Ruud Lohman, Aurovilian settler, Matrimandir builder, writer of short stories and essays, arrived in Auroville from the Netherlands around 1969-70. A Dutch Franciscan priest with a doctorate in Sociology, his life was permanently transformed when he encountered The Mother. He left everything behind, including his Franciscan robes, and moved to Auroville to help build the city of the future.
As a monk and academic, it was unlikely that he would take to the physical intensity of manual labor and the work on the construction site in the middle of the sun scorched, red earth plateau. Yet once established in Auroville, his left his previous existence behind and fully devoted himself to the construction of the Matrimandir.
Under the guidance of Piero, on the site of the Matrimandir, he became a brilliant field worker and supervisor, an expert at handling the reinforced steel bars and other structural elements of construction. His inner journey of spiritual inquiry was fueled by his days spent in the sun on the scaffolding on the Matrimandir. His experiences at the Matrimandir construction site were documented daily in his diary, which later became the foundation of one his best known books, “A House for the Third Millennium: Essays on the Matrimandir.” It was published in 1986, the year of his death, by Alain Grandcolas, one of his closest companions.
Throughout his life, his writings showed his reverence for the mystical experiences and insight found in Sri Aurobindo’s and Mother’s writings.
He published over 12 books, some of which became immediately influential. Among his books, several stand out for their influence on others. Alle dingen nieuw, published in 1972 during his first years in Auroville, became the inspiration for numerous Dutch travelers to visit and eventually settle in Auroville. A House for the Third Millennium is well known and available internationally.
The short story Iniyan published posthumously in 1997. It reveals the Matrimandir through the lens of a lineage holder of the ancient sunken civilization of Lemuria, an enigmatic elder named Iniyan. The story is a reflection on the inner architecture of the soul and its transformation through the ages. It moves through the insight and aspirations of the dwellers of the lost continent to the spiritual renaissance of Ruud Lohman’s days on the Auroville construction site. The Matrimandir becomes a focus of planetary transformation through its geographic realignment of the soul, connecting the ancient civilization to the present of Auroville’s spiritual aspirations. Read Iniyan here.
After establishing himself permanently in Auroville, Ruud Lohman had a small family, with his wife Barbara and son Akash. He remained connected to the Franciscans throughout his life, until he formally left the order on one of his last trips to Holland. He left his body in 1986, after the publication of his Essays on the Matrimandir, refusing to listen to his doctor’s orders. He continued work on the Matrimandir until his last days.
In the words of B. Sullivan: “The doctor warned him to slow down on the heavy construction work, no more “beedies,” village cigarettes, and coffee. He wasn’t listening. He had a mission.”
Ruud Lohman
by B. Sullivan
Ruud Lohman can’t be summed up in a few sentences or even a book. After he apparently died in 1986, I saw him running around in my dream. In my amazement, I blurted out: “You’re supposed to be dead but I can see you’re not.” The reply was totally Ruud: “Well, that shows some progress on your part.”
His final heart attack came from carrying suitcases up a flight of stairs.
After the other two, the doctor warned him to slow down on the heavy construction work, no more “beedies” (village cigarettes) and coffee. He wasn’t listening. He had a mission.
A Matrimandir had to be built, the sooner, the better. He wrote about it everyday in his diary and called it “A House For The Third Millennium.” He compiled some of those notes into essays in a booklet by that name. Ruud had been a teacher, scholar, author and a Franciscan priest.
Then his life shifted dramatically the moment he met the Mother in Pondicherry. She told him about a new “city” that had to be built. He started with the “soul” of the city. He focussed on a hard part: bending the tons of steel reinforcing rods needed for the construction. We really had a miraculous time, and laughed our butts off at Ruud jokes. He entertained the whole crew, but he and I had plenty of theological banter as he was a Franciscan and I had studied with the Jesuits.
If there are such things as saints (he will fail at cursing me for this), Ruud Lohman is one. His photo on my home shrine has almost faded to the imperceptible, but we Immortals just smile.
Gerard Jak’s encounter with Ruud Lohman, 1972
by Gerard Jak
I met Ruud for the first time 21 May 1972. He was standing in a huge hole, which gave the impression or archaic times. Staircases hewn out of hard red soil to go down. At the bottom four concrete slabs, the foundation of the future pillars. Matrimandir was Ruud’s magic house of the millennium. A house of transformation.
Twice I tried to go to India. The first time the war between India and Pakistan broke out while I was sick in the train from Peshawar to Lahore. No way to go to India. Spending the winter in Tehran as a salesman, I tried in spring again, this time to Karachi. Again, I fell ill and spent two weeks with Dutch Franciscan priests, who wondered why I wanted to go to India. To study yoga and then they told of one of their brothers being there. They gave me his books to read. They were very inspiring. The last two books were about Auroville.
So, his book brought me there after a night in the bus from Bangalore. I walked in bliss, like coming home, through a surrealistic desert of red soil with some palmyra’s. I asked someone about Ruud. Walk on and you will find him in at the bottom of a hole. Indeed, I found him talking to William, a Jesuit.
Ruud was very kind and offered me to stay with him in his hut in Peace, later called Camp. Also, in daily life he was very inspiring and introduced me to Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Through Ruud I learned a bit about Auroville and he was very helpful. He had humour and a great laugh. He was very intelligent and creative. A hard worker and dedicated. I was not the only one who was inspired by his book: Alle Dingen Nieuw. Many Dutch came to Auroville because of it. Ruud was a magician in many ways.
Special thanks to B. William Sullivan, Gerard Jak, Alain Grandcolas, Binah Thillairajah and Jack Alexander for help with compiling this page.