Sri Aurobindo Ashram
The Sri Aurobindo Ashram is the spiritual center of the followers of Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa , the "mother". The name also stands for the main building of the community in the northeastern part of Puducherry on the east coast of South India , where the former living quarters and the common tomb ("Samadhi") of the two founders are located.
history
Aurobindo had lived with a few students in different houses in the southern Indian city of Puducherry since 1910. After the final arrival of his spiritual companion, the mother, in 1920, a growing number of students joined them. The Ashram as such was created after November 1926, when Aurobindo largely withdrew to develop his integral yoga path and gave the mother the responsibility for organizing and caring for the community. Most of the supporters came because they were attracted to Aurobindo's personality and charisma, or because they admired his great commitment as a freedom fighter. At a later point in time, the mother also exerted a similar “pull”.
Over the decades that followed, numerous buildings in the city of Puducherry were acquired or rented and many businesses and facilities were established, such as a large kitchen and dining room, guest houses, factories, bakeries, farms, a printing shop and sports facilities. Aurobindo and the mother lived in the main building in the northeast of the town of Puducherry near the coast. In the inner courtyard of this building is now the "Samadhi", the common burial place of Aurobindo and the mother, whose bodies were not cremated according to a tradition of Hinduism, since both are regarded as important spiritual personalities and it is believed that their physical body also after Death blesses the earth.
The number of members of the ashram was 24 in 1926, in 1929 there were already 85 living in 17 houses, and when Aurobindo died in 1950 there were around 800. Today around 1500 ashram members live and work in over 400 buildings. In addition, there are numerous followers from all over the world who are not members, but largely participate in life in the ashram and live in guest houses or private homes. A branch of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram can be found in Delhi .
Goals and ideals
The Ashram offers residents the opportunity to collectively practice Aurobindo's Integral Yoga , which aims at a holistic development of the human being and, due to its world-affirming orientation , places great value on the Yoga of Works ( Karma Yoga ). Numerous activities such as sporting events, theater and music performances, etc. enable the members of the Ashram to pursue their individual interests and shape their spiritual development in harmony with Aurobindo's ideals. Children and young people are trained in Ashram's own facilities. The "International Center of Education", which is located opposite the main building of the Ashram, leads to university entrance qualifications.
Publications
The following is a selection of magazines published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram or by institutions that work with it:
- Sri Aurobindo Mandir Annual, Kolkata since 1942
- Bartika (in Bengali), quarterly, Kolkata since 1942
- The Advent, quarterly, Puducherry since 1944
- Sri Aurobindo Circle, annually, Puducherry since 1945
- Bulletin of Physical Education (now: Bulletin of Sri Aurobindo International Center of Education), quarterly, Puducherry, since 1949, English-French
- Mother India, monthly, Puducherry, since 1949
- Srinvantu, quarterly, since 1956
See also
literature
- Sri Aurobindo and his Ashram , Puducherry, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust 2004, ISBN 978-81-7058-738-5
- Wilfried Huchzermeyer : The mother - a short biography. (Distribution: edition sawitri / Karlsruhe), ISBN 978-3-931172-18-3
Web links
Coordinates: 11 ° 55 ′ 0 ″ N , 79 ° 47 ′ 0 ″ E