Sri Aurobindo Ashram

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram is a spiritual community and ashram in Pondicherry (Puducherry), India. It was founded in 1926 by the Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo and his spiritual collaborator Mirra Alfassa, known as "The Mother". Over the years, the Ashram which also houses the samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, became the institutional centre of a modern spiritual movement based on Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga. It became one of India’s best-known spiritual communities, attracting devotees and visitors from around the world. There are about 1,200 people who are part of the Ashram, and their school, called the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, has over 400 students. The Ashram is situated in an urban environment, where Integral Yoga taught by Sri Aurobindo is a major focus of the community. == Locale == The Ashram is located mainly in the eastern part of Pondicherry, the former French quarter in which many French-colonial style buildings are still standing. The Ashram owns a large number of buildings spread throughout the area — houses in which Ashram members live and buildings in which they work. There are, in addition, several farms and gardens, some on the outskirts of Pondicherry. The heart of community life is the Ashram main building, often called simply "the Ashram".