Culture guiding public policy, we said – how will this manifest, you ask? We asked ourselves too.
We began with that fundamental element our civilization asks us to anchor on - the great equalizer, devourer and dispenser.
Time.
1/23
We began with that fundamental element our civilization asks us to anchor on - the great equalizer, devourer and dispenser.
Time.
1/23
Is it time yet then?
We’ve come together because we think it is.
We wish to tell you that we are at a ‘civilizational moment’, and we can all turn it into an epoch.
You know that already, perhaps. You feel it too.
Indulge us a bit, please.
2/23
We’ve come together because we think it is.
We wish to tell you that we are at a ‘civilizational moment’, and we can all turn it into an epoch.
You know that already, perhaps. You feel it too.
Indulge us a bit, please.
2/23
What is a civilizational moment and what is its anatomy?
How rare or regular are such moments, and how must those who value civilization respond to them?
Reaching deep into the past, let us first think of civilizational moments best available to us now as ‘mythology.’
3/23
How rare or regular are such moments, and how must those who value civilization respond to them?
Reaching deep into the past, let us first think of civilizational moments best available to us now as ‘mythology.’
3/23
When the sincere devotion of a seemingly disobedient son compelled ‘descent,’ an avataraṇa of a Narasiṃha, was this a civilizational moment?
When ancient Indians who had warred for generations, put weapons aside and churned the ocean together, was this the same moment?
4/23
When ancient Indians who had warred for generations, put weapons aside and churned the ocean together, was this the same moment?
4/23
When a ruler who became unbearable, was cast aside by the populace and the son who succeeded him yoked the earth for material gains, such that before him there were no towns and cities, but after him came grain, markets and civilization, was this the kind of moment we mean?
5/23
5/23
Or when, in the thick of ancient India’s most terrible war, both sides grieved the loss of a common elder, Bhīṣma, could that qualify as a defining moment?
6/23
6/23
If not, what of the ‘compiler-born-on-the-island’, who lamented, "from dharma spring artha and kāma, why is dharma not practiced then?” and went on to compile the Vedas, the Jaya and the Purāṇas?
Does he represent the hero that a civilizational moment needs?
7/23
Does he represent the hero that a civilizational moment needs?
7/23
We believe yes, for each of these cases evidences, what we parse as the anatomy of a civilizational moment:
3 Dimensions:
Yearning | Seeking - Samāja
Hero | Pivot - Avataraṇa
Instruments | Harmony - Samanvaya
8/23
3 Dimensions:
Yearning | Seeking - Samāja
Hero | Pivot - Avataraṇa
Instruments | Harmony - Samanvaya
8/23
1) The Convergence of Yearning and Seeking
That is, the crest of desire to manifest.
The descent of Viṣṇu as Narasiṃha emerged through the crest of Prahlāda’s devotion, as did the Samudra Manthana at the crest of war-weariness
9/23
That is, the crest of desire to manifest.
The descent of Viṣṇu as Narasiṃha emerged through the crest of Prahlāda’s devotion, as did the Samudra Manthana at the crest of war-weariness
9/23
and the yearning for resolution among Daityas and Ādityas.
Closer in time to us, at the stroke of a midnight hour, was the culmination of a yearning for agency.
10/23
Closer in time to us, at the stroke of a midnight hour, was the culmination of a yearning for agency.
10/23
And, representative of this, in the modern era, was when the Prime Minister of a civilization-state submerged himself in the Ganga at the Eternal City, Kāśi.
11/23
11/23
A civilizational moment is one where all eyes are turned to one thing, one pivot and one definitive convergence which carry within them a long-running yearning.
12/23
12/23
At bṛhat there is no doubt about this.
We are in the midst of such a moment, and a civilization-state’s yearning is rearing to manifest.
13/23
We are in the midst of such a moment, and a civilization-state’s yearning is rearing to manifest.
13/23
2) The Emergence of Hero and Pivot
Avataraṇa of Narasiṃha, churning of amṛta, birth of Pṛthu, death of Bhīṣma, and return of Ram Lalla to the place of his birth - these represent hero or pivot moments.
14/23
Avataraṇa of Narasiṃha, churning of amṛta, birth of Pṛthu, death of Bhīṣma, and return of Ram Lalla to the place of his birth - these represent hero or pivot moments.
14/23
They are the events which freeze time in collective memory, transcending its arrow and becoming a felt experience the mind carries with it.
15/23
15/23
Convergence and Emergence - with these a civilizational moment becomes primed.
Priming is the creation of a runway, a road that can now be taken to create better times - the rise of dharma over adharma.
16/23
Priming is the creation of a runway, a road that can now be taken to create better times - the rise of dharma over adharma.
16/23
This becomes the flywheel, through which tributary moments swirl into the hero/pivot - an opportunity for civilizational level-up.
17/23
17/23
3) Instrument and Harmony
However, acceleration is not guaranteed.
Just as the warriors of Kurukṣetra picked up arms again and battled till the 18th day, when neither side could claim to have upheld dharma;
18/23
However, acceleration is not guaranteed.
Just as the warriors of Kurukṣetra picked up arms again and battled till the 18th day, when neither side could claim to have upheld dharma;
18/23
Just as civilization fell once again after the Samudra Manthana, requiring a Vasiṣṭha of a later era, to create a moment anew.
19/23
19/23
From culture springs reason and it is perpetuated through civilization.
But, civilizational moments are rare. They require scaling, transformation, leadership and institution.
20/23
But, civilizational moments are rare. They require scaling, transformation, leadership and institution.
20/23
They require the establishment of Agni and the commencement of a Yajña. And the Yajña needs Bhāratas - those who bear and carry forward.
21/23
21/23
It is this bearing, bharaṇa, that builds replication and self-perpetuation. It is these bhāratīyas who convert such moments into an epoch.
And, it is such an epoch that bṛhat aims to catalyze, replicate and self-perpetuate.
22/23
And, it is such an epoch that bṛhat aims to catalyze, replicate and self-perpetuate.
22/23
So, here we are are:
A civilizational moment, a multi-disciplinary team, a common quest.
Thus, bṛhat:
3 domains - Culture | Policy | Leadership
4 Actions - Create | Consult | Curate | Cultivate
23/23
A civilizational moment, a multi-disciplinary team, a common quest.
Thus, bṛhat:
3 domains - Culture | Policy | Leadership
4 Actions - Create | Consult | Curate | Cultivate
23/23
Loading suggestions...