Town Planning

The City of Dawn

The Universal Township project of Auroville was inaugurated on 28th February 1968, when young people representing 124 countries and all the Indian States placed a handful of earth from their home lands in a marble-clad urn near the centre of Auroville, in a gesture symbolising the creation of a town dedicated to human unity and international understanding.

Not a Yoga of world-shunning asceticism, but of divine Life.

Integral yoga, sometimes also called supramental yoga, is a transformational practice developed by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Central to Integral yoga is the idea of supramental manifestation on the Earth.According to Sri Aurobindo, the current status of human evolution is an intermediate stage in the evolution of the Earth consciousness, which is on its way to the unfolding of the Supermind, and the self-revelation of divinity in all things. Yoga is a rapid and concentrated evolution of being, which can take effect in one lifetime, while unassisted natural evolution would take many centuries or many births.

A City the Earth Needs

Auroville, sometimes referred to as "The City of Dawn" is conceived for 50,000 inhabitants from around the world. At the centre stands the Matrimandir, the "soul of the city", a place for individual silent concentration, in an oval shaped Peace Area surrounded by a lake. Radiating out beyond the lake are four Zones - the Industrial (north), Cultural (north east), Residential (south/south west) and International (west) - each focusing on an important aspect of the town's life. Surrounding the township is a Green Belt consisting of forested areas, farms and sanctuaries. 

This world was not built with random bricks of Chance, A blind god is not destiny's architect; A conscious power has drawn the plan of life, There is a meaning in each curve and line.

Auroville, often referred to as "The City of Dawn", is conceived for 50,000 inhabitants from around the world. It is located on a low-lying plateau on the southeast coast of India, some 10 kilometres north of Pondicherry. At the centre stands the Matrimandir, the "soul of Auroville", a place for individual silent concentration. Radiating out beyond the Matrimandir Gardens are four Zones - the Industrial (north), Cultural (north-east), Residential (south/south-west) and International (west) - each focusing on an important aspect of the town's life. A Green Belt consisting of forested areas, farms and sanctuaries with scattered settlements for those involved in green work is in its growth phase.While much of the land is still to be acquired, Auroville presently manages over 80% of the total acreage within the town area. The situation in the Green Belt is less advanced, with a far smaller portion of the area currently belonging to Auroville. The present 'community' of Auroville consists of some 120 settlements of varying size, interspersed with and surrounded by lands owned by Auroville, by surrounding villages and by some temples.