Bharat Nivas, the Pavilion of Indian Culture
For
the last twenty years, India's Pavilion 'Bharat Nivas' has been carrying
the torch for development in the International Zone while its
surroundings remained pretty barren and dormant until quite recently.
The various buildings in the Bharat Nivas compound, several of them yet
to be completed, have generously housed some thirty Auroville services
and units, making the place a dynamic and important centre for the communal
and social life of the township.
Main focus
Soon Bharat Nivas can take up its main
role and function. India's work for the future, as Sri Aurobindo says
in 'The Renaissance of India', is:
-
The recovery of the old spiritual knowledge
and experience in all its splendour, depth and fullness is its first
most essential work.
-
The flowing of this spirituality into new
forms of philosophy, literature, art, science and critical knowledge
is the second.
-
An original dealing with modern problems in
the light of the Indian spirit and the endeavour to formulate a
great synthesis of a spiritualised society is the third and the most
difficult.
The Pavilion of Tibetan Culture
We understand that this Pavilion will be
dedicated to the essence of Tibetan culture in an effort to show that
out of the diversity of world cultures, these pavilions can help to
create a new harmony towards world human unity.
- The Dalai Lama
Begun in 1997, the construction of the Pavilion of
Tibetan Culture has progressed smoothly since then. Today more than two
thirds of the building, constructed on the grid of the Kalachakra
Mandala, is completed. The Pavilion will have an exhibition hall, a
large conference room, a library, a restaurant, and a Tibetan medical
centre, as well as guest rooms for Tibetans and other visitors. For the
past ten years regular cultural activities such as training for young
Tibetans, monastic dance and chants, lectures and medical camps have
been conducted in Auroville. >> more
Americas
The Americas Area was consecrated on Febuary 28th,
2001, and plans are moving forward for the creation of a student
guesthouse, which can be the first of many buildings on the Americas
'campus'. The U.S. Pavilion has already begun offering cultural events
and sponsoring educational programmes within Auroville.
Africa
There is a proposal for building a first Africa
House to provide a base where African students and guests could be
accommodated and come into direct contact with the atmosphere of
Auroville.
France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and U.K.
For many years already, several countries such as
France, Italy and Russia have been offering various cultural programmes
to Auroville, such as exhibitions, book collections and other materials
under the umbrella of their future Cultural Pavilions. Pledges for
funding towards these Pavilions have been made, and research into their
materialisation is ongoing. A proposal and design for a Russian Pavilion
was one of the first projects studied and researched, as well as a
French initiative. Both these are being revived and reviewed at
present.
In Germany the 'Soul of Germany' is being discussed
within Auroville-associated circles as a necessary preparation for a
true representation of the country's cultural life, and on August 15th
2001 a first 'consecration' of the German Pavilion took place. Also in Spain
in-depth studies in
this direction have been done, and U.K. starts gearing up as well.
Unity Pavilion
The 'Unity Pavilion' is meant as a seed and
catalyst for the development of the International Zone. It will be open
to all nations presenting cultural activities, and in this way initiate
the realisation of the national/cultural pavilions. The focus of work in the Unity Pavilion will be the
collaboration and development of the continental areas and the
interaction of cultures that defy national borders. This process can
bring us to a deeper understanding of what the International Zone
represents. In this wide context, the Unity Pavilion's objective will be
to promote understanding between people, individuals and cultures, and
in that way work towards an understanding of human unity that is the
basis for realisation of world peace. >> more
Peace Table
George Nakashima, a distinguished American
architect and woodworker, dreamed of offering to each continent of the
world a Table for Peace, crafted from two great, 300 year old Eastern
Black Walnut trees. The first Peace Table was placed at the Cathedral of
St. John the Divine in New York City. A second table was dedicated in
1995, and will be installed in Moscow in June, 2001. February 29th 1996,
marked the inauguration of the third Peace Table in Auroville. Presently
housed in the Centre of Indian Culture, it will have its home in The
Hall of Peace, situated between the Matrimandir and the Unity Pavilion.
Visitors Information Centre
At the periphery of the International Zone is a
large Visitors Centre which, in an easily accessible way,
introduces visitors to Auroville and presents the many aspects of
Auroville's ongoing research by way of an exhibition, printed
publications and a video viewing facility. It also contains shops that
offer Auroville handicrafts, a bookshop and a cafeteria.
An invitation to participate
So far the work of the pavilions has been done
through individuals and groups in Auroville and abroad. The full
functionality of the pavilions will be fulfilled only when there is
participation by the national governments in manifesting them. Active
sponsorship is encouraged and can be coordinated through the Auroville
International Centres.
It is no longer towards division and
difference that we should turn our minds, but on unity, union, even
oneness necessary for the pursuit and realisation of a common Ideal, the
destined goal. There is therefore the need to see how East and West
could be reconciled in the pursuit of the highest and largest ideals.
Spirit embrace Matter and Matter finds its own true reality and the
hidden reality in all things in the spirit.
Sri Aurobindo, Message to America, 1949
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