While awareness dawns that the Matrimandir will finally be ready, there is as yet little understanding what impact it will have on Auroville. “There is a substantial pressure that, as Auroville belongs to nobody in particular according to its Charter, the Matrimandir should also be freely accessible to every visitor, just like the Baha'i Lotus Temple in New Delhi ,” says Gilles. “But The Mother has told Roger Anger that the Matrimandir is a place for Aurovilians, and that it was ‘not for visitors in principle'.”
Opinions on what She exactly meant by ‘visitors' in this respect differ, but all agree that the present policy for casual tourists should continue: they will only be allowed to see the Matrimandir from a distance. Explains Gilles, “It is simply not possible to allow all the tourists because their number is far too great. Each person would need to pull on white socks to walk through Matrimandir, so you can imagine the confusion.” He recalls that an earlier experiment to allow tourists to walk in file up to the Chamber, have a look at the Crystal and then turn back, was unsatisfactory to all.
The opening times for the non-Aurovilian pass holders are still to be decided. The main question is the availability of a sufficient number of volunteers: at least fourteen Aurovilians are required for the Chamber and the twelve meditation rooms in the petals.
On an ‘occult' level, the finishing of Matrimandir might presage the coming of better times. The Mother repeatedly stressed that the earlier the Matrimandir would be ready, the better it would be for everybody, especially for the Aurovilians. “Build Matrimandir, I take it upon myself to make it into a very strong centre,” She said.
Even now, while the finishing work is in progress, something seems to be changing in Auroville's atmosphere; many attempts are being made to harmonize opposing viewpoints. As Nirodbaran, who recalled, in an interview with Auroville Today in August 1991, that Mother had mentioned that “the completion of Matrimandir will coincide with the establishment of peace and harmony in the world.” See also: The Matrimandir, Soul of the city Home > Journals & Media > Journals > Auroville Today > October 2006
The opening times for the non-Aurovilian pass holders are still to be decided. The main question is the availability of a sufficient number of volunteers: at least fourteen Aurovilians are required for the Chamber and the twelve meditation rooms in the petals.
On an ‘occult' level, the finishing of Matrimandir might presage the coming of better times. The Mother repeatedly stressed that the earlier the Matrimandir would be ready, the better it would be for everybody, especially for the Aurovilians. “Build Matrimandir, I take it upon myself to make it into a very strong centre,” She said.
Even now, while the finishing work is in progress, something seems to be changing in Auroville's atmosphere; many attempts are being made to harmonize opposing viewpoints. As Nirodbaran, who recalled, in an interview with Auroville Today in August 1991, that Mother had mentioned that “the completion of Matrimandir will coincide with the establishment of peace and harmony in the world.” See also: The Matrimandir, Soul of the city Home > Journals & Media > Journals > Auroville Today > October 2006
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