AMONG the first things travellers to Pondicherry discover, is that the �Ashram culture� is all pervading in the tiny coastal town, it is within homes and shops, restaurants and institutions, foreigners and Indians, and it is all over. Largely, through the everywhereness of two charismatic portraits. One is of Sri Aurobindo, sometimes pictured as an earnest young man, and more often as a serene sage. The other, of his spiritual companion, the Mother � sometimes a smiling young French woman, and sometimes a distinguished octogenarian.

The Mother�s Charter for Auroville even in 1968 was simple and clearly stated: Auroville belongs to nobody in particular, Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole, but to live in Auroville one must be a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness; Auroville will be the place of unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages; Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future, taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations; Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.

Many people feel Pondicherry�s aura, its long history of saints and scholars, culminated in Sri Aurobindo, the revolutionary turned scholar, poet and seer, and the Mother. Sri Aurobindo began the practice of yoga in 1905 and five years later moved to Pondy from Bengal. During his 40 years here, he worked out a new system of mind development, which he called �Integral Yoga�. Madame Mirra Richard, a French painter-sculptor who had followed the same path on her own, joined him later. She became known as the Mother. Together, in 1926, they founded the Ashram in the heart of the city where his belief � �All life is Yoga� � could be put into practice.

The Ashram was built as a first step towards the creation of a new world, a new humanity, a new society, expressing and embodying a new consciousness. The Ashram�s main building was the abode of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother during most of their stay in Pondicherry. In the inner courtyard is the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The Ashram is open to all for darshan during fixed hours every day. Today it is a throbbing centre of hundreds of thousands of spiritual seekers from every part of the world. Although from a different nationality and cultural background, every seeker aspires and works for the same goal: Sri Aurobindo's vision of a new consciousness upon earth.

The Ashram's buildings are painted no-nonsense pearl grey with white trim. Most are of French inspiration. Some are exceptionally handsome. But all are places of solace. Pondicheriens who believe in Sri Aurobindo's way of life, wind their way Ashramward. Inside, the lights throw a welcome radiance. Tranquility prevails and over it all, the flower-decked 'Samadhi' presides. The flowers, however, are from within the ashram. Devotees and visitors are discouraged from bringing flowers as offerings from outside.

Inside, men and women meditate with their eyes fixed on the marble Samadhi. Here silence is peach, and flowers and incense are ways to lead the mind away from workaday shackles. The Ashram bustles with silent queues to see Aurobindo's room for meditation. You can stroll around to observe the daily activities of the ashramites and of visiting devotees from around the word. All regions of India, and many countries of Asia, Europe and America are represented. Members are of both sexes and of all ages. No distinctions of creed, caste or national origin are observed.