PUDUCHERRY: In view of Pongal (Karinal), the Matrimandir and the Auroville Visitors Centre will remain closed on January 17, according to a press communique from Auroville.
Matrimandir is the soul of Auroville, at the very centre of the Auroviller, situated in a large open area called ‘peace’, from where the future township radiates outwards.
The atmosphere is quiet and the area beautiful.
As yet incomplete, the Matrimandir emerges as a large golden sphere which seems to be rising out of the earth, symbolising the birth of a new consciousness seeking to manifest itself. This important and powerful feature at the heart of the city which was seen by the Mother as the “symbol of the divine’s answer to man’s aspiration for perfection” and as “the central cohesive force” for the growth of Auroville.
As to its name, ‘Matrimandir’, it literally means ‘Temple of the Mother’.
According to Aurobindo’s teaching, the ‘mother’ concept stands for the great evolutionary, conscious and intelligent principle of life, the universal mother - which seeks to help humanity move beyond its present limitations into the next step of its evolutionary adventure, the supramental consciousness.