I was initiated into meditation at in Auroville. The Ashram of The Mother the primary disciple of Sri Aurobindo.
I was there for many reasons. Back in 2000 it was one of the only examples of a working eco-village and since I have been tuned into environmental issues since I was a child I was seeking solutions. I was also there for spiritual reasons and the beach and a break from the intensity of South India.
By that time The Mother had died but the village had continued to grow and the residents had continued to carry our her vision.
https://auroville.org/page/the-mother
Meditation
The Matrimandir is the main meditation space at the centre of the small town. At that time it was still incomplete but was nevertheless incredible. It rose like a giant ball out of a beautiful garden. The entire building had been built by the community in ‘Noble Silence’. Noble silence is usually a temporary vow that a seeker may take to deepen their inner process by staying more connected to what’s going on inwardly that in the world out there.
Connecting to inner realms is the most essential aspect of a meditation technique.
There was a significant amount of bureaucracy that had to be dealt with to get into the meditation chamber and new visitors were always escorted, in order to maintain the tradition. I was briefed before entering and then once we got through the entrance, silence. We walked up a coiled ramp in the vast round space. The light was pinkish. The main chamber hung suspended from the top of the space, and then we entered. Everything was white, except for the gold lattice that held the largest crystal ball on the planet. The room was a lit by an oculus and a ‘heliostat’ ensured that a single sunbeam continuously shone down from the oculus directly into the crystal.
I found a place to sit, closed my eyes and sat there. I really wasn’t sure what I was doing but there was clearly a very refined presence in this room, that made sitting still with my eyes closed, in silence more natural and comfortable than I had experienced before. This is the power of lineages and sacred sites.