This quarterly publication looks at the deeper meaning of the centre of Auroville - the area, Mother called Peace. It is around this conscious and dynamically peaceful centre that the City of Auroville is to build itself.

Speaking about the very first condition to live in Auroville as stated in the Charter of Auroville: "To live in Auroville one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness", Mother explained that the Matrimandir symbolized the Divine Consciousness.

She called it 'the Soul of Auroville' and 'the living symbol of Auroville's aspiration for the Divine'.

Exploring the significance:

The Matrimandir Journal looks at these and other remarks of the Mother and attempts to explore the inward psychological and spiritual significance of each of the elements that compose the centre: i.e. the Matrimandir structure, the powers and attributes of the 'Universal Mother' and her Creation, represented by the twelve Gardens (referred to by the Mother to be 'as important as the Matrimandir itself') as also the 12 rooms for meditation.

There is a deep mystery about this magnificent three dimensional Yantra that is being created at the centre of Auroville. A greater awareness of the significance of each of its elements might aid in activating this symbol in our individual and collective consciousness and help us to find the deeper unity we seek. For, as Sri Aurobindo says, "A spiritual symbol is only a meaningless ticket, unless the thing symbolized is realized in the spirit ... A spiritual idea is a power, but only when it is both inwardly and outwardly creative."

Contents

The Journal appears periodically and is available on request for all interested persons. The issues published so far:

• Journal 1: Peace - What is the meaning of peace in yoga; and its significance at Matrimandir.
• Journal 2: The Universal Mother - Who or what She is according to Sri Aurobindo.
• Journal 3: The Universal Mother - As She is conceived in different traditions.
• Journal 4: Material Nature - The significance and importance of the Matrimandir Gardens and Park.
• Journal 5: The Matrimandir Gardens - Mother's work with plants and flowers and trees.
• Journal 6: The Four Powers of the Mother - Maheshwari; Mahakali; Mahalakshmi; Mahasaraswati.
• Journal 7: Maheshwari - The Mother of Wisdom.
• Journal 8: Mahakali - The Mother of Force and Strength.
• Journal 9: Mahalakshmi - The Mother of Beauty and Delight.
• Journal 10: Mahasaraswati - The Mother of Perfection and skill in Works.
• Journal 11: The Divine Shakti & Integral Yoga - The nature of Integral Yoga; the action of the Divine Shakti.

Future issues:

• Journal 12: The Overmind Godheads - Their place in the Universal Mother's creation
• Journal 13: The Mother of Ananda - The Mother of a Supreme Divine Love - A higher and hitherto recondite Power of the Mother

Further issues will explore first: the 12 states of Consciousness that are meant to be embodied in the Matrimandir Gardens; and later: the 12 qualities of the Meditation Rooms.

For further details, please contact: matrimandir@auroville.org.in