steps of the Truth; there all beings are souls

and powers and bodies of the divine Light; there all experiences are seas and floods

and waves of an intense and absolute Ananda. But here where we dwell are the

worlds of the Ignorance, worlds of mind and life and body separated in

consciousness from their source, of which this earth is a significant centre and its

evolution a crucial process. This too with all its obscurity and struggle and

imperfection is upheld by the Universal Mother; this too is impelled and guided to its

secret aim by the Mahashakti.

The Mother as the Mahashakti of this triple world of the Ignorance stands in an

intermediate plane between the supramental Light, the Truth life, the Truth creation

which has to be brought down here and this mounting and descending hierarchy of

planes of consciousness that like a double ladder lapse into the nescience of Matter

and climb back again through the flowering of life and soul and mind into the infinity

of the Spirit. Determining all that shall be in this universe and in the terrestrial

evolution by what she sees and feels and pours from her, she stands there above the

Gods and all her Powers and Personalities are put out in front of her for the action

and she sends down emanations of them into these lower worlds to intervene, to

govern, to battle and conquer, to lead and turn their cycles, to direct the total and the

individual lines of their forces. These Emanations are the many divine forms and

personalities in which men have worshipped her under different names throughout

the ages. But also she prepares and shapes through these Powers and their

emanations the minds and bodies of her Vibhutis, even as she prepares and shapes

minds and bodies for the Vibhutis of the Ishwara, that she may manifest in the

physical world and in the disguise of the human consciousness some ray of her

power and quality and presence. All the scenes of the earthplay have been like a

drama arranged and planned and staged by her with the cosmic Gods for her

assistants and herself as a veiled actor. (Sri Aurobindo, „The Mother‟)

* * *

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Sri Aurobindo on Religions I must say that it is far from my purpose to propagate any new religion, new or old,

for humanity in the future. A way to be opened that is still blocked, not a religion to

be founded, is my conception of the matter. (Letters on Yoga, p. 139)

* * *

It is not [Sri Aurobindo‟s] object to develop anyone religion or to amalgamate the

older religions or to found any new religion – for any of these things would lead

away from his central purpose. The one aim of his Yoga is an inner self-development

by which each one who follows it can in time discover the One Self in all and evolve

a higher consciousness than the mental, a spiritual and supramental consciousness

which will transform and divinise human nature. (Sri Aurobindo‟s Teaching. Written at the third person)

* * *

The spiritual life (adhyatma-jivana), the religious life (dharma-jivana) and the

ordinary human life of which morality is a part are three quite different things and

one must know which one desires and not confuse the three together. The ordinary

life is that of the average human consciousness separated from its own true self and

from the Divine and led by the common habits of the mind, life and body which are

the laws of the Ignorance. The religious life is a movement of the same ignorant

human consciousness, turning or trying to turn away from the earth towards the

Divine, but as yet without knowledge and led by the dogmatic tenets and rules of

some sect or creed which claims to have found the way out of the bonds of the earth-

consciousness into some beatific Beyond. The religious life may be the first

approach to the spiritual, but very often it is only a turning about in a round of rites,

ceremonies and practices or set ideas and forms without any issue. The spiritual life,

on the contrary, proceeds directly by a change of consciousness, a change from the

ordinary consciousness, ignorant and separated from its true self and from God, to a

greater consciousness in which one finds one's true being and comes first into direct

and living contact and then into union with the Divine. For the spiritual seeker this

change of consciousness is the one thing he seeks and nothing else matters. (Letters on Yoga, p. 137)

* * *

...I don‟t believe in advertisement except for books, etc., and in propaganda except

for politics and patent medicines. But for serious work it is a poison. It means either

a stunt or a boom – and stunts and booms exhaust the thing they carry on their crest

and leave it lifeless and broken high and dry on the shores of nowhere – or it means

a movement. A movement in the case of a work like mine means the founding of a

school or a sect or some other dammed nonsense. It means that hundreds or

thousands of useless people join in and corrupt the work or reduce it to a pompous

farce from which the Truth that was coming down recedes into secrecy and silence.

It is what has happened to the „religions‟ and it is the reason of their failure. (Letter dated 02.10.34. On Himself, p. 375)

* * *

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The Mother on Matrimandir and Religions For thousands of years we have been developing outer means, outer instruments,

outer techniques for living – and in the end those means and techniques are crushing

us. The sign of the new humanity is a reversal of outlook and the understanding that

inner means, inner knowledge and inner techniques can change the world and master

it without crushing it.

Auroville is the place where this new way of living is being worked out, it is a centre

of accelerated evolution where man must begin to change his world by means of the

power of the inner spirit. (Message, 03.08.68)

* * *

„But to live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.‟

It is the explanation of the Matrimandir at the centre. The Matrimandir represents

the Divine Consciousness. All that is not said, but that is the way it is. (Commenting verbally on Auroville‟s Charter, 07.02.68)

* * *

It is like the Force, the central Force of Auroville, the cohesive Force of Auroville. (Verbal, 02.07.70)

* * *

The Matrimandir will be the soul of Auroville. The sooner it is there, the better it

will be for everybody and especially for the Aurovilians. (15.11.70)

* * *

About Matrimandir. In India the creation, that means basically the work of the

Mother-Creator, has for centuries been considered as anti-divine. Sri Aurobindo has

shown/taught that it is in Matter that the Divine must be manifested; he has insisted

on the understanding of this concept of the Mother as Creator.

Matrimandir is here to teach people that it is not by escaping from the world while

ignoring it, that they will realise the Divine in life. Matrimandir must be the symbol

of this Truth. I don‟t want it to be made into a religion; with all my force I refuse. We don‟t want dogmas, principles, ritual, absolutely not, absolutely not.

Q.: Why do we build Matrimandir?

For the great majority of Indians there is no need for an explanation; they know from

their background; it is for the Westerners and the Americans of whom one in a

million is able to feel that it is necessary.

Q.: Will the Force be more specially concentrated in Matrimandir?

The new Force works everywhere, especially in this room. You feel it, don‟t you?

There is here a density capable of performing miracles, but few are able to feel it, to

perceive it. Sri Aurobindo and I have concentrated this Force on the whole town; it

is palpable, perceptible as a very concrete perfume which penetrates, but one must

be able to feel it, to receive it. But no miracles as people would like to see; for them

to believe, they need material proofs without which they deny. Build Matrimandir;

put in place my symbol and Sri Aurobindo‟s and the suspended globe. I take it upon

myself to make it into a very powerful centre. Only those who are capable will

perceive it. (Noted down by Roger Anger after a conversation, 07.71)

* * *

14

And let it not become a religion, for heaven‟s sake! (Verbal, 31.12.69)

* * *

You see, this is what I have learned; the failure of religions is because they were

divided. They wanted people to be religious to the exclusion of the other religions,

and every branch of knowledge has been a failure because it was exclusive. And

what the new consciousness wants – it is on this that it insists – is: no more divisions.

To be able to understand the spiritual extreme, the material extreme, and to find the

meeting point, the point where that becomes a real force. (Verbal, 03.01.70)

* * *

We give the name religion to any concept of the world or the universe which is

presented as the exclusive Truth in which one must have an absolute faith, generally

because this Truth is declared to be the result of a revelation.

Most religions affirm the existence of a God and the rules to be followed to obey

Him, but there are some Godless religions, such as socio-political organisations

which, in the name of an Ideal or the State, claim the same right to be obeyed.

To seek Truth freely and to approach it freely along his own lines is a man's right.

But each one must know that his discovery is good for him alone and it is not to be

imposed on others. (Message, 13.05.70)

* * *

Auroville and the Religions We want the Truth.

For most men, it is what they want that they label truth.

The Aurovilians must want the Truth whatever it may be.

Auroville is for those who want to live a life essentially divine but who renounce all

religions whether they be ancient, modern, new or future.

It is only in experience that there can be knowledge of the Truth.

No one ought to speak of the Divine unless he has had experience of the Divine.

Get experience of the Divine, then alone will you have the right to speak of it.

The objective study of religions will be a part of the historical study of the

development of human consciousness.

Religions make up part of the history of mankind and it is in this guise that they will

be studied at Auroville – not as beliefs to which one ought or ought not to adhere, but

as part of a process in the development of human consciousness which should lead

man towards his superior realisation.

PROGRAMME

Research through experience of the Supreme Truth

A life divine but

NO RELIGIONS

Our research will not be a search effected by mystic means. It is in life itself that we

wish to find the Divine. And it is through this discovery that life can really be

transformed. (Message, 19.05.70)

* * *

15

Foundation Stone(s) of the Matrimandir

The Matrimandir‟s foundation stone was laid on 21st February 1971, at sun-rise at

6.30 am. The Mother wrote for the occasion a card, in French: “21st February 1971.

Laying of Matrimandir‟s foundation stone. Blessings.” Actually this „foundation

stone‟ was not a stone, but a precious wooden box from the Mother and it was not

laid at the base of the future Matrimandir as the land for it had not yet been

purchased; it was buried somewhere between the Banyan Tree and the Matrimandir.

Nolini Kanta Gupta read out an excerpt from Sri Aurobindo‟s book “The Mother”:

“The Mother‟s power and not any human endeavour and tapasya can

alone rend the lid and tear the covering and shape the vessel and bring

down into this world of obscurity and falsehood and death and

suffering Truth and Light and Life Divine and the immortal‟s Ananda.”

The air resounded with music composed for the occasion and the following message

from the Mother was read out:

“Let the Matrimandir be the living symbol of Auroville‟s aspiration for the Divine”.

Interestingly, another „foundation stone‟ was laid on 21st February 1972 at 6.15 am to

mark the symbolic beginning of the construction, the cementing of the foundation.

The Mother had inscribed on it the date, the OM symbol, blessings and her signature.

It was laid at the base of the east pillar – Mahalakshmi.

16

The Matrimandir and the Mother’s Symbol

“The Matrimandir wants to be the symbol of the Universal

Mother according to Sri Aurobindo’s teaching.” (The Mother)

The Mother’s symbol

From 1928 to 1946 From 1946 onwards

Both the Mother‟s symbol and the Matrimandir represent a lotus in full bloom.

The centre of the Mother‟s symbol and the Matrimandir itself represent the Divine

Consciousness, the Supreme Mother, the Mahashakti.

The 4 petals of the Mother‟s symbol and the four pillars which support Matrimandir

represent the four Aspects or Personalities of the Mother: Maheshwari (Wisdom),

Mahalakshmi (Harmony), Mahakali (Strength) and Mahasaraswati (Perfection).

The 12 petals of the Mother‟s symbol represent the 12 „pearls‟ Mme Théon (wife of

the Mother‟s instructor in occultism) was the first to „see‟ above her head and made

her affirm: „You are that [the Mother] because you have this [12 „pearls‟ over your

head]. Only that can have this!‟ The Mother explained further to her class in 1954:

[The 12 „petals‟] signifies anything one wants, you see, 12: that‟s the number of

Aditi, of Mahashakti. So it applies to everything; all Her action has 12 aspects.

There are also Her 12 Virtues, Her 12 Powers, Her 12 Aspects, and then Her 12

Planes of manifestation and many other things that are 12; and the symbol, the

number 12 is in itself a symbol. It is the symbol of manifestation, double

perfection, in essence and in manifestation, in the creation. (The Mother)

This 12 is represented in many different ways at the Matrimandir, among which:

The Mother named the 12 meditation rooms inside the Matrimandir‟s 12 large

„petals‟: Sincerity, Humility, Gratitude, Perseverance, Aspiration, Receptivity,

Progress, Courage, Kindness, Generosity, Equality, Peace. They seem to

represent the Mother‟s 12 „Virtues‟ or „Qualities‟.

She named the 12 Gardens around the Matrimandir: Existence, Consciousness,

Bliss, Light, Life, Power, Wealth, Usefulness, Progress, Youth, Harmony,

Perfection. They seem to represent what she calls “the twelve powers of the

Mother manifested for Her work”; and Sri Aurobindo wrote that these “twelve

powers are the vibrations that are necessary for the complete manifestation.”

* * *

17

The Matrimandir and the Number 12 Twelve, that‟s the number of Aditi, of Mahashakti… The number 12

is in itself a symbol. It is the symbol of manifestation, double

perfection, in essence and in manifestation, in the creation.

The 12 is the figure of the Mahashakti. It is the essential creation,

the creation in its essence – the creative Power. And perfection,

too: the perfection in the execution. The 12 is a very important

figure (24 is two times 12, and 36 three times, 48 is four times 12).

It‟s an extremely important figure. Extremely important. (The Mother)

This probably explains why at the Matrimandir the number 12 and its multiples are

so omnipresent:

The wall of the Inner Chamber has 12 facets.

(The Mother said they represent the 12 months of the year.)

The ceiling of the Inner Chamber has 12 facets.

The Inner Chamber has 12 columns.

There are 12 pathways radiating from the Matrimandir in all directions.

(They probably symbolise the 12 rays of the Supramental Sun.)

There are 12 large „petals‟ and 12 small „petals‟.

There are 12 meditation rooms inside the larger „petals‟.

(They seem to represent the Mother‟s 12 Virtues or Qualities.)

There are 12 gardens around the Matrimandir.

(They seem to represent the 12 Powers of the Mother manifested for her work.)

The „inner skin‟ is made of (63 x 12 =) 756 triangles.

The lotus pond below the sphere has (36 x 12 =) 216 petals.

The Inner Chamber and its walls are inscribed in a 12 metre-

radius cylinder.

Matrimandir‟s horizontal diameter is (3 x 12 =) 36 metres.

The length of Matrimandir Oval is (30 x 12 =) 360 metres.

On 21st February 1971, for the Matrimandir‟s „Foundation

Stone Ceremony‟, a fire symbolising the human aspiration,

was lit in front of a simple yet magnificent circular altar

consisting of 12 red pillars. Fire & 12 red pillars

On 21st February 1972, for the ceremony marking the beginning of the actual

construction of the Matrimandir,

12 fires were lit on the hill formed by the excavated earth, and later another

great fire was lit in the centre of the excavation.

The Mother selected 12 disciples, all close to Her in some way, to be the first

in a long line of well-wishers who descended to the first level, 3 meters below

ground level, where they received a stone and then walked in procession

around the excavation before putting it in the cement mixer.

It took 36 (3 x 12) years to construct the Matrimandir (21.02.72 – 21.02.08).

18

Facing East

On 28th February 1968, for

Auroville‟s Dedication Ceremony,

the Mother wanted the young men

and women, representing all Indian

States and all countries of the world,

to face East while they placed a

handful of soil of their respective

state/country in the Urn. (This arrangement was changed when the

mound was re-built for good, and the

Amphitheatre built, in 1973.)

On 21st February 1971, for Matrimandir‟s „Foundation Stone Ceremony‟,

arrangement were made in such a way that those who had gathered in front of the

bonfire faced East.

In March 1971, the Mother decided to orient Matrimandir so that its entrance

door(s) face the rising sun (East) on April 4th (date of Sri Aurobindo‟s arrival at

Pondicherry in 1910) – meaning that one should enter from the East.

Thus one enters the Inner Chamber by its East door, which faces East.

This probably explains why the entry and exit point of the twelve Gardens is

along the East radial. (One enters the twelve gardens from the East.)

On 21st February 1972, for the ceremony marking the beginning of the actual

construction of Matrimandir, the stone (on which the Mother had inscribed the

date, the OM symbol, „Blessings‟ and her signature) was placed under its East

pillar (Mahalakshmi).

The Amphitheatre was designed and built (in 1973) in such a way that (most of)

the audience faces East, or rather East-Southeast.

Let us note that all this is in accordance with „Vastu‟, India‟s sacred art of building.

Counter-clockwise rotation One has to walk counter-clockwise to visit the twelve gardens in the proper

sequence (starting with Sat, Chit, Ananda and ending with Perfection).

One has to walk counter-clockwise to visit the twelve rooms inside the „Petals‟ in

the proper sequence (starting with Sincerity, Humility and ending with Peace).

One has to walk counter-clockwise to climb up the stairs between Matrimandir‟s

first and second levels.

One has to walk counter-clockwise to climb up the spiral ramps between

Matrimandir‟s second level and its Inner Chamber level.

Let us note that this is contrary to the Hindu tradition which requires people to walk

clockwise around a temple or shrine. There is no record of any explanation for this

counter-clockwise rotation.

Let us note that the „Galaxy‟ model of the future town rotates clockwise.

19

The Amphitheatre At the time of Auroville‟s Dedication Ceremony, in February 1968, there was no

Amphitheatre as yet; a shape had been dug in the ground and, at its focus, a white

Urn in the shape of a lotus bud had been placed on top of a small brick-clad mound.

The construction of the Amphitheatre started towards the end of 1972 and took

approximately one year; but it was only in the 1990‟s that it was finally clad with red

sandstone („Agra‟ stone from Rajasthan).

The Charter of Auroville, handwritten by the Mother, along with handfuls of soil

from all over India and the world, are sealed inside the Urn.

The Amphitheatre and its Urn seen from the top of the Matrimandir

The Amphitheatre‟s inner diameter is 75 m and its outer diameter is 98 m (including

its outer slope). (The area is 4,400m² and 7,500 m² with slopes). It is 2.2m deep and

its steps form a family of circles whose centres are evenly spaced along a line which

includes the Urn. (This line is thus the Amphitheatre‟s symmetrical axis). Rainwater

is evacuated by gravity towards the northwest by an underground pipeline.

Three times a year a large bonfire is

lit at dawn in the middle of the

Amphitheatre and Aurovilians and

well-wishers gather for a collective

meditation. The dates are:

January 1st: New Year,

February 28th: Auroville‟s Birthday,

August 15th: Sri Aurobindo‟s

Birthday.

Recorded devotional music is played

every Thursday evening.

As their nature has to be in harmony with the setting, cultural performances rarely

take place at the Amphitheatre.

20

Layout of the Oval The layout of the future island of Matrimandir was finalised early in 1971 when the

Mother approved Roger Anger‟s concept of an oval-shaped island. Two versions of

the same concept were made. First a thermocole model which was dismountable and

could thus be brought to the Mother‟s room for her approval and then a model made

of rosewood which was too large to go through the staircase leading to her room.

The second model was presented to the public for Matrimandir‟s Foundation Stone

Ceremony on 21st February 1971 and can now be seen in Matrimandir office.

Model of the Matrimandir Island (made in ‘rosewood’)

The oval shape of the future Matrimandir Island is similar to that of Matrimandir‟s

vertical section, but ten times larger (360 m x 290 m, including a three meter wide

oval pathway). When Roger Anger told this to the Mother, she commented: “ten is

the number of accomplishment”.

The future Matrimandir Island has three main features:

1. The Banyan Tree, which is now probably some 120 years old and was selected by

the Mother in March/April 1967 as the geographical centre of Auroville. The

Mother wanted the Garden of Unity, adjacent to the Banyan tree, to be “an

organisation, a repetition of the 12 gardens which are around [Matrimandir]”.

2. The lotus-shaped Urn, which stands on top of a small conical mound and was the

focus of Auroville‟s inauguration ceremony in February 1968.

The Amphitheatre which surrounds this Urn is part of the architect‟s concept for

the Oval island; it was built in 1973 and was clad with red stones in the 1990‟s.

3. The Matrimandir itself, whose foundation stone was laid on 21st February 1971

and which is surrounded by two rows of twelve „petals‟. One can concentrate on

the Mother‟s Virtues in the twelve rooms located within the larger „petals‟.

Twelve gardens, representing the Mother‟s Powers, surround Matrimandir and its

„petals‟. Twelve radial pathways radiate from the Matrimandir in all directions.

21

Meditation rooms in the ‘Petals’ Gardens

1. Sincerity A. Existence

2. Humility B. Consciousness

3. Gratitude C. Bliss

4. Perseverance D. Light

5. Aspiration E. Life

6. Receptivity F. Power

7. Progress G. Wealth

8. Courage H. Usefulness

9. Kindness I. Progress

10. Generosity J. Youth

11. Equality K. Harmony

12. Peace L. Perfection

U. Unity

Layout of the future Matrimandir Island

Photo of the future Matrimandir Island taken from a satellite

22

Accessing the Inner Chamber – a preparation

to the experience of the Chamber.

On 10th January 1970, at the very beginning of the conception process of the

Matrimandir, the Mother explained to her confident, Satprem, that to enter the

Chamber one would have to go through an underground passage starting by the Urn1

and emerging into the Chamber from below:

... after going deep down one comes back up into the temple; one goes under the

wall and comes back up again inside – it‟s again a symbol. Everything is

symbolic…

That underground passageway into the room.... One will enter from about ten

metres away from the wall, at the foot of the urn. The urn will mark the starting

point of the descent...

Then there will be certain conditions to be met before one is allowed to descend

into the underground passage and emerge into the [Inner Chamber]… It will

have to be a bit initiatory: not quite “like that”, not just anyhow.

During the following days and months, the conception of the Matrimandir evolved to

its present state2. The entrance isn‟t by the Urn anymore, but the Mother kept on

stressing to her architect the same points: “everything is symbolical” and the access

to the Inner Chamber must be such that it prepares the seekers to the experience that

awaits them. Roger Anger speaks of some kind of initiation and for Dr. Kireet Joshi

this access actually describes a particular process of yoga.

The salient features of this access are:

One has to go deep down (between two „petals‟) before one can start one‟s ascent.

Matrimandir‟s entrance door (in the pillar) opens automatically, as if in answer to

one‟s aspiration. To reach the first level, one has to go up this first staircase.

The first level is relatively exiguous. In order to enter the staircase which leads to

the second level, one has to go through a narrow passage, a reminder that an effort

is needed. One is also reminded that, in order to be born (in this case to a new

consciousness) one has to go through a narrow passage.

The more one goes up this second (spiral) staircase, the more it widens and at the

end one emerges in a very large hall bathed by the golden-pink light of

Matrimandir‟s translucent inner skin.

Then, according to Dr. Karan Singh, the “walk up the [spiral] ramp [between

second level and Chamber level] symbolises the ascent of human consciousness

in an upward spiral, culminating in the Supramental vision, and the double helix

can be seen to stand for the two channels – Ida and Pingala that enclose the fiery

Kundalini Shakti, the spiritual power that pervades the universe and is located in

potential form at the base of the human spine.”

Similarly, the beam of light coming out of the Chamber‟s floor can be compared

to the Sushumna (one of the main channels of energy in the human body).

1 This was prior to the conception and construction of the Amphitheatre.

2 The readers who wish to know how the conception of Matrimandir evolved under the Mother‟s

guidance should read the first book in this series.

23

The Mother on

Access to the Matrimandir and its Gardens

In September 1965, when Roger Anger presented

to her his very first report on the proposed

township, the Mother wrote for him this note:

The Park of Unity must be surrounded by some

kind of isolating zone so that it is solitary

and silent. One has access to it only with

permission.

The Park of Unity corresponds now to the future

oval-shaped Island and the isolating zone would

consist of the Lake to be created around it.

On 3rd

January 1970, two days after having a vision of its Inner Chamber and asking

Roger Anger to start working on Matrimandir‟s design – which means at a very early

stage when she still did not know at all what the building containing this Chamber

would be like, the Mother told Satprem:

But then, people will not come for a „regular meditations‟ or anything of the kind

(the internal organisation will be taken care of later): it will be a place for

concentration. Not everyone will be allowed in. There will be a time of the week

or the day (I don't know) when visitors will be allowed to come, but anyway

without mixture. There will be a fixed time or a fixed day to show the visitors,

and the rest of the time only for those who are... serious – serious, sincere, who

truly want to learn to concentrate. Then, people will be let in in order to

concentrate – [laughing] to learn to concentrate! No fixed meditations, nothing

of the sort, but they will have to stay there in silence – silence and concentration.

No talking inside!

[Speaking about the Chamber:] And SILENCE. No talking inside!

One week later, she stressed the same point in another conversation with Satprem:

Then there will be certain conditions to be met before one is allowed to descend

into the underground passage and emerge into the [Inner Chamber]… It will

have to be a bit initiatory: not quite “like that”, not just anyhow.

In August 1972, when Matrimandir‟s design was almost finalised, Roger Anger

wrote down what the Mother had just told him about access to Matrimandir:

Not for visitors in principle. Reserved for Aurovilians but not everyone will be

admitted. The first condition for those who want to go there is to ask.

Those who will have contributed to the construction will be admitted in the first

place.

If there are doubtful cases, they will be referred to me. All those who have a

doubtful presence won‟t go. If there is the slightest doubt, the case will be

presented to me. People must be known for their qualifications.