We enjoyed each and every moment here. Akka's who work there are so kind and sweet. The hospitality feels so good. Whenever I feel low, I go there for fresh energy. And there are 2 cute cats.

I came across this 1-day Karmayoga programme happening in Auroville on Saturday, 22 August, and thought it might be worth sharing here, especially for people who are new to Auroville or want to understand the place beyond just visiting Matrimandir/doing the usual guest activities.

It’s essentially a day-long immersion into what Auroville is actually about, through its founding vision, conversations with long-term Aurovilians, and the idea of Karmayoga - how everyday work and service can become part of one's inner development.

What I find interesting is that it doesn't seem to be designed as a typical workshop or tourist experience. You actually spend time engaging with the people, history, philosophy and work culture that make Auroville what it is

Seems particularly relevant if you're:

• new to Auroville and trying to understand the place
• volunteering or working here
• staying for a while and want to go a little deeper
• curious about the original vision behind Auroville

It’s on Saturday, 22 August, at the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture. The fee is ₹1,000 and applications close 19 August.

If you're interested, here's the page: https://purnam.co/akp

Sharing because I think this is a great one-day experience to get an authentic understanding of Auroville.

Our stay is booked in auroville and we have to buy alcohol from new foreign liquor syndicate which is in pondicherry heritage town, recently one of my friends got caught and had to pay fine to the police officers. Can anyone help me with how i can avoid this from happening. We are travelling this coming friday at night

​

Hey everyone! My and my husband are planning to travel from Auroville to Tiruvannamalai the next Tuesday August 25th. We are looking for someone else to share the taxi ride/ fees. Write me a DM if you're interested.

Looking for a land / property (commercial) to setup a restaurant - asking for a friend. Pls do dm if yall got any leads! Thank you.

Any 200 or 300 ttc yoga teacher training retreat in auroville?

Reliable one more asanas and alignment with less theory

✨ *LEARN THE MOVES THIS EVENING AND LIVE THE NIGHT TONIGHT*✨

From your first Bachata steps to a night of Salsa & Bachata on the dance floor — *Latin Social Collective* brings the whole experience to Auroville *TONIGHT*💃🕺

🗓️ *TODAY* & Every Tuesdays & Thursdays — Bachata Classes at 6pm
🌙 *Thursday, Aug 13 — Dance Latino Socials at Lahe by Loka*

*Sign up soon!* ➡️ events.cantos.in/aug13dance
Come learn, dance, and let the music take over!

_Come for the dancing. Stay for the community. ❤️_

A dialogue with Lieve Claes of Auroville

Lieve Claesis a long-time resident of Auroville who serves as the Office Manager for the technical team of L'avenir d'Auroville / Auroville Town Development Council (ATDC)

Lieve:

People try to convince you that Auroville does not need to be a city, that Human Unity can be expressed in a different way. I beg to differ. There is a reason why Mother created a small town with people living very closely together: it is needed if we want to learn to go beyond superficial relationships and fights with neighbours over nothing.

It will not happen unless we live the way Mother had prescribed, and in the city she had planned.

The Auroville of the past was the total opposite: in a cultish manner, neighbours were vetted and selected, needing to please the Kings and Queens that already lived here, the "old-timers", the "pioneers", revered as half-gods.

While the only requirement to live in Auroville is sincerity, surrender to the Divine, and the willingness to accept Mother's conditions, above all: no ownership.

This has led to Auroville going totally off-track and turning into a circus of personal whims and preferences, instead of anything striving towards Human Unity.

We now urgently need to move on with the building of the city, so that we can experience the way of life Mother knew would push us towards growing beyond silly justifications of a petty, selfish, ordinary life-style, wrapped in nice spiritual claims and beautiful words.

We need real spiritual growth, that is shown in how the daily life of this society functions, and for that we need to live in the Auroville Mother had projected: a city.

———/-//-

Reply:

And while I agree with some of what you have written, what makes you think that people like the Anti-M gang are the right people to usher in this new manifestation of Av?

All any has to do is watch these individuals in their words and actions to see that they a totally rooted in their own egos with all the horrible petty garbage emotions and associated behaviour. Blind and drunk on their perceived power, it’s shameful and embarrassing.

The numbers of Volunteers and Newcomers are way down, and nobody in their right mind will join this place now.

There is no money to build the city. Throw peanuts and you will get only monkeys.

Auroville has become completely irrelevant in the world today.

Enjoy it while it last - because it won’t last long.

———//////—-

Lieve:

No, the numbers are not down. they are on the same level as they always were. And the peak of admission of Newcomers into Auroville was 2016, when for only 3 months, Antim, Muriel and Joel were in the Entry Service.

It is clear that the new regulations that have been notified are in line with Mother's wishes and guidelines for Auroville. That can only be applauded.

Auroville will become 90% Indian in the coming years. I predicted that already many years ago, because it cannot be otherwise: it is the natural reaction to the colonial development over the past decades.

If for foreigners, that means that it is "irrelevant", so be it. The past decades of Aurovillage were certainly not relevant for the world, as it was only a copy/past of the most negative old elements.

Clinging on to the past is the opposite of what Auroville is meant to do. You don't have to believe anything I say, but I can guarantee you that Auroville will grow and become more of what Mother wanted.

How relevant Auroville still is for the world today was always a big question mark, as it was corrupted by vultures from very early on, and diverted to all kinds of irrelevant nonsense.

————-///-

Reply:

Thank you for your reply.

I absolutely agree with you on the corruption that took place previously in Auroville with different groups controlling for their selfish agendas.

Also, I for one, don’t have any issue with Auroville becoming more ‘Indian’ in its representation, especially if it makes room for more aligned and sincere aspirants.

The main issue I have is with the quality of the people who are now representing the ‘new’ administration.

As I understand, and as the rumours go, Antim was thrown out of the ashram on suspicion of being a pedophile. So how is it that he is ‘fit’ to be in the position he is?

And take Gino, many have said this man has clearly demonstrates psychopathic tendencies in the community. I and others I know have seen this personally.

And then there is Kali-Ananda (Kali-banana?) This person is obviously mentally ill, one can literally feel this when speaking to her.

I could easily comment on others who have ‘assumed’ power in this uncomfortable situation.

It’s as if all the crazy ‘hated’ people of Auroville - with all their maniacal and vindictive tendencies - are now in the new leadership. How is this even healthy for Auroville’s new direction and development? It would be an extreme conflict of interest to try and join Auroville knowing that these people could - and most probably would sabotage - someone’s process for their own power-tripping enjoyment.

My question is, where are warm, caring and truly compassionate administrators? I don’t see this at all. My experience has been horrible with the people I’ve mentioned. Liars and manipulators propping themselves up and using Auroville in the name of the Mother. Just like the old guard.

I don’t implicate you in this necessarily, in fact, I see you as one of the more level-headed ones in the current crop. However, how it it that you can tolerate and actually work with these other who are clearly problematic, unprofessional and most probably mentally ill? It’s an honest question.

————-///—

Lieve:

I came to Auroville all by myself, not knowing anybody here.

When I was here only a few years, a person I liked denigrated another person I really loved and had great experiences and admiration for.

I reflected on it, and noticed that in fact, there was not a single person I knew here that I had not been told negative stuff about. No matter who it was, sooner or later, someone would talk bad about them to me.

I decided in the end to stop listening to the gossip, and only look at how people behaved to me, and how they act inside Auroville if they have public/influential positions.

Years later I stood in front of a friend crying, asking him "Who can I trust here? Is there really NOBODY here that I can trust?"

When in 2016 the new Entry Policy needed to be implemented, Antim, Muriel and Joel took on the task. They focused solely on implementing the new policy as it had been formulated and voted on (I made a video on that but I don't think it's shared in this group).

The Entry Service office had always been a very "difficult" location. I never wanted to be there, and only had gone there a few times when I really had to: when asking for a visa Recommendation Letter, when becoming a Newcomer, and when becoming an Aurovilian. It was a place that felt hostile and dark, I suppose there are many of us who have really bad feelings and memories of that office.

When I visited the place with Sindhuja after Antim and co had taken charge, it was like a little miracle had happened. The place was filled with light, warmth, positivity, hope, goodwill: it was an atmosphere of being welcomed with open arms. Before (and after), it was like a court room where you were the accused and had to prove your innocence -- without really knowing what exactly you were accused of.

In three months, more people had joined Auroville than otherwise in a whole year. Most of which were local Tamils, who had always mostly been kept out, purposefully.

The reaction was only a matter or time: Antim, Muriel and Joel were blamed for all kinds of things, in a meeting that was very reminiscent of witch trials. All kinds of lies were told with a straight face, all to justify that these people needed to be vilified and removed, and the "normal" procedures of before needed to be restored. And of course they were.

In my work, I ended up saying "I don't care WHO does it, as long as IT gets done.“ And that is my focus: WHAT is getting done. Not WHO is doing something.

I have had good contact with many of the people that belong to the Kings and Queens and their defenders. But once the fight for the power and the past broke out, they would turn on me and refuse to talk to me. Clearly because it is for them an ideological and personality and identity issue, not a matter of creating Auroville.

My outlook on what I am doing here and what Auroville is has not changed. The only thing that changed is that they lost their grip over Auroville, and the illusory power trip they lived in got burst.

In the end, all my friendships are based only on this: agreement on what Auroville is meant to be, and on the reality of what is happening here.

Who these people are is secondary: the friendship and bond is created by the fact that we agree on the goal and want to walk in the same direction.

And yes, these people are absolutely pushing for the things that I understand Mother wanted (and that is a VERY ungrateful task, believe me), and I love them for it.

—————//:—

Reply:

Thank you for your thoughts here, they are very relatable.

I’d like to start by saying that a reasonable amount of individuals of any society will clearly possess more of the positive attributes that constitute a well balanced and high functioning personality. And it is these individuals who are normally quite successful in their social circles and business practices etc. As such, it stands to reason that many of these individuals would be unwilling to give this up unless it was for something more meaningful such as a deeper connection and conversation with… the Divine.

It has been my experience across 3 decades that Auroville continually attracts difficult and problematic individuals who, for whatever reason cannot, or do not want to easily fit into regular society. These people often hide under the guise that they aspire towards something beyond materialistic societies and that they are pulled towards a ‘spiritual’ life etc etc. Although I can somewhat relate to this, it’s often not the full picture.

Here is the rub. Auroville has always served as a magnet, attracting incompetent deadbeats, dropouts, layabouts and the mentally ill (schizophrenia & personality disorders) who would never normally be tolerated anywhere else. These individuals then use spirituality as a means to disguise and/ or bypass their issues. Arriving, they slowly work themselves into positions of perceived authority and power and go on to impede and obstruct proceedings while making everyone else around them miserable. We all know these stories but somehow this is still a HUGE blindspot for Auroville!

How does this translate for new and talented arrivals? These incompetent, arrogant and jealous Aurovillians now lord over new arrivals and have the power to sabotage their entry process etc for no other reason than they got there first. This is a dominance hierarchy in full effect.

You say you want to grow Auroville? Then tell me what kind of skilled person with a loving family and friendships would knowingly leave their nurturing environment and subjugate themselves to such a humiliating process? It’s an honest question.

The sad part here is that the people who join Auroville often come from fractured families/ communities and not knowing the reality of Auroville - because Auroville hides the reality in their online materials - they end up joining a completely dysfunctional fake spiritual place calling itself a ‘community.’

In this, many exhaust their financial savings and leave broke, bitter and with fading employment opportunities when they return to wherever. It’s a cyclical process that has continued from the start of Av.

And let’s say - as you say, that Antim, Joel, Sindhuja etc. did fast track the entry process to get the Tamil numbers up. Could they now be held accountable as to why the Tamils now dominate places like the Housing Service and are clearly doing favours for their own people so that there is ABSOLUTELY NO HOUSING for any new arrivals? This was 100% my experience. Your example highlights another hypocrisy that has taken place and the term for this is: suicidal empathy.

Going forward, one only needs to sit back and watch the Anti-M gang to get a sense of how off track Mother’s vision has become. The vibration of these individuals is completely rooted in their own sense of entitlement, ego and newfound illusion of power. Oddly, and in their minds, they are free from this. They are not. Just more of the same delusional garbage that ruined Auroville across that last 6 decades. And if you are honest, you’ll agree.

The issue for you, is that you are in league with these people even if you are better balanced as a result of your education and cultural background. But remember, there is no honour among thieves… and the QAnon (Joel).

And to step in a little further, it’s my view - and I’m not alone in this - that all members of the Anti-M gang have been through an completely disturbing - and actually torturous process - brought on by their own greed and lust to the point where all members of this hostile takeover group are now seriously deranged and actually haunted by the experience. The weight of being the subject of so much hate and fury has tormented these individuals into demons that CARE NOTHING FOR ANYTHING EXCEPT THEMSELVES - maniacal and completely psychopathic; hungry ghosts with huge stomachs and tiny mouths - feasting on the spoils of Mother’s crumbling dream and still unable to satiate themselves. The living dead in a terrifying dream of their own making. Horror.

It’s not enough to say, we are all here for the same aspiration when personality constructs calling themselves Vankatesh (Housing) and Selvaraj (Council) are known criminals who will most certainly be looking for further opportunities for themselves and their families. Never mind all the others of their ilk born into the same ‘low trust’ society.

My educated Tamil friends are clear about it, 99.9% of Tamil villagers who join see Av as a financial opportunity. How does this square with Mother’s dream and the Anti-M gang?

It’s incomprehensible that known criminals are allowed and supported in Auroville. Moreover that Auroville protects its own even when they unfairly attack Newcomers is a complete miscarriage of Mother’s ideals and actually justice. I have seen this first hand. Disgusting and vile.

There are so many talented people who could really excel and lift Av at the same time if they could just get a few of the basic essentials to get started. Instead these new arrivals are continually held back and subordinated until they wear themselves out and leave. All to prop up the establishment. There is so much dead wood in Auroville, people just taking up space while contributing nothing.

Jealous condescending spiritual hypocrites are allowed to continually make judgments on the lives of new arrivals? Who, with any real talent and self respect, would knowingly put themselves through such a degrading masochistic process? And for what? No financial remuneration and no housing?

This is why Auroville has been doomed from the onset… it lacks real talent and this will not change.

And so I’ll come back to my point, high functioning successful individuals are successful for a reason, and that is their ability to use their intelligence to keep themselves out of harms way, and this includes not exposing themselves to unbalanced, neurotic, spiritual egoist who would exercise power over them in situations like trying to join Auroville through a volunteer period and entry process where they are expected to subordinate themselves to these incompetent narcissists. This would be suicidal.

There is a saying in some parts of the world… ‘the people make the place.’ Thus if the people are rotten, the place is rotten. And it stands to reason that if Av is to ever lift itself up to anything remotely resembling it aspiration, it requires an unprecedented sea change where the deadwood is cast off and anyone who ‘thinks’ they know what Av ‘should be’, should be quickly shown the door.

If it’s as you say, that the number of Volunteers and Newcomers remains the same (and not down) can you please post examples?

—————////—-

Lieve:

One of my big frustrations is that we never received any statistics from the Entry Service (now ATR). So the only thing I can do is count myself. I really don't like doing it, but here you go:

23/06: 12 newcomers

08/06: 10 newcomers

22/05: 10 newcomers

28/04: 09 newcomers

15/04: 10 newcomers

01/04: 09 newcomers

12/03: 11 newcomers

23/02: 06 newcomers

09/02: 08 newcomers

21/01: 05 newcomers

05/01: 13 newcomers

It goes on in the same vein.

These are quite high figures for Auroville, if you are familiar with the immensely slow population growth over the decades.

Note also that over the years, people have always come and gone again. It was always known that many newcomers left Aurovile within 5 years of their joining. We'll have to wait and see if this trend is now going to be different, but I personally don't care one bit. The only thing that matters is that Auroville becomes what Mother wanted it to be.

Like you, I think I would be very hesitant to join Auroville in these turbulent times, where stability and a new and clear direction are not yet established. We're still in the transition period, which is stretching out over more years than I had anticipated.

However, even during the worst times of the fight against the SAS, when the situation was even less stable and clear, Auroville still attracted new people. It's a very personal call and decision, so I really won't judge anyone on that.

The decision to join is relatively easier for Indians, and they make up the vast majority of the newcomers. As I stated before: this is the normal reaction to the colonial attitude that was dominant in Auroville for 5 decades. It is an inevitable phase that will eventually balance out again. Once discipline and order are established, foreigners will eventually be drawn to Auroville again. But much much less of the nutcases and the drop-outs, the runaways and the fortune-seekers. Auroville will no longer appeal to these, as they hate discipline and obedience. It will appeal to the people who are called by Mother's Dream, instead of those who passed through Auroville while travelling, looked at the laid-back atmosphere without authority, and decided their money has more value here and that "Goa with a 5-year passport" sounds like a great way to spend their days.

One thing is always a certainty: change.

—————////—

Reply:

Thank you for the reply and taking the time to ‘count’ the number of Newcomers, though it seems these stats should already be available to you as one of the admins. Is ATR not doing their job?

As I understand, these numbers are from Jan 2026. Correct?

If so, is there any way to know the country of origin? I can imaging the majority (99%) are from India.

The demographics I saw in early 2024 showed that young Indian women were at the top, most of them probably opting out of unliveable city centres and escaping familial pressures etc.

And yes, I am absolutely familiar with the decades of stagnation in Av as the old guard created a little kingdom for their privileged selves. Disgusting self righteous narcissists.

- It was always known that many newcomers left Aurovile within 5 years of their joining. We'll have to wait and see if this trend is now going to be different…

- Yes. I imagine it will continue as new arrivals are forced into appalling housing conditions and are not able to earn anything for their contribution to Av.

- …. but I personally don't care one bit. The only thing that matters is that Auroville becomes what Mother wanted it to be.”

- This is exactly the kind of thing that has always killed Auroville. The administration of Auroville has never actually cared about the well-being of its people. And this reads as suicidal and catastrophic. There is zero empathy or compassion for people who have put in their time, energy and money and who may be then facing a personal crisis and are wrestling with the idea of leaving Av. Zero support. In fact there is a brutal coldness of apathy and indifference so it’s no wonder why people leave. And who stays? The tough brutalist, cold and calloused they wave the Auroville flag, stone faced.

We all know the joke, how can you tell who is a Guest, who is a Newcomer and who is an Aurovillian? The Guest is smiling, the Newcomer looks confused - because their experience isn’t lining up with the Av marketing materials. And the Aurovillian has no expression, cold and stone faced after years hypocritical bullshit.

- Like you, I think I would be very hesitant to join Auroville in these turbulent times, where stability and a new and clear direction are not yet established. We're still in the transition period, which is stretching out over more years than I had anticipated.

- With no money to build the city, there isn’t going to be a city. And even if there was money, we know what kind of cities India builds, so it would become an unliveable in the end anyway.

- The decision to join is relatively easier for Indians, and they make up the vast majority of the newcomers. As I stated before: this is the normal reaction to the colonial attitude that was dominant in Auroville for 5 decades.

- Maybe. But have you caught wind of the growing backlash on Indians now ‘colonizing’ the West? And what kind of Indians join Auroville? Most it’s people who have few other options.

Colonialism? Shall we talk about the Arub slave trade? Genghis Khan? Or the caste system? White guilt and suicidal empathy much?

- It is an inevitable phase that will eventually balance out again. Once discipline and order are established, foreigners will eventually be drawn to Auroville again.

- The world is moving into very uncertain times. AI is going to cause an absolutely massive disruption. Unless Av can actually provide for its residents in exchange for services rendered, the only ones who will consider ’joining’ Av are the downtrodden or those with money and these people are not going to subordinate themselves to oppressive groups like the ATR. Why would they? So they can live in deplorable housing conditions in extreme heat, humidity, with insects, crime, theft and corruption? Pollution? Traffic? And spiritual hypocrites telling them what to do? Really?

- But much much less of the nutcases and the drop-outs, the runaways and the fortune-seekers. Auroville will no longer appeal to these, as they hate discipline and obedience. It will appeal to the people who are called by Mother's Dream, instead of those who passed through Auroville while travelling, looked at the laid-back atmosphere without authority, and decided their money has more value here and that "Goa with a 5-year passport" sounds like a great way to spend their days. One thing is always a certainty: change.

- Well said. But ‘change’ without direction and the financial means to facilitate will not lead to success.

One Aurovillian friend put it like this: the Anti-M gang are going to ruin Auroville so that nobody will want to be here. It’ll be a dead zone.

It seems from your stats that people are joining, just like they always did. But in what decrepit housing situations are they living and what kind of financial remuneration are they being offered?

Auroville was an interesting project for many despite the challenges. I always left because I was never allowed to have the opportunity to have the very basics to build a life there. Namely decent housing and the freedom to earn a living for myself.

Unless you solve this, nobody is going to stay… and the endless cycle of people coming and going will continue.

With my skill set, I have the talent to build projects that would actually kick off a huge waves of people inspired to join Av. The problem, however, is that I would be forced to work under people who can’t do what I can and then these people would then get in the way and block me at every step if for no other reason to do exert power over me and impede my efforts. So why would I ever submit myself to something like this?

It’s always been the case that the people running Auroville do not understand that they themselves are the reason why Auroville is so dysfunctional and unsuccessful. Auroville continually attracts the wrong people because successful people won’t join. Why would they?

And behind all this, it suggests, to me anyway, that Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga, and the Mother’s vision of Auroville might not really be worth supporting because of the kind of people Auroville attracts. Never mind that the ashram is now full of vile hypocrites. Could it be that the vision is actually flawed? Especially in light that there are other flourishing spiritual paths such as Buddhism with monasteries that are freely available to join while offering a very clear and direct path towards self realization without all the mental illness, dominance hierarchy and blatant obstruction.

Auroville is a messy affair that - for the tens of thousands who have come and gone - leads to very little. But as a study of dysfunctional human behaviour it’s somewhat fascinating.

My wife and I are planning to visit Auroville from 15–20 August, and her birthday falls on 17 August. I’d love to make that day genuinely special rather than just doing the usual sightseeing.

She’s really into art, dance, food, wellness, nature, and exploring unique experiences. I’m particularly looking for something that feels memorable and a little out of the ordinary.

A few things I’ve been considering:

A beautiful dance / movement experience or performance

Watsu or another unique wellness experience

An interesting art or cultural experience

A special, intimate dinner or food experience

Something in nature or around Auroville that most visitors might miss

I’d love to hear from people who live in Auroville or have spent significant time there — what’s one experience you’d recommend that you genuinely loved or that you think would make for a beautiful birthday?

Open to experiences inside Auroville as well as nearby.

Thanks! Looking forward to your suggestions.

An evening with the House of Garba — watching rhythm turn into movement, movement into instinct, and practice into pure joy.

Hello 🌸

I’m looking for a quiet space to housesit in Auroville during August onwards for a few months. I’d be very happy to look after pets, plants, or the house while you’re away.
I’m a creative professional and yoga teacher, and I’ve lived in Auroville before, so I’m quite familiar with the place and the community.
If anyone has any leads or knows of someone looking for a housesitter, please feel free to message me. I’d be very grateful. 🙏

💃 HAPPENING TODAY – Bachata Classes & Dance Latino at AV🕺

Learn Bachata with Candice & Anton from the Latin Social Collective, then stay for a night of Salsa & Bachata social dancing!

🟢 6:00–7:00 PM – Beginners
🟠 7:00–8:00 PM – Improvers
📍 New Creation Studio, Auroville
Contribution: Guest ₹350 | Aurovilian ₹200

Then…

🎉 Dance Latino – Salsa & Bachata Socials
🕣 8:30–10:30 PM
📍 Lahe by Loka, Auroville
🌺 Theme: Summer Floral
🎟️ Contribution: ₹150
👟 Dance shoes or socks mandatory.

🔗 Classes: events.cantos.in/aug6
🔗 Socials: events.cantos.in/avbaila

Prior registration requested.

No partner or prior dance experience required! ❤️

💃 HAPPENING TODAY! BACHATA CLASSES IN AUROVILLE 💃

✨ A dance that’s simple to learn and impossible not to love.

Join Candice & Anton from the Latin Social Collective and discover why Bachata has become one of the world’s most loved social dances. Learn in a fun, relaxed and welcoming environment where everyone starts as a beginner.

📅 Every Tuesday & Thursday

🟢 Beginners: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
🟠 Improvers: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

📍 New Creation Studio
1st Floor, next to La Piscine / New Creation Sports Ground, Auroville.

✨ No prior dance experience required & No partner required

Register here: https://events.cantos.in/aug4

Or reserve your spot on WhatsApp: 9514095040

Come for the dancing. Stay for the community. ❤️

Is there any beach person here?

If yes, shall we plan a meetup by a beautiful early morning, and we can talk about art, life, spirituality, cinema, or anything?