‘…But you know, I do not believe in external decisions. I believe simply in one thing: the force of the Consciousness that makes a PRESSURE like this [crushing gesture]. And the Pressure is increasing…Which means that it will sort out the people.’ (The Mother, Matrimandir Dialogues, 17.1.1970.)
On this day, 17 January [2003], thirty-three years ago, the Mother left the fate of her extraordinary feat of yogic seeing to the Divine Consciousness, trusting that it would ‘sort out the people’ who could materialise her special vision of the Matrimandir’s inner chamber.
Over these thirty-three years anyone who has come forward in answer to this call and in defence of the Mother’s vision and original plan, has met a stone wall, a refusal even to sit together and discuss the issues involved. Meanwhile construction work went on and the chamber was completely disfigured. Yet it was claimed all along that it was being built ‘according to the original’.
This atmosphere of falsehood has reached a culmination. The very heart of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s work and message was unacceptably disfigured in the Matrimandir when the so-called crystal and stand were set in place. The symbolism of the executing architects’ version presents exactly the opposite of the ‘sense’ the Mother insisted should be respected of her vision. When she insisted on a translucent globe rather than transparent, it was in order that the symbol could bear witness to the Vedic essence of their mission for the world. She stated emphatically that, ‘It is all symbolic,’ yet the architects deliberately ignored her commands and had a transparent crystal fashioned in Germany in place of the symbolically crucial translucent globe.
Further, the Mother stated that she ‘saw’ the pedestal with Sri Aurobindo’s symbols (four) carved in stone. This too was deliberately and knowingly ignored by the architects and builders. Instead of stone they have created a ‘stand’ in see-through wrought iron, plated in gold. Nothing of this forms a part of the Mother’s original vision, though time and again she insisted, ‘But this is what I SAW!’
These, and indeed the entire room, have been altered, though the administration claims that what is built is ‘according to the original’. Because of this misrepresentation and its consequences for the Mother’s work, the MATRIMANDIR ACTION COMMITTEE has been formed.
Over these thirty-three years anyone who has come forward in answer to this call and in defence of the Mother’s vision and original plan, has met a stone wall, a refusal even to sit together and discuss the issues involved. Meanwhile construction work went on and the chamber was completely disfigured. Yet it was claimed all along that it was being built ‘according to the original’.
This atmosphere of falsehood has reached a culmination. The very heart of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s work and message was unacceptably disfigured in the Matrimandir when the so-called crystal and stand were set in place. The symbolism of the executing architects’ version presents exactly the opposite of the ‘sense’ the Mother insisted should be respected of her vision. When she insisted on a translucent globe rather than transparent, it was in order that the symbol could bear witness to the Vedic essence of their mission for the world. She stated emphatically that, ‘It is all symbolic,’ yet the architects deliberately ignored her commands and had a transparent crystal fashioned in Germany in place of the symbolically crucial translucent globe.
Further, the Mother stated that she ‘saw’ the pedestal with Sri Aurobindo’s symbols (four) carved in stone. This too was deliberately and knowingly ignored by the architects and builders. Instead of stone they have created a ‘stand’ in see-through wrought iron, plated in gold. Nothing of this forms a part of the Mother’s original vision, though time and again she insisted, ‘But this is what I SAW!’
These, and indeed the entire room, have been altered, though the administration claims that what is built is ‘according to the original’. Because of this misrepresentation and its consequences for the Mother’s work, the MATRIMANDIR ACTION COMMITTEE has been formed.
Devotees, disciples, donors have all been fooled over the years. They have contributed time, money, energy to construct a ‘shadow’ of the original, revised according to ‘mental ideas’, as the Mother warned,
‘We will let it sort itself out. Because you see, to accept changes it is necessary that I be certain that the origin of the inspiration is of the same quality as mine…for the building, I know very well that people are needed who know their job and who do the work. But for the inspiration it is necessary that I be certain that the origin of the inspiration be AT LEAST of the same level as mine… And I am not sure, because I saw it so clearly. And immediately with Paolo’s ideas I saw the mixture. His ideas are all mental, I can guarantee it because it is easy for me to see that. Well, they bring the same MIXTURE that there is in everything that is done in the world. And that…what is the use in beginning again, again, again…?’ (Ibid)
In spite of her clear instructions and even entreaties, and having no one to defend her position in this important issue (all supported the architects, then and now), once she put out this call the Divine Consciousness did indeed ‘sort out the people’ who could build HER vision; while, on the other hand, the Auroville construction was taken up by men and women incapable not only of understanding sacred geometry and the special symbolism involved, but also lacking the yogic poise that would have permitted them to repose complete faith in the Mother’s wisdom in matters well beyond their level of comprehension. Her superior yogic capacity to SEE, to receive the SHRUTI, was entirely disregarded by the architects, builders, and the disciples who were involved in this most important of all the Mother’s yogic discoveries. To this day those who are in charge of Auroville have not revealed any capacity to bear witness to the Mother’s extraordinary yogic feat. Instead of respect and devotion, the architects and builders have introduced those ‘mental’ changes, which are now attributed to the Mother herself.
If the revisions had been made public from the very beginning the situation would be less grave. Apart from all else, it is the deception that is serious cause for concern. Why must we, all of us who have vibrated to the original vision and responded to the call, accept the architects’ egos as the central symbol of the Chamber in place of the Mother’s perfectly poised and integrating soul-power? For this is the difference between her design and what has been built in its place.
If the revisions had been made public from the very beginning the situation would be less grave. Apart from all else, it is the deception that is serious cause for concern. Why must we, all of us who have vibrated to the original vision and responded to the call, accept the architects’ egos as the central symbol of the Chamber in place of the Mother’s perfectly poised and integrating soul-power? For this is the difference between her design and what has been built in its place.
What has been set in place in the Matrimandir as ‘the Mother’s original’, describes in symbol form the ego and not the soul.
The time has come for all who have experienced the truth of the Mother’s original vision to come forward and expose the reigning falsehood and to demand a reinstatement of the original plan, supported by the Mother’s own words to help in the construction of as perfect a reproduction of her vision as is humanly possible.
This Manifesto spells out the objectives of MAC and invites all sincere believers in the Mother’s original vision to join hands in this noble endeavour.
This Manifesto spells out the objectives of MAC and invites all sincere believers in the Mother’s original vision to join hands in this noble endeavour.
It is said that nothing can be done at this point since the shadow-temple is finished and cement and steel now stand in the way of any rectification. This solidity now renders meaningless even any exposure, it is claimed.
We state emphatically that the divine Word, the Shruti, is greater and more powerful than cement and steel. It alone will live on while the shadow-temple fades into oblivion, having been rendered irrelevant by the activities of this Committee. For to quote the Mother,
We state emphatically that the divine Word, the Shruti, is greater and more powerful than cement and steel. It alone will live on while the shadow-temple fades into oblivion, having been rendered irrelevant by the activities of this Committee. For to quote the Mother,
‘…these are the things men do; they do it more or less well, and then it lives, and then it dies, and then it changes, and then it becomes deformed, and then… - everything they have done. It is not worth it… I LOOK…isn’t it so? Someone gives me a paper as you have just done when you gave me that drawing [the architect’s revisions]; I look in this way and I see very well what in that paper is the result of something from above and what has become mixed and what is… Like that. But one is not going to say it! To begin with, they would not believe me.’ (Ibid)
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We, founders of the Matrimandir Action Committee, set our agenda to be:
1) To expose the falsehood surrounding the constructed Matrimandir in that it is being passed off as ‘the Mother’s original’; to reveal the discrepancies between that true original and what has been constructed at Auroville.
2) To expose the campaign of deception that the builders and presiding authorities of Auroville have been engaging in for the past 30 years to cover up the fact that what has been constructed is entirely the architects’ revised version.
3) To ensure that the Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust substantiates this true position, since it has the duty to preserve the Mother’s estate, and that records in the Ashram Archives include the complete history by way of original tapes, plans, etc., as well as the material the Matrimandir Action Committee will place at the Trust’s disposal for posterity, which will prove the conspiracy to deceive on the part of those in charge over the years and their refusal to listen to those qualified to give an opinion in these matters.
4) To highlight by articles, books, websites through the electronic media, and all other means of diffusion, the value of the Mother’s vision and the place it holds in Sri Aurobindo’s work as the most valuable legacy the Mother has left to humanity, comparable in importance to Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri. And in the process to expose through these media the truth about the architects’ revised version.
We, of Matrimandir Action Committee in India and throughout the world, will hold responsible and take to task anyone from 1970 to the present who has been instrumental in what has happened to the Mother’s yogic vision. This includes the Government of India that now owns Auroville, the Ministry for Human Resources Development and the Department of Education; the Governing bodies of Auroville with their presiding officials and appointed members; the architects and builders. They are all accountable to the people since they have been and continue to be party to the disfigurement and the deception involving the Mother’s sacred inspired Word, the divine Shruti of a new vedi.
Signed this day, 17 January 2003, at Skambha
by the Founding Members
by the Founding Members
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Continue on to Chronicles of the Inner Chamber:
Introduction', 'Manifesto', Part I - Preface, Part II, Part III, Part IV,
Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI and Part XII
Introduction', 'Manifesto', Part I - Preface, Part II, Part III, Part IV,
Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI and Part XII
