The response was extraordinary. In every session, the children showed spontaneous enthusiasm and a deep natural openness. Whether directly participating or observing, they absorbed the exercises with intensity, reflection, and joy. At one school, only twelve students could participate due to time constraints, but the rest of the children sat silently watching—and inwardly participating. Without pens, paper, or colours, they followed the instructions within themselves, showing how deeply prepared and attuned they already were to the inner journey.

Such soul-readiness is rarely seen in such young students. They approached the activities not as games, but as explorations of something real within. Their engagement wasn’t forced—it was flowing. They seemed to know, instinctively, that education means discovery of the soul.

The Teachers – Anchors of Conscious Work

Equally remarkable was the dedication of the teachers and administrators. Across the schools visited, there was a common spirit of self-discipline, simplicity, and spiritual aspiration. The schools are not merely spaces of academic learning, but gardens of conscious growth, where the teachers themselves are active sadhaks, committed not just to instruction but to the awakening of the child’s soul.

There was no rigidity or formality, but a living order—self-imposed and joyfully maintained. The farm work, kitchen gardens, flower beds, and sustainable practices all form an integrated part of the curriculum. It is learning through living, and it reflects The Mother’s vision of education as the unfolding of consciousness through all aspects of life.

One could feel in these educators a quiet pride—not boastful, but full of gentle reverence for the work they are doing, and for the children they are helping to blossom.

A Shared Future: Odisha and Auroville

Jaya’s visit also reinforced the profound connection foreseen by The Mother between Odisha and Auroville. Odisha, as the Mother once said, is where the force of Sri Aurobindo’s Action was first to be seeded before it moved to the rest of India and the world. Auroville, with its focus on building the City of Dawn, carries the complementary mission of preparing the cradle for the new being.

There is so much to learn from one another. Odisha brings the force of rooted sincerity and lived action; Auroville brings the aspiration for future realization and experimentation. Together, they are pieces of the same evolving vision.

The visit also supported the expansion of auroglobal.org, an initiative inspired by the Mother's vision for Sri Auirobindo's Action to radiate into the world and to document, share, and make visible the widespread work of Integral Yoga across the world. It is not an institutional site, but a living offering—built by devotees for devotees. Institutions and centers across Odisha and elsewhere are invited to join, share their activities, and collaborate towards a unified movement of growth.

Looking Ahead

The visit to Odisha was not an end—it was a beginning. The seeds sown during this trip will grow into future collaborations, deeper exchanges, and new materials specifically designed to help children directly enter the path of Integral Education through experiential, soul-centered methods.

Unity Pavilion, Auroville, warmly invites schools and centers from Odisha to visit, collaborate, and co-create learning experiences that reflect the true purpose of education: to reveal the Divine within.

Let us walk this path together—with joy, humility, and shared aspiration.