Matrimandir

The Soul of Auroville

At the very center of Auroville one finds the Matrimandir, “The Soul of Auroville”, situated at the heart of the Park of Unity. The area is beautiful and the atmosphere is quiet and charged even though work continues in the Gardens and the Lake

The Matrimandir will be the soul of Auroville.
The sooner the soul is there, the better it will be
for everybody and especially for the Aurovilians.

~Mira Alfassa ‘The Mother’

The Matrimandir will be the soul of Auroville.
The sooner the soul is there, the better it will be
for everybody and especially for the Aurovilians.

The Mother

The Matrimandir wants to be the symbol of the Universal Mother according to Sri Aurobindo’s teaching.

The Mother

Let the Matrimandir be the living symbol

of Auroville’s aspiration for the Divine.

The Mother

The Matrimandir wants to be the symbol of the Divine’s answer

to man’s aspiration for perfection.

The Mother

Union with the Divine manifesting in a progressive human unity.

The Mother

The Matrimandir

The Matrimandir, a huge gold disc-clad sphere, which seems to be rising out of the earth, symbolises the birth of a new consciousness. The Sanskrit word “Matrimandir’ means “Temple of the Mother” referring to the evolutionary, conscious and intelligent principle of Life which leads the human journey from its present limitations into the next stage of its evolutionary adventure.

The Inner Chamber

In The Mother’s words, the Inner Chamber is a place “for those who want to learn to concentrate. No fixed meditations, none of all that, but they should stay there in silence, in silence and concentration. A place for trying to find one’s consciousness.”

There are no images, no organised meditations, no flowers, no incense, no religions or religious forms.

The Petals

The Matrimandir is encircled by twelve Petals corresponding to the twelve petals of The Mother’s symbol. The Mother has named them “Sincerity, Humility, Gratitude, Perseverance, Aspiration, Receptivity, Progress, Courage, Goodness, Generosity, Equality, Peace” each one representing one of the twelve powers of the Universal Mother. Each Petal contains a small meditation room

The Pillars

The four pairs of Pillars which support the Matrimandir serve also as the four main entrances to the sphere. The Mother has named them for Her four aspects or personalities. On the South axis we find Maheshwari; on the North, Mahakali; on the East, Mahalakshmi; and on the West, Mahasaraswati.

The Lotus Pond

Below the Matrimandir water flows gently in a pure white marble lotus pond. At its center, a crystal ball receives the beam of sunlight that illuminates the Crystal in the Inner Chamber and then passes on down through the Mother symbol on the Second Level to reach the Lotus Pond below.

The Banyan Tree

The Banyan Tree, which is probably a little more than 100 years old, stands close to the Matrimandir in the West. It has been chosen by The Mother as the geographical center of Auroville. It is surrounded by the Garden of Unity

The Amphitheatre

Located adjacent to the Matrimandir and the central Banyan Tree at the heart of Auroville, the Amphitheatre has as its focal point a marble-clad urn containing the Auroville Charter in the Mother’s handwriting and soil placed in it by representatives of the 124 nations and 23 Indian States that participated in the Auroville inauguration ceremony in 1968.

The Gardens

The Matrimandir Gardens cannot be compared with conventional gardens or parks in the world as the main purpose of Matrimandir Gardens is to evoke various states of consciousness.. They are as much a place for inner concentration as the Inner Chamber. Speaking of the Gardens, The Mother said, ‘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’.

The Lake

It was as early as 1970 that The Mother made Her wishes clear that the Matrimandir is to be surrounded by a Lake. At that time She said, “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…

In 2006, Roger Anger, the Chief architect of Auroville, chose, from among many proposals, a design for this Lake by the German water engineer Harald Kraft. The Lake, presently under construction, is to be, on average, 100 meters wide and 100 meters deep with a circumference of 1.1 kilometers.

It will create an isolating zone between the hustle and bustle of the City and the tranquility of the Park of Unity.

How you can contribute

You can contribute to Matrimandir in work, kind or money.

Matrimandir has been, and continues to be, developed and maintained exclusively through donations.

The Goal has been set to complete the Matrimandir, including the Park of Unity and the Lake, by 21February 2028.

Fundraising

We are reaching out to all of The Mother’s children to join hands to help raise the funds to make this special offering for Her 150th birth anniversary a reality.

Any individual, any group or any Centre who feels moved to make an offering towards this effort can do so by making a one time offering or by sponsoring a whole project or by making regular donations or by making offerings in kind.

Donations in kind

Cement, steel, granite, cables and other electrical fittings, for example, are all going to be needed in large quantities. Donations of materials will be greatly appreciated.

Volunteering

If you would like to come and join in there are work opportunities for volunteers

The Matrimandir

THE PARK OF UNITY

THE LAKE AND THE CHANNEL

The Matrimandir

THE PARK OF UNITY

THE LAKE

THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Matrimandir

The Soul of Auroville

The Matrimandir

The Inner Chamber

The Petals

The Pillars

The Lotus Pond

The Banyan Tree

The Amphitheatre

The Gardens

The Lake

How you can contribute