I remember visiting Auroville in 2012. My friend Igor was heading their internal IT infrastructure there. It was Open Source Technology that made us friends. I had a great couple of days stay there. Most of the time was learning their technology implementation and evening picking some beer and talking. I have not been a follower of any ideology, sect since early childhood. I feel we are all part of this vast universe where our significance hardly matters.
I was too high in my spirits to care about Utopia or social experiment or commune at that time. I do remember seeing Matraimandir while entering the premises. In my early 20’s, philosophy or spirituality was miles away from me. It was more about figuring out and fighting with my hormones to keep me sane.
Last week I picked up “Better to have Gone” by Akash Kapur.
- It talks about the foundation of Auroville. How things changed after the founder Mirra Alfassa (known as “the Mother”) died.
- The worship, faith of a couple on “the Mother”; resulted in their death.
- The stakeholder’s infighting. Who should run and control Auroville?
- It also talks about the CIA running a secret LSD experiment in the early days.
- The plight of youngsters. The newborns and missing parents.
I don’t know the author personally. I understand his writing comes from the research, meetings, and his wife. They have grown up at Auroville those days. Also, I am no judge for giving readers a rating on it. I liked reading the book. The way events are explained, how true or false are they: I don’t know.
From my limited knowledge, every cult, sect, Utopia requires a guru, die-hard followers who think they will find purpose in their life following the guru, and lots of money. Was or Is Auroville any different? I don’t know.
Someone on a thread below has added their take. Feel free to check it.