Last day in Auroville

Yesterday I went to the temple in Chitamburam. It was in the Dravidian style.

Mark asked me to get more specific about my experience so here goes:

In Auroville, it is basically a strange version of probably what the state of Israel looked like when they were drying out swamps with an Indian feel and New Age sensibility. It is dirty and there are a lot of old hippies that have moved there or are visiting. There are a lot of Indians who have also moved there though I am unsure if they are in it for the potential financial or security of because of what Auroville stands for.

The best thing I have seen / experienced so far is the inside of the golf ball. It is an amazing meditation place. I couldn't get in until today because of the rain. The inside is all white and they are afraid that people will track mud inside. They give you white socks to put on. You are led up a spiral pathway, all carpeted in white to a huge room that faces a glass sphere. When the sun passes over the golf ball there is a window at the very top that catches the light and then the light is refracted inside the glass ball. It is beautiful.

I appreciate how it is not, despite the name Matrimandir, a temple to The Mother. She specifically said that it is a meditation space that is not dedicated to a person. It is for anyone, from any religious background to sit and meditate in whatever way you want -- as long as you are silent.

Then after grabbing a snack at the bakery and some jewelry -- couldn't help it--- I started my journey in a private taxi to Chennai.

So what do I want out of this solo trip? What have I gained so far? What I want from this experience is to be able to reflect on where I am in life. To think about my spiritual path. I don't have the opportunity to really to that at home and it is great to spend some time doing that. On Sunday I sat around a circle with 8 others in silence. The birds were chirping. Some motorbikes went buzzing by. Some fresh fragrant flowers were in the center of the circle and I could sit there/ lie there/ think there/ meditate there for 3 hours. There was a quiet closing chant that is pretty common that basically translates as: May all things exists in peace.

During the movie on Saturday night I started reflecting on how I feel about bringing a child into a world that could very well be destroyed by climate change, war and other forms of destruction. The movie I saw in Sri Lanka was very depressing. However the movie by Barbara Marx Hubbard (old hippie new-agey lady) called Humanity Ascending made me feel a little bit better. Her theory was much more hopeful. Instead of thinking about humankind being destroyed, she sees it transforming into something better. She uses the metaphor of the catipilar transforming into a butterfly.

Today I visited two other temples, Rama Krishna Mutt Temple and Shiva Kapaleeshwar Temple.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1nftzD67vo


Tonight I am sleeping in a kinda icky hotel. I look forward to getting to the beach in Goa.