Well, here it is. And here we are. Engaging in another newsletter.

But hey, while the format may be to leaf out 5-10 min reads periodically, the purpose is more than dishing out news, or letters.

It’s a challenge to spark your arcs.

Arcs whaa?

Before we get there.

Why a newsletter, and not a video, a reel, or a podcast?!

After all, isn’t it all about engaging more senses, attracting more eyeballs, and riding the viral wave to the kingdom of heaven?

Well hi there! I’m not here for fleeting attention but for deliberate engagement.

Reels and edits might catch your eye, but a well-crafted sentence can change your perspective. It’s the difference between distraction and depth.

And we’re about the intention economy over the attention economy baby! (But more on that in the next piece).

These aren’t trends.

These are arcs.

Why arcs?

Picture this: You’re walking a straight path, a bit of cold biting at your skin when a sudden soft warm whiff of wind nudges you sideways.

What do you do?

That nudge is a spark - a moment of curiosity. Follow it and you might end up on a deliberate arc: a shift inspired by observation, guided by inquiry and rewarded with new insight and lived experience.

Arcs are about resonance. They’re about bending toward meaning.

So here’s me welcoming you to a few quests with room for inquisition. To Arcs with Archit.

And here’s me asking you to consider subscribing.

‘Cue that CTA!’ 🎵

So it’s only fitting, that our first arc today is about the meta.

Is there value in building truth-seeking systems?

The Spark

Recently, I spent 10 days at a ‘Dhamma meditation centre’ in South India practising ‘Vipassana’, a non-sectarian, meditation technique rooted in Gautam Buddha’s teachings.

And Dhamma, in his ancient Pali scripts, represents a non-sectarian, experiential trial of ‘life’s deep truth’.

Deep indeed.

You meditate for 120 hours across 10 days. Up at 4 am. No dinner. No phones, reading or writing. No contact with another human.

And with all this new time gained, the challenge on offer - was deceptively simple.

Disengage from all stimuli except the following provocation.

Explore the simple physical sensations (aka pain) of holding a cross-legged posture and its connection to building a mental muscle against the omnipresent misery of life.

You observe and you contend that whether or not, there is a method to the madness.

And somehow, in a time when we have 4000 religions, 7000 languages and countless dogmas, this approach to truth-seeking has quietly, well, thrived.

Here’s a map of the Dhamma meditation centres around the world today.

Despite this global reach and surviving the test on time, I was low-key appalled at how little-known this operation was.

No one in my family in India had more than even heard the name Vipassana until I found myself at the other end of it.

A notable few have practised the technique and written about it too (Jack Dorsey, Yuval Noah Harari, Sam Harris, Robert Harry Hoover, and perhaps others).

Curious, I asked one of the Dhamma servers’ Arvind (one of the volunteers - he’s a legend), why do they not market themselves more.

I mean more folks, more donations, more meditation centres, more people meditating right? Organisation thrives, (venture capital represent!).

And to be honest, at the time of asking, I didn’t really need him to break it to me when he said,

“The ‘Truth’ can’t just be handed over, it has to be discovered through active engagement and seeking.”

Vipassana doesn’t sell itself because the journey is its product.

The Arc: Seeking truth through fair trials

This context about Vipassana is neither an endorsement nor a promotion.

I don’t even think it is for everyone.

But it’s an instigation to the reader to a framework.

What, in the experience of one, arguably wise dude 25 centuries ago, might it mean to objectively, give a spark a fair trial that is not just for the sake of intellectual entertainment?

But a purpose - in this instance, a want for less misery.

For within that truth, if it exists, there may lie a key.

Over the coming seasons, I’ll be exploring sparks ranging from consumerism and sustainability to behavioural economics and psychology.

Let’s stir this pot up a little.

I’ll also have a lot more to share if a few plans I have in the works, pan out as intended. The attempt would be to gauge if you’d be arc-ed into inquisition?

In the meantime, here’s a signal of intent toward these arcs.

And fair warning, unlike Gautama Buddha, I will be marketing this a little bit. (If this ethical dilemma makes you raise an eyebrow, here’s a link to the etymology of the Hindi word bhik, its evolution, like me, should put you at ease with the difference between his approach and mine).

Tell me in the comments if you hold a chestnut of cool facts about etymology. For example, I had no idea Pali was so widespread, to be spoken across most of the Indian mainland in 2 BCE.

Anyway. Come join in and SUBSCRIBE! And let’s explore bending along a few paths together.

We’ll be back here in a few!

Stay curious. Stay intentional.