A Room Called Integrity

We have been staying in a seafront, balconied suite at a beautiful guesthouse which is part of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram here in "Pondy" where the very varied international guests sleep/wake early, agree to no smoking and drinking and a curfew and are kind and happy together. A tranquil meditation hall above the crashing waves comes as a standard hotel facility alongside beautifully maintained, stored and administrated bicycles and a canteen run by serenly friendly female staff.

Staff here are generally the Ashram faithful; happy local people seeking a noble and postive life at their own pace with no doctrine other than a legacy of advice left by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother who founded the Ashram. Sri Aurobondo was an incredible British educated figure who helped to shape Indian Politics at the point of independance from the British then ditched politics to dedicate himself to making people happy.


His philosophy in a tiny nutshell was that by improving yourself through being all things positive and good and practising healthy amounts of yoga and meditation at your own pace you were on the path to becoming mentally super-human or just hugely improved as a being in my interpretation. He left his body in the 50s but seems and feels to be still alive in this place where he is so tastefully revered and his teachings so lovingly preserved.



His legacy was gently administered to the followers by The Mother who died in the 1970s in her mid 90s. She was his French sidekick, a woman of considerable natural spirituality and she made accessible her and Sri Aurobindo's philosophies to thousands, even founding Auroville about 10 miles away which is a massive international commune where she is remebered by an architecturally awesome tomb.

In addition to staying in Happyland Hotel (Its actually called Park View Guesthouse), Pondicherry is a french colonial town full of fabulous European, Indian and Fusion places to eat.  Following our austerity we have been practising our Vipassana and maximising our time in Food Heaven and cycling as much off between meals as possible.

Joy Peace Love Light and Nourishment x