The Spirit of Auroville

On Friday June 25th, in the morning after our work on Savitri, the Mother opened her diary in which she kept my letters. There were also some blank sheets of paper. She drew several sketches in front of me. Out of them she gave me these two.

This one is in the shape of a flower, a hibiscus, to which the Mother has given the significance, "Godhead—Pure and Perfect, it puts out its force in the world."

Then she pointed to each petal and counterpetal, and explained:

This drawing is divided into four petals with small semi circles between their divisions. They are meant for Civil Services like Post Offices, Banks, Telecom, Telegraph and so on. The four petals represent four Powers of the Supreme Mother. They are Mahakali, Maheshwari, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati.

Mahakali: Industrial area. Small industries will be in this place. The big ones will be on the seaside. And further towards Madras the land will be extended covering some 50 miles or so. Also, the land of Auroville will be extended towards Lake Estate southward.

Big industries will be far away from the inner parts, which must be in total silence and peace. They must not be affected by smoke and noise from heavy machinery.

Maheshwari: the Residential area. Here the ground must not be levelled but be kept as it is with hillocks. There will be tall trees, grass, flowers, small ponds, fountains, rockeries—all natural things—nothing should be artificial.

Mahalakshmi: Cultural zone. In this area there will be art galleries, studios, museums, exhibition halls, an auditorium, schools, colleges and so on. Musicians, dancers, painters, sculptors and other artists will have their houses—surrounded by natural beauties. The artists will be undisturbed and free to create new things.