Matagiri is located on 40 acres of forested hillside in the Catskill Mountains near Woodstock, New York. Staffed by a small residential community and supported by an extended family of disciples and friends, visitors benefit from facilities designed for contemplation and creativity, research and study. Our activities include meditation, talks, performances and educational programs related to the teaching of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and the international community of Auroville.

The name Matagiri means “Mother’s Mountain” in Sanskrit. Founded by Sam Spanier and Eric Hughes in 1968, it has served as a residential center, library, importer of Sri Aurobindo Ashram products such as the handmade paper and incense, publisher and distributor of Sri Aurobindo and Mother’s books, and hosted numerous visitors.

Matagiri is under the stewardship of Matagiri Sri Aurobindo Center, a 501 c 3 non profit organization. Donations are needed and welcome.

Matagiri Board

Julian Lines, President

Julian spent the summer of ’72 immersed in Sri Aurobindo, the Mother and Auroville and in the following years volunteered at the Sri Aurobindo International Center in Manhattan. He has served on the Boards of the Foundation for World Education and Auroville International and is on the Board of Advisors of the Nakashima Foundation for Peace. He was also a member of Auroville’s International Advisory Council when Dr. Karan Singh was Chairman from 2009-2017.

Julie Manna, Vice President

Julie visited Auroville with her daughter and became a deep student of integral yoga. She studied Savitri with Rod Hemsell and now collaborates with the Boston Sri Aurobindo Center as well as Matagiri’s online study groups. She is a popular dance and Pilates teacher and choreographer.

Wendy Lines, Secretary/Treasurer

Wendy had Mother’s Darshan in January of 1970 and was accepted both as an Aurovilian and Ashramite. After six years in India, she returned to the US, then spent time at a Sri Aurobindo Center in Brittany, France where she taught yoga. She lived at the Sri Aurobindo Center of Los Angeles Center and was very close to Dakshina, founder of Sri Aurobindo Sadhana Peetham in Lodi, CA. All three officers live onsite at Matagiri.

Brian Nagle

Brian has been a student of integral yoga since the summer of 1972 at Omega Station in upstate New York. He worked as a private and public school teacher in Stamford, CT, Manhattan and New Paltz, NY where he was the union representative. He has been an avid runner and a volunteer for teaching English as a second language.

Keshav Kumar

Kershav lives in NJ with his wife, Lakshmi, whose parents live in Auroville. He went to Pondicherry for the first time in 1985 and has since visited both Pondicherry and Auroville and numerous centers in Odisha. His family started a center in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India where he and his mother are trustees.

Bhuvana Nandakumar

Bhuvana is an educator who previously served as a Matagiri trustee and for many years as President of the Foundation for World Education. Bhuvana has taught in schools in India, Switzerland, and the US. She holds a Master’s degree in Physics from Bharathidasan University in India and in nonprofit management and social work from Case Western Reserve University. She also has a long association with Tara Jauhar at the Delhi Branch and volunteers with her sons, Parthiv and Arjav at Auro Mira Vidya Mandir at Kechla in Odisha.