Value Diagram

All cultures in the world, at some point in time of their evolution, have come to the understanding of the relationship of the individual with the community and the cosmos. This relationship was acknowledged – and expressed in art, architecture, thought, ideas, anything that humans wished to do.

How are these components sequenced? And what becomes of our nature of existence? Let’s try to answer above questions –

The very first component is the void/ space/ formlessness/ consciousness which is the medium wherein, everything else gets manifested, transformed/changed and dissolved. This is a direct experience that cannot be verbalized. We all are made of this stuff. Since it is eternally present, It is beyond the effects of Time and Space. Applying this logic to everything, it therefore follows that everything has a define property – everything just exists - everything can be said to be beyond judgment. But the Formless nature manifests into something continuously and again slips back to its original character. This fundamental tendency is to be accepted. Once accepted, we can also accept ourselves as projections of tendencies occurring in this divine consciousness, which lead to subsequent action and products/ built environment. This tendency of continuous creation represents a “worldview”. This tendency is the subject matter of having a “direct experience” – moksha or enlightenment.

By the very nature of creation – everything that may be termed as good or bad, gets created and changed. Good or bad are the labels we give by the effects these thoughts create on the external environment. Otherwise causes and effects (or tendencies of manifestations) are neutral events. Since we realize the effects of positive and negative actions on all things that are dependent, we ‘prefer’ good thoughts/actions/ products. This choice of good thoughts is to be exercised continuously. Another word for good thoughts is ‘values’. Environment, dependence, social, moral behaviours, support, empathy, cooperation, good will, right action – all come under values. Values represent preferred ‘intent’ behind actions. Values also represent a position taken by the individual that he/she is more than the limited body and the limited mind. Since he/she becomes aware of this reality, he/she is required to think about his/her actions in much more depth.

How should one exercise values or intents and how would they establish the link from the cosmic tendency to our individual acts? This gets expressed in “idea diagrams”. Another way of looking at idea diagram is to make tangible those cosmic tendencies and their subsequent implied values towards right action, which will reinforce this connection of cosmic to the individual acts of creation. Idea diagram may be expressed as a sketch, sculptor, painting, installation, architecture, music – probably anything. Vastupurusha mandal is one such idea diagram. Yin and Yang is another diagram that talks about the tendency of manifestations and Time. Thus idea diagrams need to say something about Time, interconnections, hierarchies, Space, recurrence or transformations, our role in the creative act. In other words, idea diagrams may be considered as ideal templates for living and devising a path that responds to the tendency of cosmic creation.

These idea diagrams then lead to more tangible stuff such as activities/ rituals/ systems/sequences/ actions (the “how” of action) and the subsequent organization of spaces and the built environment.

This is finally where things get seen.

Therefore, what is seen will eventually be transformed at a physical and mental level. What is seen indicates a divine quality and an intent + process. What is seen, is just a ‘pause’, else everything is just dynamic.

All cultures have acknowledged this, have expressed this, and have created modes of action accordingly.

Even if we didn’t know the above realization of knowledge, our mind + body is a mechanism to make us realize above fact. The way to do this is to act and review/ decode. It will individually lead each one of us to the same realization. Despite such broad observation laid down here, Krishna indicates 5 steps (intents/ approaches in action) that reveal the divinity in us and the environment.

a.       To meditate – and to just observe the nature of thoughts, the rise and fall of the thoughts and to understand the meaning of attachments they create. Hence, to remain fixed/ centered in the experience of divinity.

b.      To realize divinity in all existence

c.       To concentrate on just one form or a situation compassionately and understand it completely so as to realize a divine potential in oneself.

d.      To be engaged in work and offer all fruits of action to God.

e.      To be engaged in one’s living without expectations regarding one’s actions.

All our actions take place in this template and whatever we do, we are dealing with consciousness. In our day to day living, we will realize the “weight” of thoughts that compel us to act and the tussle one has to deal with - essentially of memory and freedom. It’s a tough road ahead and the only way to respond is to keep doing the right thing as long as we live.

Situation

One must remember the following things:

1.       Any situation is complete in itself – meaning that it represents us with opportunities, dilemmas and constraints. It is a part of existence. Any other situation may appear better or worse to you based on whatever is going on in your present state of mind. Therefore, one’s situation is as much better or worse as any other state of affairs. In other words, please concentrate on your situation and ensure progress for the same – for your own sake.

2.       Any situation is a combination of your internal world and external world of events. We have little control over external events. But we can practice control over internal world.

3.       Any situation has a tendency to exist and repeat itself perpetually. This needs to be accepted. Also, any situation can be worked on to transform itself into something better. This also needs to be attempted with honesty.

4.       Any situation has feelings and intellect in various proportions. It represents itself with an opportunity to reach the level of consciousness. The path required to reach the level of consciousness therefore, becomes a unique path to you. The path exists. You need to discover and walk the path.

5.       Any situation represents imagination. Scale is unimportant. One can express love in the smallest of scale to the largest of scale. Intent remains the same regardless of the scale. By changing the scale, intent doesn’t change. By changing the situation, intent doesn’t change. To tackle the challenge of perfection, one needs to work on the ‘intent’, which leads to a change in the reality of existence.

6.       Any situation, if decoded, can reveal the nature of existence – the connection/ relationship/ conflict between ‘you’ and ‘other’. This needs to be addressed in your own unique way.

7.       Any situation represents ideas that have the potential to transform your own specific situation. Concentrate on the ideas, values, relationships, feelings, intellect - which become the basis to relate to all and connect with the Cosmos. Therefore, concentrate on the ‘intent’ of Creation.

Breakfast

Things discussed during breakfast can turn out to be a fodder for the article! Anyways, our family members were discussing that the self quarantined ‘silent time’ offered a soothing experience of listening to the chirping of birds throughout the day. The observation extended that density, traffic has a connection to the quality of space.

Furthermore, if such experiences are forgotten with the increase in traffic conditions, would the next generation even remember and acknowledge the sound of birds and the soothing effect it plays on the minds? I leave it upto the Reader to decode what soothing effect means and how does it get generated? And, what notion of ‘environment’ does this experience create?

If I extend this observation to all flora and fauna on earth and our own association with them, a time would not be far away when a virtual image of flora and fauna will have to be forcibly inserted in our minds to acknowledge our dependence on them! Thus, in certain aspects, we are distancing ourselves from the environment and technological tools are becoming more sophisticated to help ‘us’ imagine our connect with the environment again!

In architecture, we have the Grasshoppers and the Rhinos – as tools that can be used for imagining the quality of spaces. Most architects may equate ‘quality’ with excellent or novel or a dynamic Form. Is quality only to be explicitly justified or evaluated as something only ‘visual’?

Or does quality of space also have social, cultural, climatic, topographical, local, environmental, psychological layers? If an architect can visualize these layers with sufficient positive projections (which come from personal wisdom), then definitely the quality of spaces becomes excellent. Thus, can advanced technological tools like Rhinos and Grasshoppers offer to enhance our wisdom of understanding quality? I have my own reservations.

Grasshoppers and Rhinos are neutral tools. What one does with the tool depends on one’s intent and perception of the environment. IF one’s perception and intent are powerful, so will be the quality of expression – Grasshopper or no Grasshopper…!

Tendency

The previous article on ‘Intent’ dealt with the individual consciousness – what is it that ‘you’ (as a phenomenon of consciousness-mind-body) would like to initiate? And how does your individual intention gets connected or reflected or has an effect on the larger intentions of existence?  

This article is more on the ‘tendency’ of phenomenon to express – one may either state it as “Intentions of the Almighty” or one may just accept it as the tendency of the phenomena.

The whole effort for humanity is to rise above the limited boundary imposed by our own attachment to body and mind (grosser intentions) to transcendental states of existence or of knowing. These are referred to as Tamas (intense attachment to body – operating primarily on desires); Rajas (urge to define our identity through action – attachment to mind and intellect – which means ego); Satvik (transformation into something impersonal and displaying the largest extent of empathy and welfare to all). This is the homework that is laid in front of us. How does one approach this reality and how does one begin to rise up to the levels of understanding is a matter of personal choice and effort and time. Those who have been concerned by this, have walked the path, have shown the way to us and have set examples. The ability to transform is inherent in all of us. We need to open up to this ability. Of course, opening up means to deal with internal conflict, severe dilemmas, resistance by our own self and finally getting to know the basis of knowledge. I can’t say whether the path is tough or easy – who am I to say? If interested, one must begin to strive the path – it is your own path. One may get help or may not. People may criticize for they may not understand what you are doing or it might reveal weaknesses in them. Whatever it is, you are doing it for your own self.

By constant observing and staying focused on your set approach to transformation, the “tendency” of phenomena to express is finally revealed to you. This leads to “acceptance” towards the state of things as they are. From this deep acceptance, comes the ability to initiate the right “intent” of thinking and doing.

All societies have discovered this connection of the individual to the universal. This may be expressed from a book on ‘Culture, Architecture and Design’ by Amos Rapaport. The relation of world view on the act of architecture.

Summarily, the diagram in the book goes like this: (1) World view is the understanding of the society about state of things/ phenomena/ cosmos; (2) Value systems of the society and the individual stems from this comprehensive understanding; (3) these value systems and therefore our right intent towards any act are expressed through idea diagrams (example – Vaastupurusha); (4) Idea diagrams are blue prints to think, act and create an expression such as architecture

This brings me to a question, that is - what is it that we continue to ‘create’? What is newness? We create from the mechanism of values. Newness is the form of expression to reinforce the same values carried on for generations.

Intent

Everything operates with intentions. Intentions imply the urge to proceed towards some kind of action and therefore, some expression or manifestation or a product. Thus, a product or a manifested expression is an indication of the process of thought and the intent that generates the process. Intent maybe individual or community driven. If it is personal, it may be governed by desires, emotions, feelings, intellect – all from the body-mind phenomenon or because of existential conflict. Certain processes of thoughts compel us to enlarge our intent to consider the people and the environment – or the entire ecosystem. ‘Architecture’, is one of them. As an architect, I am concerned about people, economy, place, climate, resources, and the impact of architecture on the planet. Hence, it is not just my creation that is important here, but I am just a tool or a facilitator to express larger concerns towards the environment. In the process of doing, gratitude, acknowledgement may be favourable intents behind the expression of architecture. Therefore, beginning with our own body and mind, the personal urge must transform itself to witness the phenomenon of existence and our effort to engage with It.

As we live in a particular body and have a mind – all these are projections of consciousness. This urge of consciousness to generate a form is perpetual and to keep transforming the form. The question is – what is the nature of your personal intent? What is its circumference? What gets included (and therefore excluded) from this region of circumference? Is it possible to keep enlarging the circumference to express empathy to all creations?

As I think about it, ‘Architecture’ need not be the only tool to generate this idea of comprehensiveness. Every action or a thought has this capacity. The understanding of cosmos (as a matter of deep feeling and connect) may come about from the words of a farmer, a brick mason, a cyclist or just about anybody you see. All this means, is that the right intent is not dependent on a particular act or a situation or a product. The right intent needs to be discovered. Having discovered, it needs constant nurturing, so it remains embedded in our individual consciousness, so that eventually the individual consciousness and the universal consciousness merge.

There is no mathematical formula to illustrate what kind of intent leads to what kind of action and therefore result. Sometimes, the expression and intent (for the observer) may seem opposite but may be actually synchronous as far as the doer is concerned. Therefore, it is wise not to jump to any conclusions or add value immediately – we should just learn to observe. Those people, which represent the most noble of ideas and actions, are simple in living, but high on intent. Can we harness such tendencies?