Sincerity
Humility
Gratitude
Perseverence
Aspiration
Receptivity
Progress
Courage
Goodness
Generosity
Equality
Peace
Progress
Youth
Harmony
Perfection
Existence
Consciousness
Bliss
Light
Life
Power
Wealth
Utility
The Banyan Tree 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.
In late 1965, Roger Anger, the French architect appointed by The Mother to design the future town, brought Her a map of the area North of Pondicherry. The Mother was in Her room at the Ashram and had probably never set foot in that area, for at that time there was no motor road leading to it. She concentrated and pointed to a particular area 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, the Banyan provided shade for an exhibition on the future town and, at the Mother’s request, a stainless steel ring bearing the words (in Tamil and in French) “Auroville, the City at the Service of Truth” was placed around its trunk and remains there to this day.
Banyan trees (Ficus Benghalensis) belong to the Ficus (fig) family. This particular tree is probably a little more than 100 years old. Banyans have the peculiarity of producing ‘aerial roots’ which grow down from branches towards the ground and take root to become new trunks. The diameter of this Banyan is kept at approximately 50 metres so that it remains in proportion with its surroundings.
The Amphitheatre lies to the South West of the Matrimandir in the Park of Unity. The outer diameter of the Amphitheatre is 98 m and the inner diameter is 75 meters; it is 2.2 meters deep. The steps form a family of circles whose centres are evenly spaced along a line which includes the Urn.
At the time of Auroville’s inauguration ceremony, in 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 mound which was clad with bricks.
The construction of the Amphitheatre started towards the end of 1972 and took approximately one year and it was only in the 1990s that it was finally clad with red Agra sandstone from Rajasthan.
The Auroville Charter, handwritten by the Mother, along with handfuls of soil from 124 nations and 23 Indians states, placed there at the Inauguration ceremony, are sealed inside the Urn.
Twice a year on 28th February, Auroville’s Birthday, and 15th August, Sri Aurobindo’s Birthday, a large bonfire is lit at dawn in the Amphitheatre and Aurovilians and well-wishers gather for a collective meditation and to enjoy the beautiful floral decorations.
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