UMA PRAJAPATI INTERVENANTE A LA DEUXIÈME JOURNÉE DE L'UNIVERSITÉ INTÉGRALE LE 16 OCTOBRE 2008

Uma is an fashion designer by profession, living in Auroville, South of India, since 1996.

She is the founder of Upasana, a design studio in Auroville, started in 1997. (www.upasana.in )

Through Upasana she brings the rich tradition of Indian textiles to Auroville and through Auroville to the world. Over the years focus of Upasana moved to the field of socially responsible design. Her areas of interest are:

• Conserving textile traditions of India and their modern applications
• Supporting craft traditions
• Natural fibers and dyes
• Women’s empowerment
• Socially responsible business
• Project and process design
• Integral Design and
• Spiritual vision and work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother.

Some of the ongoing social development projects are:

• Tsunamika ( www.tsunamika.org) – a project to help the tsunami victims
• Small Steps ( www.smallsteps.in ) – a project focusing on environmental issues
• Varanasi Weavers (www.varanasiweavers.org) – a project to help weavers in Varanasi.

"Integral approach begins with integral being. Our normal state of being is full of internal conflicts as different parts of our being aspire for different things that are often in conflict with each other. A divided being can never perform an action that is integral. So the first task is to harmonize and integrate all the movements of our being and this can be done only by discovering the inmost core of our being which is the source of delight in our action. This inmost centre, the evolving soul, is veiled by the layers of thoughts, imaginations, emotions, desires, drives and sensations, and it takes years of work upon oneself to dive deep into their complexity and find the nucleus that that can integrate them all. With increasing inner integration comes increasing integrality in our outer actions and resultant our effectiveness and harmony.

My work in Upasana begins and ends with my work on myself, everything else is in between. All that is happening outside is a reflection of what is going on within myself. So for every outer disharmony I have to seek a solution within my own being and only when I succeed in resolving it within myself the outer disharmony dissolve. But it is very easy to forget this fundamental poise and end up blame the outer circumstances. So to remind my self of the integrality of existence, there are few guidelines that act as central reference.

• There is only one user, the Supreme Self who dwells in all.
• Work is worship and love in action
• Upasana means worshiping the Divine.

There is a presence of the sacred, a divine intelligence and providence, that guides and does everything and my role is to perfect myself as an instrument so that this greater Self can act through me. The more one come in touch with the inmost core of ones own being the more one feels the presence of the sacred and its action. It is in that growing oneness the integral action unfolds.

 

Integral action in team work can emerge only in tune with the inner integration of its members. So in Upasana we put people at the centre and all the resources are meant for the inner and outer growth of our people who are directly or indirectly involved in the work of Upasana. We use creativity as a means to push people beyond their comfort zones to explore new ranges of their being."