The Spirit of Auroville

Let this year mark the beginning of a vast and beautiful realisation which will be the first step towards the New Creation.

I asked Pourna how the card came to her. She said:

When Roger shifted to his new house in Pondicherry he left this card and the Mother's photograph in his old house.

Roger told me that now everything is past and old. All this happened after the Mother left her body.

In the book, Gardening the Japanese Way (p. 137) Sima Eliovson writes:

The Garden of Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, also called Rocuon-ji (Deer Park), was originally built for the shogun Yoshimitsu (1367-95 AD) after his retirement. The garden comprises about 4 1/2 acres, including a pond of 1 3/4 acres, with islands representing the tortoise and crane, symbols of long life. The Pavilion, converted to a Buddhist temple after Yoshimitsu's death, was destroyed by fire in 1950. It was rebuilt according to the original plans in 1955....

The gilding is a new innovation and condemned by discerning Japanese. The pointed eaves of the roofs of this three-tiered building form an exciting pattern against the sky, which is reflected in the water of the large lake surrounding it. The pond was once filled with lotus leaves and designed to create an image of paradise (the Seven-treasure pond of the Buddhist paradise), but its present untrammelled surface forms a perfect mirror for the Pavilion. This lake is broken by an island embedded with stones and planted with tall pines, while smaller islands emerge here and there. Some are tortoise-shaped. This garden illustrates the love of islands and lakes in both Japanese and Chinese gardens of old. The clay soil of this area is ideal for formation of a large lake, for it holds the water well.

One may stroll around the lake which is surrounded by trees, chiefly Red and Black Pines, but also the evergreen Podocarpus macrophylla and Lithocarpus (Pasania edulis). Cryptomeria japonica and Chamaecyparis obtusa are plentiful in the garden, with their crisp cypress-like foliage in contrast to the other trees. There are palms with tall stems and fans of leaves (Trachycarpus) and numerous shrubs like Camellias, Gardenia Jasminoides and Pieris. The deciduous oak, Quercus glauca, is trimmed into a low bush so as to display its tender bronze spring foliage. In a large public place such as the Golden Pavilion grounds, papers flutter from the 'fortune' trees and hedges at the entrance, representing a donation to the temple and the fond hope that one's fortune will improve....

The stroll Garden, with lake and island, is one of the favourite types of garden in Japan, and has been popular since 612 A.D., when a lake and island were made in the garden of the Empress Suiko at Nara.

This beautiful example illustrates how the tranquil stretch of water mirrors the pine trees on the island, as well as the graceful Pavilion....

Prabhat Kumar Poddar informed me that Mr. M.J. Patel of Japan and some others formed a group to coordinate the Japanese Pavilion and cultural participation in Auroville. The Mother was very much interested and inquired about the Japanese Pavilion.

Some of the Indian States kept sending the funds for their Pavilions also.

I do not really know what happened and what was the result.