Dietra, Claire Worden, moved her family to Pondicherry in 1969 to be close to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. During a visit to Santa Cruz in 1971 she organized and inspired the group that became the Auroville Association.
The Auroville Association was founded in 1973 in California, with June Maher as its first President. June had met the Mother in 1971 and asked proposed to Mother that she take up the work of helping support Auroville from abroad. When ask to approve June’s project of supporting Auroville, Mother replied:
“Money can be raised – but no proselytizing”
For June, this became a paramount guiding principle in her work with The Auroville Association.
From the beginning until her passing in 2014, June was a primary force behind the organization, inspiring many in the USA and around the world to join her life’s work.
In 1972, June was given the following message by the Mother
“We are here to prepare the way for the new creation. For centuries and centuries humanity has waited for this time. You are here at this moment, that is to say on earth, because you chose it at one time. You do not remember it anymore, but I know it. That is why you are here. Well, you must strive, you must conquer all weaknesses and limitations, above all you must tell your ego: ‘Your hour has gone.’ It is the Divine Consciousness which will allow the race to develop itself and the supramental being to take birth.”
In 1983, The Auroville Association formally changed their name to Auroville International, and defined their mission as a global organization whose purpose was to align the interests of the various groups around the world that had formed to support Auroville.
Since its founding, Auroville International USA has been a significant source of external support, sending donations to help build the Matrimandir, purchase land, develop village outreach programs, and much more. The organization has also shared Auroville’s inspiring vision and helped many people learn about, visit, volunteer, and settle there. There are dozens of unique, innovative projects in Auroville, and Auroville International USA has provided startup and ongoing support and funding to many of them.
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