The Centre for Research in Indian Culture was set up in 1984 in

one of the unfinished pavilions of Bharat Nivas, the Pavilion of

India, situated in the International Zone of Auroville. Its main
purpose was to bring into focus the work that Bharat Nivas, when
completed, would undertake in a fuller manner.

Aims
The specific aims of CIC were three-fold:

1. In pursuance of the spiritual work done by Sri Aurobindo and the The Mother, to
carry out research into the newer dimensions of being and of life with a view to
discovering the possibilities of the future; ways of re-moulding life itself to re-create
the human being in a supramental form; and visualising new processes of growth
and experimenting with them. All this while recovering the essential truth of the
processes known in the past.
2. To explore afresh – with the consciousness of the modern age – the ancient truths of
the Indian experience of reality, and to learn to discern and to identify the processes
of life and action that flow from those truths. Having done so, to then apply them,
concretely and repeatedly, to the issues and situations of contemporary life, for
which ample opportunity is offered by the diverse collective life of Auroville itself.
Also to note and observe how far these ancient processes prove effective even
today, and how far they can renew themselves and move into further dimensions.
For example, do they yield happier results than those obtained by following
processes emerging from other roots of experience? It might be added briefly that
this area of research, pursued over many years, has proved most fruitful, with the
result that a sense of confidence has been gained, insights arrived at and concrete
results accumulated.
3. To create a physical space, within the experiment of Auroville, where the
characteristic “feel”, “vibration” and “dynamics” of the Indian experience of life and
reality could be made tangible and pervasive; that space to further generate varied
activities, involving individuals and groups.

Facilities
The Centre offers the following facilities:

• A small but specialized library of books on Indian culture – English translations of

ancient texts, treatises and literary works; encyclopaedias; books on Indian art;
modern Indian literature; etc. Also a collection of Sanskrit texts and some Indian
journals is available.
• A collection of music, both Carnatic and Hindustani.