What does a word’s root represent beyond mere sound?
Does it emerge arbitrarily, by chance? The name of our civilizational language, ‘saṃskṛta,’ evidences it emerged through a process of deliberate refinement. ‘Well put together,’ or ‘well formed,’- samyak kṛta. And a word’s ‘root’ represents the building block of this refinement, something used for establishing meaning. The rules of Pāṇini tell us we can thus call a word’s root its dhātu- for the purpose of √dhā, or establishment. The Pāṇinian dhātu is no mere sound. It serves the establishment of meaning and cognition – dadhāti cetanā, generates a bloom of perception, links evocations to give insight into a civilization’s consciousness. Consequently, a dhātu-derived etymology is a synaptic node to the Indian civilizational consciousness. Our name, Bṛhat, is one such word.
From the root √bṛh, meaning increment, growth, or prosperity- vṛddhi- which leads directly to the word bṛhat – बृहत्: lofty, high, tall, great, wide, vast, abundant, solid, assured, strong- like a mount of the Himālaya. These synonyms capture our aspiration- the desired future state for our civilization, and ultimately for species and planet.
Another dhātu, √man (√मन्), denotes considering, knowing and thinking. Now a simple addition. √bṛh+√man=brahman- growth, shining and outpouring of Mind, ie √bṛh+√man, is called ब्रह्मन् / brahman. Literally the growth, expansion, development, swelling of the mind – of Intent. This association opens a realm of meaning that gives direct shape to us at Bṛhat.
Bṛhat Rāṣṭṛ, Bṛhat Saṃskṛti. Bṛhat Cetanā.
How will we design the self-perpetuating civilizational moment? By being accelerators, manifestors, enablers- grist to the yearning and intent of a civilization. For storytellers, policy formulators, educators, heritage and ecology preservationists, artists, and more. Let us come together, grow, shine and pour forth. To swell the civilizational mind. A bṛhat mānasa, of people, nation, species and planet.
Modelled upon a fractal, rounded as a maṇḍala – our logo represents a bṛhat cetanā of people nation, species and planet. Bṛhat brims, it is full of expansive charge.
Packed Within: Elements for our Functional Areas
At the core, with one half of it capable of representing a lotus, is Culture– the pool that we draw from and the consciousness we aim to manifest. But to manifest, to bring into being, needs application. In the here and present we must create a culture-compatible Policy, one that accounts for ecology, education and more. It is how we bring civilizational intent to form. The cultural core needs a hard outer shell.
And what of the future? We must plant seeds that yield shade when we are no longer here. As we draw from a past and manifest in the present, we must also form the future. We must develop forward perpetuating cultural cognition – Leadership.
And it all comes together with one final element- ṛ- the diacritics way to represent ऋ, powers everything– as √dhṛ it opens to dharma, as √bṛh expands brahman, as √kṛ becomes karma, as √bhṛ gives Bhārata. When essential flow is yoked, yukta, we get ṛta. Through ṛ, form takes shape, it is the fuel of bṛh.
Thus is our logo.
