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On decision making
in Auroville
- submitted
by Roy via an international email forum
"To the senses it is always true that the
sun moves round the earth; this is false to the reason. To the reason it
is always true that the earth moves round
the sun; this is false to the supreme vision. Neither earth moves nor
sun; there
is only a change in the relation of sun-consciousness &
earth-consciousness."
Sri Aurobindo
Juggling..
A friend once remarked, while observing the way
Aurovilians seem to stretch the process of decision making to great
extremes, that there are high schools in America with a larger
population then Auroville, and asked "why is it so hard for them to
reach a decision"? Indeed, this is a good question and the answer
goes a long way in uncovering the rather profound approach that
comprises an ‘Auroville decision’. When Aurovilians are asked to
make a decision one may feel as if one is lost in a mirage of
contradictions yet it is in the midst of these varying perceptions that
we are compelled to unmask ourselves, to untangle the enigmatic puzzle
of what we are and most importantly, push aside the obstacles that bar
our entrance to the promise of Auroville's fulfillment.
The dominant impetus behind this process of decision making
itself, is the forging of
the foundations of a ‘human unity’ in Auroville. Using the above
quote from Sri Aurobindo metaphorically, Aurovilians continually juggle
these three perspectives simultaneously, when approaching what, one day,
might become a kind of decision. The problems arising in reaching a
decision, within the context of this triple view of things and
multiplied by 1500 Aurovilians can be, to say the least, a most
exasperating of experiences, yet our seeking is indomitable.
An overwhelmingly potent and complex experience
There are so many complex elements to our living
experience in Auroville which lay, beneath the surface appearances,
subterfuge to our best intentions, that often strains
our collective decision making process that are difficult to put
into words. How, for example, can one explain to
those who do not live in Auroville, or in India for that matter,
what it means to live in Auroville through the months of April, May and
June, when the Sun rises, full blast, as if some one had opened a
furnace portal, the air itself so hot that one breaks into a sweat
simply by writing on one's computer, the effort to move one's fingers
can be that strenuous. Or
the kind of ‘actualities’ we contend with, may very well be defined
by which side of the Financial Service desk you may be sitting. It is
foolish to try and describe the full breath of the overwhelmingly potent
experience it is to live in Auroville as it is to try and define exactly
what goes into, what may seem, as a ‘simple’ decision. The fact is
nothing in Auroville is resolved superficially.
Auroville Consciousness & Aurovilian consciousness
But beyond these kinds of considerations there is
the even wider range of perspectives, what Sri Aurobindo refers to as
the ‘Supreme Vision’, which despite its abstract definition is a
perception available to every Aurovilians' inner sense.
Perhaps it would be simpler to say, that we are not making a
decision as such, but rather we going through a process in which we
change the relationship between Auroville Consciousness and Aurovilian
consciousness.
One feels at times, that a decision could be
reached more effectively by simply going to the Chamber and quieting
oneself, and in the most profound sense of the word, merge in Silence.
Often we are pressed to acknowledge that as Aurovilians we are asked to
purge ourselves of our limitations, purifying our intentions, becoming
transparent and profoundly reflective and then only can we touch upon
the truth that lays behind decisions we are asked to make.
The very integrity of what it means to be an Aurovilian
It
is almost as if we are walking on an imperceptibly delicate path along a
journey that in the end will lead to Auroville itself, and it is not so
much about this or that decision that is being sought after but rather
how we reach our destination that is most important. One thing is
certain, nothing that is meaningful can be obtained casually, and the
journey we have accepted to follow is a most extraordinary passage one
may embark upon and this places demands upon the very integrity of what
it means to be an Aurovilian.
Roy (Aurodam)
roy@auroville.org.in
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