Category: South India (2019)

Introduction

Sri Aurobindo (1872 – 1950) spent more than half of his life in Pondicherry. Aurobindo, along with his spiritual collaborator The Mother (Mira Alfassa, 1878 – 1973), left a legacy rivaling that of the French in terms of influence over the local culture of Pondicherry and its surrounding areas.

Gratitude Heritage, our primary accommodation during the South India’s Heritage in Focus tour, is one of many local establishments where photographs of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother are on prominent display. Gratitude’s owners state that their special heritage home is an offering to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The name “Gratitude” stands for more than the owners’ feelings of thankfulness for the property and its beautiful geographic location in the place Sri Aurobindo called home. Gratitude is a powerful means of cultivating joy which The Mother advocated very strongly (A beautiful quote from the Mother on Gratitude can be found here).

Sri Aurobindo has not only left his mark on Pondicherry, he has left his mark on the nation of India. He is known throughout the country as a courageous fighter for Indian independence as well as a spiritual luminary. For Independence Day this year, Indian Express published an illustrated article about Sri Aurobindo’s political activism for India’s freedom from colonial rule which can be read here.

The photo below depicts a plaque installed in the samadhi or resting place of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother at Aurubindo Ashram in Pondicherry. It pays tribute to Sri Aurobindo’s contributions, both political and spiritual:

Sri Aurobindo’s continued relevance in India today: Aspirations of the nation of India

On India’s 72nd Independence Day (August 15th, 2018), Sri Aurobindo remains a powerful symbol for India’s aspirations as a nation. In his annual Independence Day speech, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi included the following Sri Aurbindo quote to evoke a sense of civic duty in the people of India and encourage them to play an active role in the country’s continued development:

“For what is a nation? What is our mother-country? It is not a piece of earth, nor a figure of speech, nor a fiction of the mind. It is a mighty Shakti*, composed of the Shaktis of all the millions of units that make up the nation, just as Bhawani Mahisha Mardini sprang into being from the Shakti of all the millions of gods assembled in one mass of force and welded into unity**. The Shakti we call India, Bhawani Bharati, is the living unity of the Shaktis of three hundred million people.”

*Shakti can be most simply translated as power, a divine and absolute animating, creative and protective force that is feminine in nature.

**Bhawani Mahisha Mardini is a popular incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Durga who took on the individual powers and weapons of all of the Gods in order to defeat a powerful demon.

An article on PM Modi’s speech and how he used the words of Aurobindo to encourage the people of India to actively support specific efforts of the government can be found here.

Sri Aurobindo’s continued relevance in India today: Aspirations for mankind

Sri Aurobindo believed in the power of India to contribute to the collective evolution of mankind toward a sustained connection with divinty – a state of connection in which human selfishness and aggression are rendered useless and thus obsolete. His philosophy of Integral Yoga stresses individual responsibility for improving global society by actively striving toward divinity. In 1968, The Mother established the experimental community of Auroville just outside of Pondicherry for those who wished to dedicate themselves to fully and honestly taking on this kind of personal responsibility:

“Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity.”

-The Mother

It is important to note that there is no religion attached to this philosophy. While Sri Aurobindo was deeply connected to Hindu manifestations of the divine, religious practices and rituals -Hindu or otherwise – are not practiced as part of Integral Yoga.

In 1966, as Auroville was being planned, UNESCO passed a unanimous resolution recognizing Auroville as a project of importance to the future of humanity. Today, a statue of Sri Aurobindo stands at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

Sri Aurobindo’s continued relevance in India today: An inspiration to people all over the world

Individuals all over the world have been inspired by Sri Aurobindo. 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of Auroville and celebrations brought people from around the world to Auroville to celebrate. At the founding of Auroville in 1968, young people from 124 different nations each brought a handful of earth from their respective homes to symbolically contribute to the universal township. At the 50th anniversary celebration, water was brought from 150 different lakes and rivers from across the globe.

Prime Minister Modi spoke as part of the 50th anniversary celebration program, which took place on February 28th, 2018. While visiting, PM Modi went to Pondicherry and paid his respects to Sri Aurobindo at his samadhi in Aurobindo Ashram.

Hundreds of people, mostly Indians, visit Aurobindo Ashram every day, maintaining silence as they bow to place their foreheads against the marble platform constructed over the final resting place of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The samadhi is always decorated with beautiful flower rangoli decorations and incense sticks offered by visitors perfume the air.

After respects are paid, many visitors take a seat and meditate for several minutes to contemplate the lives and legacies of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. The atmosphere here is a stark contrast to that of most Hindu temples, with their hustle and bustle, their bells and chanting and prayers said aloud. At Aurobindo Ashram, the atmosphere is one of pure and sweet reverence which leaves no doubt that the philosophy and vision of Sri Aurobindo continues to be cherished by Indian patriots and spiritual aspirants the world over.

I am always fascinated by the ubiquitous nature of uniquely sacred places in India; most locations have their own accounts of particular deeds and powers of divine beings that reside there. A wonderful general read on this topic is India: A Sacred Geography by Diana Eck. The book does include a few passages on Chidambaram, one of which I am including at the end of this post. Chidambaram is a temple which some believe is as old as life itself! It is located about 1.5 hours south of Pondicherry and we will visit on our way to Tanjore. The Chidambaram temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva as Nataraj, the Lord of the Dance. The text that describes this temple and how it came to be, the Chidambaram Mahatmyam , has been dated to the 12th or 13th century C.E.

As with the stories of so many other sites in India, the stories of Chidambaram are complex and fascinating. They offer us an opportunity to consider views of life and spirituality that do not conform to our commonly accepted means of deciding what is and is not historical fact. There is a growing body of discourse about differences between the Western conception of linear, event-based history and the Indian conception of ithihas, which is translated as history, but actually encompasses both chronological history and cosmic occurrences expressed via sacred texts and epics.

As Devdutt Pattanaik says in his article on the topic of history versus myth, “Linear religions, which have a start and a finish, need history. Cyclical religions, like the ones that thrived in India, seek to outgrow history. History is seen as delusion, a foolhardy attempt of man to define and limit time in ancient Indian philosophies. Science is unsure if time is linear or cyclical, if there is one world or multiple coexisting realities. It is still work-in-progress.”

There are multitudes of stories about different divine occurrences at Chidambaram, but perhaps the most famous is that of Shiva performing the ananda tandava, the dance of bliss. Below, I share this story as part of  my impressions from my most recent visit to Chidambaram. More information about the different forms that Lord Shiva takes at Chidambaram follows.

The Chola Empire (approximately 850 – 1250 C.E.) is known for constructing architectural wonders such as the Great Living Chola Temples (The Great Living Chola Temples are a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited on the tour). Sophisticated and beautiful bronze casting came to the fore during Chola rule; methods developed during this time are still being used today in workshops that have been running since the time of the Cholas. The tour will visit the Royal Palace Museum, where some hundreds of exquisite Chola bronze pieces are on display.

Families of bronze casters have created an unbroken lineage of apprenticeship and production extending from the ninth century to the present day.  Masters of Fire, Hereditary Bronze Casters of South India (full pdf online) by Thomas E. Levy, Alina M. Levy, D. Radhakrishna Sthapathy, D. Srikanda Sthapathy, and D. Swaminatha Sthapathy offers detailed descriptions of bronze casting processes, production center organization and hereditary craftsmanship.

William Dalrymple is one of the most widely read authors on India. His book, Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India, includes a chapter called “The Maker of Idols” that profiles Srikanda, a traditional bronze caster in Swamimalai, where the tour will visit traditional workshops.

You can listen to an NPR segment about Nine Lives with William Dalrymple to learn more about the book. The link also includes an excerpt from one of the other stories in the book, that of a Jain nun.

As caste mobility has increased, several men born into the Chola bronze making tradition have opted for different professions, threatening the continuation of Chola bronze making. Meanwhile, a market for bronze idols has grown, both in India and around the world. In response, the Tamil Nadu government has been training sculptors via a three year course. Idols once produced for temple worship are now often mere showpieces and the craftspeople responsible for creating these works have gone from revered masters to vocational tradesmen. The implications of these developments, touched upon by Sowparnika Balaswaminathan in her article Icons and Identities: The Work and Lives of Bronzecasters in Swamimalai feautured in Marg Magazine will be a discussion topic during our travels.

Many are unaware that although Indian independence from Britain took place in 1947, small colonial exclaves belonging to the Portuguese (Goa) and French (Pondicherry) remained. The French relinquished their establishments in India in November of 1954. Meanwhile, Portuguese territory was forcibly annexed following a 36-hour battle between Portuguese forces and the Indian Army!

In sharp contrast to the violent ending of colonial rule by the British and the Portuguese, the 1954 cession of French establishments in India took place peacefully. While there were agitations for independence from France, when the cession took place via a bilateral treaty, Indian Prime Minister Jewaharlal Nehru asked that freedom fighters avoid bitterness toward France. Nehru encouraged the continuation of French culture and education in Pondicherry and expressed hope that the region would remain a window to France in India.

Article XX of the treaty allowed for the continuation of French cultural and educational institutions in Pondicherry, as well as the addition of new ones. The most prominent institution established following the treaty is the French Institute of Pondicherry, which produces research in the areas on Indology, Ecology, Social Sciences and Geomatics. The Alliance Francaise also has a large center in historic French Town which serves as a venue for a variety of Indian and French themes exhibitions, performances and more.

Activities on UOAA Learning and Leisure Travel’s upcoming tour to South India from February 1- 15, 2019 will largely revolve around Pondicherry’s annual Heritage Festival that takes place each February.

The festival’s about page offers an overview of the festival and the different aspects of heritage featured via festival events and activities, which include, “… engaging cultural events, heritage walks, open-houses of historic buildings, and other events taking place in the town…[as well as] an up-close look at Pondicherry’s history of beach erosion and the current efforts at beach restoration; a pedestrian tour of Bahour; a bird watching outing at of Ossudu Lake; and exploration of three Chola temples in Tirubhuvanai.  The festival is also proud to present an exhibition that explores the fascinating cultural relationship between Pondicherry and Indochina, both Asian possessions of the French colonial empire.” The Festival Schedule Page allows you to see just how rich and diverse the festival programming is!

Don’t forget that during the last two days of the tour, you will be able to focus on shadowing, volunteering or informational interviewing focused on the areas that interest you most! What are you most excited about exploring? Let us know in the comments section!

Welcome to our series of posts for UOAA Learning and Leisure Travel’s upcoming tour to South India from February 1- 15, 2019. We hope the resources we share here both help you become inspired to join us and provide information you need to get the most out of your educational travel experience!

Ang Lee’s 2012 film “Life of Pi” earned four 2013 Oscar wins, including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Visual Effects. The opening of the film takes place in Pondicherry, India.

Since a majority of this tour will be based in and around the fascinating town of Pondicherry, we will begin by suggesting that you visit (or re-visit) what is perhaps the most popular recent reference to the former French colonial capital: Life of Pi, the book and movie. You may also enjoy this photo series on sites in Pondicherry that featured in the book.

Furthermore, our tour will include one day with an optional visit to Sivaranthagam sacred grove, featured briefly in a scene in which Pi speaks to his teenage love interest. The scene takes place in front of a beautiful banyan tree; the story of this tree and its caretaker Maheshwari is a beautiful and incredible one detailed in this gorgeous video by Scroll.in. Watch the video – you won’t be sorry!