The Institute

From Near to Far

“Greetings from Auroville to all men of good will. Are invited to Auroville all those who thirst for progress and aspire to a higher and truer life.”
—The Mother

"Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity.

The Mother

Educational Work in Auroville

Since its founding in 1984, the Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER) has served as a living support system for Auroville’s wide-ranging educational work. Instead, it holds the function of nurturing, protecting, and resourcing educational initiatives aligned with the spiritual vision of Auroville and the Integral Education of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

SAIIER anchors dozens of schools, research programmes, community initiatives, and collaborative experiments across Auroville and its bioregion.The strength of the Institute lies in its quiet continuity: in the people who have built it through trust, through steady work, and through a shared aspiration to place the soul at the center of education.

History of SAIIER

The Sri Aurobindo International Institute of Educational Research (SAIIER) was founded in 1984 to support Auroville’s evolving educational landscape. Its name was given by The Mother years earlier and brought into being with the support of Kireet Joshi, then Special Secretary for Higher Education, Government of India.

Through decades of experimentation, SAIIER has grown into a constellation of schools, research centres and programmes.

Evolution-Centric Education

A Living Pedagogy for a Conscious Future

SAIIER embraces education as a tool for conscious evolution—not for conformity, but for inner awakening. This article by Deepti Tewari explores the meaning of “evolution-centric education” as lived in the Auroville context.

Auroville has always been an experiment oriented towards the future. A place where boundaries dissolve—between nations, between disciplines, between the rigid categories of childhood and adulthood.

SAIIER Units – Auroville as a Living Laboratory

Integral Education Beyond the Classroom

SAIIER supports a network of units and initiatives that embody Integral Education through daily life—be it in circus arts, food forests, body movement, or community service. These spaces make Auroville itself a learning environment, where the city becomes the curriculum and each action an opportunity for growth.

The Auroville Centre

A Bridge Between the World and the Work

The Auroville Centre is SAIIER’s outward-facing arm for partnerships, programmes, and outreach. Rooted in the spirit of Integral Education, it curates collaborative learning journeys, teacher development, and cultural immersion—anchored in the living values of Auroville.

CIRHU – Higher Education & Inner Work

Centre for International Research in Human Unity

CIRHU was conceived as a space for conscious higher and deeper education—one that goes beyond degrees and speaks to the inner development of the human being. Its spirit is based on Sri Aurobindo’s call for an education that prepares individuals for self-mastery and the evolution of consciousness.