01. Introduction
Design thinking is coming full circle. Having traversed systems, integrated, business-centric and other approaches, it converges towards human-centric, modular and circular. IDEO, steward of design thinking, talks of emergent design paradigms being human-centric, fractal and circular. UK’s Design Council speaks of ‘designing for the planet’, but its concerns are just the same- sustainability, reusability, harmony. The Conscilience Project identifies three defining evolutions of design thinking:
- Naively Optimistic Design- Design that assumes an intrinsic association between positive values and human-tech interfaces. But its steadfast neglect of second and third order effects has brought us in contact with catastrophic risks.
- Luddite Design- Assumes only negative values for human-tech interfaces, and seeks to roll back or undo technological advancements. But the choice to opt out of technological advancement is realistically no longer available to anyone.
- Nihilistic Design- Or values-agnostic design, dominated by the view that technology is only what we make of it, and the values that drive such making derive from elsewhere.
Of these, the last has brought us to the brink of disaster. Our steadfast pretense that design can be values-agnostic is laid bare when we learn that artificially intelligent software tends to inherit the biases and prejudices of its programmers.
The values-agnosticism in modern creatorship is so stark, what is called ‘disruptive innovation’ has- in convenience tech- created the hazardous situation of service agents rushing to deliver retail goods within unreasonably short time commitments.
And the actual incidence of this considered to be in the realm of conspiracy, we live in a world where biological products of human design can cause global pandemics. Human creation is bringing the ruin of life, species and planet. Introspection and a radical recalibration are our only chance of reversing the situtation. What’s needed is a “wisdom of gods,” found encoded across culture- or dharma.
Put simply, we assert that the next evolution needed in design is that of culture-rooting. More specifically, of dhārmika design thinking.
And since dharma is the endeavor to conduct life and society in harmony with the natural order- which is ṛta (ऋत)- dharma-led design is effectively ṛta in design. Ṛta in Design is not a new language for design. It is an augmentation of current design thinking with the conceptual root of dharma. We believe that Ṛta in Design can introduce constructive paradigms to converse, collaborate and co-create with existing principles of design.
Dharma-rooted design thinking carries enormous advantage- for example on the matter of sustainability. A sensitivity to our impact on and obligation in this world, which modern design develops only now, is one that’s at root of ṛta in design.
Where we do depart with contemporary design systems is on our focal center. In the dhārmika paradigm, consciousness or intent is at the center of everything, and the absolute center is occupied by Brahman, ultimate creator.
At center of the design process thus is the designer or creator- the source of intent and the driver of manifestation. Ṛta in Design is, to use a contemporary format, designer-centric. This guide is an introduction, one that articulates a basic framework in the register of modern design. Think of it as module 1 of a larger, comprehensive Ṛta in Design Playbook further down the road.
02. Design and Dharma
DESIGN - To design is to create with intent, deliberation, plan and purpose; Design is the implementation of a process with reflection-in-action. Design involves creating, constructing, conceptualising, planning, framing of intent and navigation of constraining boundaries.
DHARMA - To establish, to practice a method or custom, to organize life and society in consonance with the natural flow is to establish dharma. That which is created with intent, deliberation, plan, purpose and reflection-in-action is dharma. Dharma is the dynamic cultural process of bearing and supporting a tradition of deliberate and planned consonance with the harmonics of reality.
The Anthropocene is Broken
Design today, as a thing manifest, is writ large upon the planet. But we have lost deliberation and the clarity of intent. Rushing disruptively into the future, we have designed ourselves into a lost species on a dying planet. We need a Better Way to craft our world. We need a ‘full-stack’ design system, one that brings convergence of information and knowledge at utility level and provides the cultural grist for future-formation.
In the distant past…
The sound instruments of mental scientists converted information to knowledge, And engineers of praxis and ritual converted knowledge to utility. Dharma is the conversion and manifestation of utility in the cultural context, ie.:
DHARMA IS DESIGN
And what is dharma, if not the endeavor to conduct life and society in consonance with ṛta, the natural order? To bring dharma in design is to bring a ṛta-consciousness to the processes and methods of design. Dharma in design is effectively, Ṛta in Design.
Ṛta in Design is our input at seed and root- at the very intent, reflection, planning and implementing of those that craft our world. It synthesizes key aspects of the dhārmika worldview and links it to general steps in the contemporary design process. This makes it possible for designers to use the fundamentals coded in the cultural identity of our grand civilization.
03. What Do We Call Design
Firing up a search for the Sanskrit translation of ‘design’ will yield a list of words as disparate as anusaṃdhāna, anubandha, cikīrṣita, mantra and more. When we understand design to be a process of deliberation and reflection-in-action that ends with an implementation, it should not be surprising that a culture built upon deliberation to everything should throw up so many options for the word ‘design.’ It should in fact make sense that a syntactically deliberate instrument of mind- mantra- is also a design.
What this gets at is the subtle but profound difference between creating and designing, as understood by the dhārmika mind. In this framework the matter always begins with the agent- the doer. Whether it is creation or design, it is something the doer does. All of reality is artifacts of the mind manifest through an agent’s will, and so the Sanskrit root of √kṛ (कृ) which means ‘to do,’ takes center-stage.
This is as true at the level of grammar as it is on the level of ontology- karma is one of the strongest binding operators in ṛta under the dhārmika worldview. Without action there would be no reality, and reality itself is understood as “coming into being,” or bhavati- happens, becomes.
To ‘design something’ most accurately means to do it with a process of deliberation and planning, through an outcome of deep-thinking, reflection and crystallization of intent. In other words, design is action when done by a self-reflective consciousness. Dhārmika design thinking requires that we realize that every action, every deed ought to be by design. What is done or accomplished through such a process is consequently “well-done,” or “well-effected,” “refined.” There is a word to describe exactly this.
Since it is done, it is a ‘kṛta’ (has been done), and since it is well done, it is ‘samyak.’ Well designed and well effected is thus something that is ‘saṃskṛta.’ The genuine word for design is saṃskaraṇa, and design as the output is saṃskṛti. One must take pause to internalize the implications:
- Whenever designers encounter skeptics to the claim that design impacts culture, they ought to be pointed to Indian culture, where the word for design and culture is in fact the same. They are both ‘saṃskṛtis’. Indian culture is the perfected design of our civilization.
- The process of design is samṣkaraṇa, and designers are would-be saṃskartṛs. What is well designed and perfected enough to be seeded through the culture is thus called saṃskāra - great designs.
Modern design aspires to be a reflection of nature. To be in perfect harmony with it. To respect through man-made design the perfected designs of reality. This is not the first instance of such a drive in our species. Thousand of years ago there were people that understood nature as prakṛti - the original or preceding design- and had the imperative to be in harmony with is as cardinal principle of their own design- their saṃskṛti.
Under this light, ‘dhārmika design thinking‘ is arguably a redundancy of articulation. If dharma is design as we’ve established, then what does design of design thinking mean? Designers will be the first to confess- it means quite a bit. It is why a book titled ‘Design of Design’ makes sense. There is always a process to even ‘doing’ the process; a way of working behind a way that is working, a pra-kriyā before the kriyā. This is bound to happen when what we speak of involves continuous self-reflection or ping-back. This ping-back, or cintana, is what design seeks to shape over the long term.
04. Design vs. Art, a Resolution
Is design art, or is art design? Are they the same, and if different then what is the difference exactly? These questions have been around as long as the idea of design has been. In disciplines like History of Design, there is little agreement on what constitutes design. Though there are compelling views on either side, consensus seems to be that “design needs functionality, art only has to exist,” or that “design is a process, not art.”
These are boundaries that never limited the Indian civilization, where the fractal patterns on a temple dome challenge the limits of intricacy in design. Why? For a simple reason- art has never “just existed” in the Indian paradigm, and it has comprised a process every bit as meticulous as any system for design. In our humble assessment, the lacuna in contemporary design systems and in modern design in general is a lack of ulterior rooting in purpose => the kind that provides shaping and direction throughout the process.
Dharma has such a rooting, for in being a refined design it contains universal principles that are found across levels and units. One such principle is expressed by yathā piṇḍe tathā brahmāṇḍe, yathā brahmāṇḍe tathā piṇḍe: as in the microcosm so in the macrocosm, and vice versa.
Art in India has been based on this principle, that the individual and the supra-individual, the micro and macro, are essentially the same despite difference in manifestations. All our art celebrates this difference, aiming at that oneness. The very word for skill- kalā- literally means a ‘small part of something.’
It is itself part of a deeper synthesis, where the Vedic Agni that rises from the ground and reaches the sky above is symbolic of the union between micro and macro, and is the guiding vision for a temple’s basic architecture. In other words, art in India has a function- it is to elevate us and take us to union, yoga, as much as any design would have to. The false binaries that appear so salient to design/art dissolve when seen under the dhārmika light. The focus here is on the creator, and how they shape and manifest their intent.
05. Who is this Guide For?
Ours is a framework for designing the design of design, ie, thinking out the methodology of good-creation. It is for:
- Saṃskartṛs- artists, writers, business planners, product managers, UI and graphic designers, policy formulators, curriculum designers, programmers.
- Those who are looking to enable/empower Samṣkaraṇa, such as business leaders, marketers, administrators, teachers.
- And finally, for you and us- or anyone who wants to (re)create Samṣkṛti, or Bhāratīya Sāmṣkṛtika Cetanā (Indian Civilizational Consciousness).
It represents a defining difference between dhārmika design thinking and contemporary prevalent systems. Under de-facto stewardship of IDEO, design thinking itself pushes towards what it calls “human-centric” design. Though not at odds with it, Design Council perpetuates “planet-centered” design. The National Design Policy approved by India’s government aims for Indian design to propel itself onto the global stage- a nation-centric design framework.
Even ‘design’ is a kriyā, an action. If we are to be centered around something then, it is ātma-centered. Design thinking, the sāṃskṛtika cetanā of a designer, begins with the designer- the one who will bring something to form. And great design begins with great self-design. With the Svataḥ Siddha.
06. The Scaffolding in Brief
We visualize the design process as a series of fluid, inter-connected steps that begin with the emergence of intent in the designer’s mind and end one cycle of iteration at the creation of a physical (or digital) form. After this creation the cycle resets and another iteration can begin- this is how design iterates and learns through reflection. There are deeper layers here that will be released as supplementary packages. For example, our visualization is nothing but a redux of the three-śaktis- Icchā Śakti to power intent, Jñāna Śakti to power ability/capability, and Kriyā Śakti to channel action/manifestation.
This model for dhārmika design thinking
aims to empower designers at each stage of this journey with the tools, methods, practices and resources needed to self-actualize into the next stage.
We see the first complete framework and version 1 of the Ṛta in Design Playbook being ready by the end of year 2022. Along the way if we meet like-minded designers to collaborate and co-create with, the flywheel would have been set in motion. For each notion listed here, the universal principle is the same- to make fit or proper. That is, to do it well, with planning and deliberation: saṃskaraṇa.
1- Svataḥ Siddha - From Intent to the Beginning of Action
- Icchā: Will, Intent, Desire, Need
- Bhāva: Feeling, Emotion, Dispassion, Disposition
- Jñāna - Knowledge, Ontological Base, Cognitive Pool
- Yogyatā - Readiness, Capability
2- Purohita - Implementing the Design
- Upakaraṇa - Tools and Resources
- Prakriya - Methods ad Processes
- Vyavahāra - Conduct, Relationships, Ethics
- Sphoṭa - Execution, Manifestation
3- Saṃskārtṛ - Iteration and Reflection-in-action
- Anukramaṇa - Analysis of Design (meta process)
- Cintana - Self Reflection (kept here instead of in 1 to reinforce iteration)
- Karma - Consequence, Impact
- Saṃskartṛ - Meaning and elements of the design being
07. Phase 1 - Svataḥ Siddha
All things begin with intent, whether that of brahman or that of ātman. In the case of design or creation this locates in the kartṛ’s (creator’s) intent. In our scaffolding, emergence of intent in the mind is where the design process starts. This may emerge as a cognitive burst- a sudden impulse that translates to designed creation; or as a slow bloom of intentionality that eventually converts to action. These are already phenomena the designer needs to perceive and be aware of. Intent shaping is a vital feedback loop to induct in the process of design-oriented self-reflection.
But when we add to this words like disposition, context, knowledge, practice, thinking, conceptualization and more, we begin creating a list too cumbersome for the mind to authentically internalize. A svataḥ siddha mind is a self-actualizing mind, which is to say it can locate itself with self-awareness and conscious intent. Our approach to the “mindset” of the dhārmika designer is to empower it with the tools and resources it needs to self-actualize.
For the first phase of Ṛta in Design- the inner world of the designer- we model things along the hero’s journey, and include game elements that encourage upskilling and exploration. The designer’s inner world is an open sandbox only they can access, but we can provide some of the physics, some graphic elements, some in-game algorithms and more that let the self-organizing individual engage with the matter on their own terms. This virtual sandbox is the Karmakṣetra- the staging environment for design thinking- that the designer creates for himself/herself. It will comprise of four key elements, each element a vital node in the comprehensive karmakṣetra:
- Icchā: Will, Intent, Desire, Need
- Bhāva: Feeling, Emotion, Dispassion, Disposition
- Jñāna: Knowledge, Ontological Base, Cognitive Pool
- Yogyatā: Readiness, Capability
08. Phase 2 and 3 (Purohita and Saṃskartṛ)
The process of design is one of manifestation. There is no design to the idea that remains an idea alone. A majority of the world’s aspiring creators are held back primarily by their own inaction. The second phase seeks to address this disconnect, and to remind designers that the best ideas are those that get executed. It is better to be the writer of one finished manuscript than that of a dozen abandoned ones.
And since our theme is of self-organization, this phase requires the designer to take lead of their own yajña, ie., to don the mantle of purohita for their design process and take it to culmination. This is the phase dealing with the ‘design of execution excellence.’ The Ṛta in Design system will focus here on methods, toolkits, playbooks, templates and more: things that empower/enable/facilitate action and/or conduct with clients/co-creators. The four nodes here are:
- Upakaraṇa: Tools and Resources
- Prakriyā: Methods and Processes
- Vyavahāra: Conduct, Relationships, Ethics
- Sphoṭa: Execution, Manifestation
To truly understand phase 3, we must remember that design is reflection-in-action, which means it is iterative by definition. The refinement and excellence come from repeat cycles where learning and competence are accumulated layer upon layer.
The self-perpetuating designer, one who is purohita of their design yajña, being in design over the long end of iteration cycles, tends towards becoming the Design Being, the Saṃskartṛ, or the designer-in-excellence. The saṃskartṛ is not only a designer as the term is understood today, he/she is a culture-builder. And culture-design is the ultimate-design. When rooted to our culture, ie. to dharma, it leads to civilization design.
The four nodes to anchor this phase are:
- Anukramaṇa: Analysis of Design (meta process)
- Cintana: Self Reflection (kept here instead of in 1 to reinforce iteration)
- Karma: Consequence, Impact
- Saṃskartṛ: Meaning and elements of the design being
09. Principles of Ṛta in Design
Every internally consistent system is guided by a set of universal design principles. At the cosmic level we call them natural laws, such as the law of gravitation, or the speed of light. For the design process to have similary consistency, it needs to be encoded with a core DNA- the code that guides it every step of the way. Design thinking is led by five stages or steps, which act as its guiding principles: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test.
Ṛta in Design has four principles- four key ideas that run through every phase and every action, which when interlinked provide consistency to the process and the output. These are neither mutually exclusive nor sequential. They are four streams that need run parallel and constant:
Intent
The design of the designer, the shaper of all things that get created. Recognizing the importance of Intent in design is core to our system.
Agency
The best idea in the world is one that is brought to life- our chase is not for that unfinished manuscript, that untested idea. Design takes agency.
Grounding
The higher order principle that gives telos- the ultimate aim. A lack of telos in modern creation and design is their primary lacuna.
Consonance
A fully functioning ṛta in design process, coded with three preceding principles, leads towards this, the final. Sense-making at all levels
10. Intent
That we collectively create a world that none of us individually want is, in significant portion, attributable to a problem of intent. More specifically, to how intent is shaped and directed, once it arises and is noticed.
When linked to the three śaktis- icchā, jñāna and kriyā- intent is the very basis of our lives. In the modern world, one shaped more and more by design, the intent that becomes of salience is that of the designer. Reality itself is an intent manifest, in its case shaped and directed by Brahman- the ultimate designer.
A designer’s personal values and local ontology will impact both the function and the collateral of what they create, so implementing ṛta in design needs to begin at root- the shaping and planning out of intent.
Literature and tools of this principle will address the designer’s inner world. This is the world of cintana- self-reflection, svabhāva- disposition, and jñāna- knowledge.
To anchor the four principles, and to articulate the epitome and vision to aspire to, each of them will be captured in a civilizational guiding statement:
Aham Brahmāsmi | I am Brahman.
ie., designers need keep in mind the power and responsibility at their disposal. That in bringing things to life they enact the great creator, Brahman, means deep consideration and deliberation.
11. Agency
In the grammar-philosophy of Bhartṛhari, one of India’s greatest linguist ṛṣis, the meaning of an utterance is truly comprehended only at the end of a sentence- not before. It bursts in the listener’s mind after the full vākya, in a flash of insight Bhartṛhari called sphoṭa.
Analogously, the impact, utility and deliverance of design is with the complete implementation. Any meaning, aesthetic, harmony or function finds form only after the act of creation is complete, and the designer needs no further intervention on what they have produced.
There are sensitivities needed here for method and procedure, and also for conduct and collaboration- since while intent shaping can reside inside a designer’s head, most large-scale creative endeavours require working with others.
This is the realm of prakriyā- processes and methods, of upakaraṇa- tools or enablers, and of vyavahāra- outward conduct and behavior. Material we release to help on this principle will be accordingly designed. Guiding statement:
Yogaḥ Karmasu Kauśalam | Union is attained through skillfulness in action.
ie., in the journey to being a great designer, the proof is in the excellence of execution- in actually manifesting the intent inside.
The first two principles are directed at the designer- at their inner world and their outward action. The next two principles are aimed at the process of design, and at design as the output/creation of a process.
12. Grounding
When design organizations speak of design as human-centric or planet-centric, they are displaying a specific grounding. Born of the modern era, this is a grounding that recognizes our disconnect with nature, and the degrees of damage our creations inflict on our own ecology. A human-centric or planet-centric grounding is one that no longer considers man the center and master of the universe, and understands the fragile if empowered position our species exists in.
In similar vein, Ṛta in Design- as the very name suggests, is grounded in dharma, which in turn is a design to orient us towards the natural flows of reality. Our system’s overall structure is of course designer-centric, but what it intends is to make the designer dharma-centric.
The principal of Grounding is to lay out a base of inner principles rooted to notions like the puruṣārtha, karma and ṛṇa, and sṛṣṭi-sthiti-laya, ie., ultimate purpose, proper deed and cosmic obligations, and (creative)emission-positioning-dissolution. Guiding statement:
Asato Mā Sadgamaya Tamaso Mā Jyotirgamaya | Move me from the untrue to the true, move me from the dark (of ignorance) to the light (of knowing).
This earnest Vedāntika entreaty is found in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, and in the desire it displays- to always be lead by what is truth, by what takes towards the light of true comprehension- it lends us a highly appropriate design principal.
13. Consonance
The first and last maṇḍalas (arrangements) of the Ṛgveda’s ten maṇḍalas both contain 191 prayers each. That is, the Ṛgveda rounds up on itself as if a maṇḍala too. This is the image of an ouroboros- a snake eating its own tail. It represents the qualities of recursion and infinity, a defining Indian symbol for which is the infinitely blooming lotus.
All of this is to explain that dharma is a system with multi-level coherence, or what we are describing as Consonance- where the tiniest fractal agrees with another and with the whole, where the same consistency and consciousness is found in non-discrete immanence.
It is the highest principle to aspire to, the final piece in design patterned to ṛta. The aim is to bring a transcendent harmony, function and positioning in our creations.
While Intent and Agency are principles to embody through any design process, Purpose and Consonance come alive through iteration that’s bookended by reflection-in-action. Consistent grounding on ṛta (or in dharma), in an iterative system, yield emergent consonance. Guiding statement:
Yathā Piṇḍe Tathā Brahmāṇḍe Yathā Brahmāṇḍe Tathā Piṇḍe | As in the microcosm so in the macrocosm, as in the macrocosm so in the microcosm.
A cardinal principle in Āyurveda, which in turn is a comprehensive ṛta in design, this statement is also known to us as- ‘as above, so below.’ It’s a property we notice in many emergent systems, and the complete import of this can lead one to realising the truth of Brahman. The previous principle lends the root, this principle lends the super-symmetry.
14. An Ontology for Ṛta in Design
1 - सत् / Sat
the consonant stasis
Is-ness.Is-ness simply is. Without Beginning, without End. It stands transcendent of what we perceive as Time. It is not the coming into being, but the exist-ing. A present-continuous. Is, or what the ancients knew as अस्ति (asti).
From the root √as (अस्). The present participle of √as is sat (सत्) सत् is Is-ness – the Existing.
To have the property of सत् is to be Satya. That which simply is. Which is without Beginning and without End. Not the coming into being, but the exist-ing.
Sanātana, a present-continuous. Satya (सत्य). The stasis is in equilibrium. There is only consonance in Sat.
A consonance that whirs with harmonics. There is vibrance.
2 - ऋत / Ṛta
the coming-into-being of motion/change
All vibration is sound. All language is sound. Language is but vibration – a specific register of reality. Ṛṣi Pāṇini explained it as gati and gatiprāpaṇa. Motion, and Coming into Motion.
No longer Is-ness, but Is-being. From this root emerges the core sound of our system.
ऋ-क्त : ऋत ṛta
With – kta as an affix: क्त प्रत्यय (kta pratyaya). A verb-form with this suffix is used to express a sense of ‘has been done.’ ṛ + kṭa, ie.- motion has been attained, gatiprāpti.
Thus is Ṛta understood as Reality. It is Sat, manifest.
It is what surrounds us. The playground for Life and Creation.
3 - कृत / Kṛta
the manifested intent
A Law of Motion: For every action exists an opposite reaction. A Law of the Motion of Ṛta: For every action exists an acting agent. A Doer.
The Doer is the Kartā. The Action is the Karma. To Do: Karaṇa.
All from a singular root: √kṛ कृ, ie., to Do. And by the same rule of language as before, we get Kṛta:
कृ-क्त : कृत kṛta
kṛ + kta, ie.- Action/Creation has been done, karaṇa. And while the word for a Doer is Kartā, that for the Creator is Kartṛ. Any creator is a Kartṛ. Possesses Agency. Manifests Intent. To design is to create with intent, deliberation, plan and purpose. A Designer is a Kartṛ with both Purpose and Agency. Manifests Intent to the Proper Objective.
Thus do we understand Design as Saṃskaraṇa; and the Designer as a Saṃskartṛ.
The objective of Ṛta in Design is to formulate the processes, methods and utilities for a Saṃskartṛ. And at the center of this system is the Creator, and the Creator’s Intent.
This is where it all begins. This is where the Consonant Stasis can Come into Motion. Where Sat and Ṛta can Manifest in the Kṛta. this is where design happens.
And that Intent is where it all begins was known to the Ancients as well. To the very root of √kṛ कृ, Ṛṣi Pāṇini assigned another meaning. It can not only evoke creation, or karaṇa, but also destruction, or hiṃsā. In doing or creating we run the risk of injuring, hurting, destroying. Which way our creation turns, depends on that singular thing.
Intent. It is why we are Culture obsessed with Karma. It is why Dharma IS Design, at the most epistemic meaning of Design.
4 - धृत / Dhṛta
calibrated and true intent
People can manifest intent at scale- a collective manifestation. Kṛta as Our Output. The Output of All. Samṣkṛti – sam + kṛta. But collective manifestation today faces a challenge:
“How are we collectively creating a world that none of us wants, individually?”
– DANIEL CHRISTIAN WAHL
Today we live not only within the bubble of ṛta, we live cocooned in the bubble of technology, which is of our own creation- or sva-kṛti. And the way we have reached here has wrought severe damage to that which precedes or is the natural form of creation- pra-kṛti. And as this happens we lose more and more of that which was our well-formed, collective and refined creation- saṃs-kṛti. Thus do we need a dhārma-inspired framework of analysis for the modern context, a new way to design our lives than the one prevalent.
“Study your predecessors’ works intently, to see how they solved problems. Try to figure out why they made the design choices they did; this is the most illuminating question to ask yourself.”
– FRED BROOKS, THE DESIGN OF DESIGN
So we understand that behind the design of design is iteration, and iteration over a long period of time. Not a single lifetime, but a civilizational span. Iteration happens with Culture. With one generation taking what is passed down and building upon it.
The “all” or “sam” in Saṃskrti cuts across space and time, both. It originates in the root √dhi धि – dhāraṇa, to bear and preserve. When borne and preserved over the rhythm of ṛta, across space and time, it becomes dhī + ṛta – dhṛta.
धृ-कर्मणि क्त : धृत dhṛta
It is the borne and preserved. The design that has worked for our predecessors, and as the author of The Design of Design understood- what has worked for our predecessors is the most illuminating thing to identify. Dhṛta represents the Collective Intent that has been calibrated, over time and generations. It is Saṃskṛti, or in another word originating from dhī and dhṛta- it is Dharma. ध्रियते लोकोऽनेन, धरति लोकं वा धृ-मन् : धर्म dharma.
This then is the developing Ontology of Design:
- It rests eternal in Sat, the consonant stasis.
- Through Ṛta it is put into motion. What will eventually manifest is at this stage an Intent.
- In this vibrance of the consonant stasis do Action and Creation play out. This is the realm of Kṛta, the Intent Manifest. But Intent can also hurt. It can harm. To do- kṛ, can also be to cut. To slice.
- Cycle after cyle of Ṛta, over many iterations of the harmonic motion, Intent Manifest that is passed down and sustained, is the Intent that calibrates towards the True and the Proper. Kṛta that is consonant with Ṛta, which in turn is vibrance of the consonant stasis- Sat. That Intent, and that Intent Manifest, they are the Dhṛta.From them emerges Culture. From them emerges Dharma.
Dharma is Collective Design. Built by All, spanning Space and Time:
“Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.”
-ROBERT PETERS, CO-FOUNDER, THE CIRCLE DESIGN.
5 - घृत / Ghṛta
clarified manifestation of intent
An ancient cultural hand-down, ubiquitous to the Indian kitchen even today- Ghee, or clarified butter.
Or as it was called in Sanskrit: Ghṛta. Kṛta as Our Output. The Output of All.
घृ-क्त : घृत ghṛta
From the root √ghṛ घृ, which as Ṛṣi Pāṇini explains, is evocative of kṣaraṇadīptyaḥ, prasravaṇa, secana – trickles through heat/light, gushes or oozes, sprinkling or effusing.
There is a paradigm of consciousness embedded in this concept. For consciousness to the Indian mind is comparable to light:
Like light on its own is without attributes, but takes the shape and form of whatever it falls on, so is consciousness on its own without attributes- nirguṇa. It becomes with-attributes- saguṇa- by taking the shape and form of whatever it falls on.
The literal ghṛta is simply ghee, clarified butter.
The metaphysical ghṛta is the Manifestation that is born of Clarified Intent.
It is the ghee of creation. The best output of Design. It is what all design aspires to.
And it emerges through heat/light, ie., through intense application of the mind. Of consciousness. Of Intent. It emerges, like does the ghee from a yajña, from the yajña of our own lives.From the cultural yajña, the civilizational yajña, the collective yajña, or the personal yajña. What ghṛta is, is a laying down of direction- a design to the design.
But what should ghṛta be- what is it that can be called Clarified Intent? That is the next step…
6 - भृत / Bhṛta
fulfilling and delivering intent
The pattern in our schema is evident by now, so little preamble is needed for-
भृ-क्त : भृत bhṛta
From the root √bhṛ भृ – dhāraṇa, poṣaṇa, bharaṇa, or bearing, fulfilling, delivering. bhṛ + kta, ie., deliverance has been done. Bhṛta is the deliverance of Intent that fulfils. This is the culmination that Design must aim for. It is also the culmination that Dharma aims for.
It is why the culminated, the resultant ghṛta from the dhṛta of our ancestors, is called the “product of bhŗta,” or Bhārata.
More than a nation, more than a State, Bhārata is the Dhārmika Intent Manifested, clarified in its form and fulfilling in its nature.
Dharma is Design, and Bhārata is the Designed. This design process is Saṃskṛti, and this is why the dhṛta that is handed down to us is called saṃskāra.
It is where the designer draws from, when they form their Intent.
The conspicuous and inconspicuous inside their heads, which affects their creation.
Through saṃskaraṇa then is Intent clarified, such that it fulfils. But there are things the Saṃskartṛs must watch out for…
7 - मृत / Mṛta
fatal intent
मृ कर्तरि क्त : मृत mṛta
From the root √mṛ (मृ) evocative of prāṇatyāga- the surrender of life. Mṛta is the Dead. The Surrendered Life. It is also the Intent that produced this death, since everything Manifest is but a register of some Intent.
Yet the death of life is but a play in the vibrance of Ṛta. That is, when it happens consonant to Ṛta.
When it happens not through the Design of Reality, but through the Design of a Mortal Agent, Mṛta is the Fatal Intent.
It is the warning sign on the journey- caution, no road ahead. It is identifiable, it is basic and minimum.
Do not pursue Mṛta. Do not create Mṛta.
The Intent that is fatal- to culture, to civilization, to the collective, to the individual. It is the other side of √kṛ- not that which creates, but that which destroys. It is anti-Design.
Not calibrated. Not clarified. In the design of materials, in the design of spaces, in the design of equipment and in the design of vehicles, the Fatal Intent is of primary concern. So it may be identified and steered clear of.
The literal mṛta is death, fatal but fated. The metaphysical mṛta is the Deathly. Fatal to Ṛta itself.
The Design of the Nuclear Bomb. The Design of the Contagious Pathogen. The Design of Chemical Concoctions. Mṛtas that we today create matter-of-factly.
Where has design gone so wrong, that even the blatantly Fatal Intent is brought to Manifestation?
Perhaps… Perhaps it is Not Blatant. A final Intent to watch out for…
8 - नृत्, अनृत / Nṛt, Anṛta
deceiving, untrue intent
We make this formulation in two ways, the implication of either being the same.
Route 1 is through Nṛta (more technically- Nṛt), which means to dance, to move about, to act. It is the word behind Nṛtya- dance or mimicry.
नृत्यति, प्रणृत्यति : नृत् nṛt
As a root, √nṛt नृत् is evocative of gātravikṣepaḥ, or agitated and scattered movement.
Already we see a problem.
The literal nṛt is an act, a mimicry- it pretends to be something, but it is not that thing really. The metaphysical nṛt is agitated, scattered, ie., ṛta out of harmonics. Ṛta that is not Consonant.
But it pretends to be.
Route 2 brings into focus the non-consonance. It is through Anṛta- the opposite of Ṛta.
न. त : अनृत anṛta
Not true. Wrong. False and deceptive. Not even māyā, which though illusion is yet a part of the fabric of reality.
Anṛta is a Wholly Untrue Reality itself.
It is a nartaka- a dancer that defies category. It mimes, it tricks and deceives. It is both this and that. The category of mystery and ambiguity, of unknown unknowns. But they pretend to be knowns.
They pretend to be True. Their dissonance is hidden.
It is not even anti-Design, which is but blatant and fatal. It is unDesign, not blatant and its consequences unknown.
- With this formulation, and considering the previous categories visited, we may look at modern life and design in a new light. What we consider innovation, what we consider progress, what we consider great design–
- Is it Dhṛta? Does it emerge from iterative design, calibrated across space and time towards being True?
- Is it Ghṛta? Does it represent the pinnacle of clarified intent?
- Is it laden with fulfilling purpose? Is it Bhṛta?
- Does it lead to Mṛta? Can it kill? Is it the opposite of Kṛta- can it destroy?
- And what if it is none of these, or one of these, or more or all, but its true nature is hidden/unidentified?
- Is it Anṛta? The deceiving and untrue- the Unnatural Intent?
Consider the realm that most of us spend majority of our time in. A technological realm, engaged in through electronic screens, haptic surfaces and information networks.
On the same day the founder of Apple passed away, also breathed his last a biologist that created a vaccine- one that has saved millions of lives so far, and one he chose not to patent.
When we think of design and creation, we remember easily the name of Steve Jobs.
Of the biologist, even search engines struggle to reveal.
But who was the true Saṃskartṛ? What was a ghṛta creation? What was a-mṛta, or life-affirming? If you find mixed feelings about this, good. For there are no rigid boxes. After all, a pathogen can be life-affirming, or life-destroying. At the centre is the Intent of the Creator.
But all of this has been the at-large. The at-scale. It was the ontology of design-at-large.
Now we hone in to You, Designer. The pattern is the same, and it all begins with Your Intent.
Recall here the design principle of consonance, expressed through the mahāvākya- yathā piṇḍe tathā brahmāṇḍe. As is in the microcosm, so in the macrocosm. And vice versa.
This brings awareness that creation is the placement of one’s intent into others’ lives- others’ felt experiences. Ṛta and Kṛta together determine what it feels like to be alive, to engage, to participate, play and perform. It’s therefore not surprising that as we began to create machinery, our ways to study reality developed a paradigm for lifeforms as automatons. When we created massively multiplayer online games, we wondered upon simulated realities. And now, as we design intelligence itself, we learn more about our own consciousness.
9 - स्मृत / Smṛta
coming into motion of intent
स्मृ-क्त : स्मृत smṛta
Where the root √smṛ is evocative of ādhyāna, cintāyām, prītipālanayoḥ - reflection, thought, joy-fulfilling. To put it simply - ṛta is the external reality, smṛta the internal one. Smṛ + kta, ie., thought/reflection has been done, aka, intent has been put into motion.
This is where the act of design begins, the wellspring of creation.
For the samṣkartṛ, this is the first realm to engage with and shape. When we speak of self-initiation, the Svataḥ Siddha, or the shaping of intent, smṛta is where it happens. And it is composed of:
Icchā: Will, Intent, Desire, Need Bhāva: Feeling, Emotion, Dispassion, Disposition Jñāna: Knowledge, Ontological Base, Cognitive Pool Yogyatā: Readiness, Capability
The consonance principle defines how intent should be shaped, or what smṛta ought to be contained with. As is the case with ṛta, smṛta needs to be in harmony with Sat. The design that we are looking to create is one given to Truth.
For each constituent of smṛta then, we may ask ourselves some questions- to check our intent, to determine whether we will be lead from here on to sat or to asat.
to be completed:
10 - Ṛca (your creation/ design, analogous to kṛta) 11 - Dṛta (your process/methodology/design-of-design, analogous to dhṛta) 12 - Śṛta (your clarified manifestation, analogous to ghṛta) 13 - Pṛta (your fulfilling and delivering intent, analogous to bhṛta) 14 - Vṛta (analogous to mṛta) 15 - Sṛpa (analogous to anṛta)