Tamil Nadu Governor and Auroville Foundation President RN Ravi, Lieutenant Governor and Auroville Governing Board member Tamilisai Soundararajan and Auroville Foundation International Advisory Council President Dena Meryam at the three-day summit on Science, Spirituality and Human Awakening on Monday. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
At a time when the world is in the grip of several crises due to wars, effects of climate change and a pandemic, Auroville is best positioned to spread the message of human unity to global mankind, RN Ravi, Governor of Tamil Nadu and President of Auroville Foundation, said on Monday.
Addressing the inaugural session of the three-day Global Summit on Science, Spirituality and Human Awakening at the Ekta Pavilion as part of Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations, Mr. Ravi pointed to the state of crisis that “the world, and indeed In the 19th century, humanity was with people in conflict with themselves, with others, with the community, and with the environment.
“This spiraling conflict is taking a heavy toll around the world with visible and invisible wars in various forms – climate crisis, melting glaciers, shrinking forests and global pandemics”, he said.
According to Mr. Ravi, the hope that the global pandemic will provide mankind with a lesson to return to the path of higher consciousness and compassion for the suffering of fellow beings is based on how some advanced countries have developed medicine and vaccines. Done, raised the crisis. As a “mercantile”, an opportunity to make money.
Recalling that Sri Aurobindo, who was stirred by the crisis of consciousness in mankind and inspired him to show the light of a higher awakening, Sri Ravi felt that spirituality does not stand the test of reason and logic that modern defines science, which defines modern science. emerged from the Age of Enlightenment in Europe. He said that the grammar and vocabulary of science and spirituality are not the same.
While individuals consist of physical, intellectual and spiritual dimensions, it is in the highest and subtlest state of human consciousness that the mind can understand the concept of universal oneness as conceived by Sri Aurobindo and interpreted by the Vedas, he said. .
Some enlightened souls, through meditation and evolutionary processes and without intellectual effort, had evolved to an advanced mental state to see the unity of all creation. He said that once the mind’s eye is opened to this oneness, all differences fall away and all living forms share the same Mother. “If that feeling comes at a subconscious level and without the application of logic and reason, it is the stage of awakening and the final dimension of human consciousness”, he said.
Explaining that Sri Aurobindo had in one of his visions envisioned India sharing its spirituality as a gift to the world, Sri Ravi said: “To spread this message we have to do it right here in Auroville There is a need to demonstrate where people from different parts of the world, different backgrounds, religions live together for a higher purpose and spread the feeling of oneness to the rest of the world.
He hoped that the scientific and spiritual leaders participating in the summit would shed light on the way to achieve this goal.
Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, a member of the Auroville Governing Board, said that the therapeutic benefits of meditation such as improving concentration and productivity have been scientifically established. He said that there was a need to popularize the practice of meditation and chanting among the youth.
Auroville Foundation International Advisory Council Chairperson Dena Mariyam (US) said the session will discuss, among other topics, the coming together of science and spiritual wisdom, working through the scars individually and collectively, and promoting love in human awakening. Will find out the role. “We must act more consciously than ever before as a collective world community to liberate ourselves from the mindset of the past,” he said.
Jayanthi Ravi, Secretary, Auroville Foundation also participated.