The Matrimandir

At the centre, in every sense, of Auroville, is the Matrimandir. This astonishing structure looks, for all the world, like a giant golden golf ball, sitting in the midst of extensive gardens. The Mother directed that the city of Auroville be built around this centre for meditation. Work on the structure began around 1974 and took over thirty years to complete – rather like the cathedrals of mediaeval Europe.

All the materials for the Matrimandir were donated by devotees from many countries, including the 15 kilos of gold which make up the surface. Each disc or face of the golf ball is made up of thousands of smaller cells of gold, protected against the salt air by glass. At the top of the ball is a mirror which follows the sun throughout the day. The sun’s light is directed down through the centre of the ball and provides the sole source of interior illumination.

The Matrimandir

You enter the Matrimandir by climbing ever-rising ramps. Footwear is removed and you don a pair of white socks in order to keep the white interior entirely clean. The interior is made of marble from Italy and Rajasthan. While the outside appears like a golf ball or some Buck Rogers vision of the future, the interior is beautiful in its simplicity and harmony. The central area is a large room for seated meditation. There the sun’s light falls upon a crystal globe, 70 cm in diameter – the largest in the world. The light continues further down to a lower level and a smaller crystal in the middle of a lotus-shaped pool. I was with a group of some fifty people who were led together into the Matrimandir.  We sat around the circumference of the great room, sharing in a profound silence as we meditated together. Different nationalities, different languages, different religions or none, yet finding a communion in silence.