Prince Charles on a crusade for urban sustainability.
Ann Purcell, author of The Journey of Enlightenment, writes about Prince Charles’s crusade for urban sustainability in her November 30, 2016, blog “Prince Charles—A Visionary Leader.”
In his book Harmony: A New Way of Looking at our World (2010), Prince Charles explores the “sacred geometry” discovered in buildings and artwork of ancient civilizations. “The patterning that forms sacred geometry is derived from a very close observation of nature” (pg. 89), Charles writes.
In her blog, Purcell compares Prince Charles’s vision for suburban planning using natural, non-toxic building materials and intelligent planning (work and shopping within easy walking distance from living spaces; car parking outside the perimeters of living areas to reduce pollution; trees and green parks dispersed throughout cities and towns to reduce pollution and enhance people’s sense of well-being) with the principles Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation program, has used in his system of Maharishi Sthapatya Ved.
Purcell writes: “Maharishi was fond of the following quote from the Yajur Veda: Yatha pinde tatha brahmande—’As is the atom, so is the universe; as is the human body, so is the cosmic body.’ The entirety of our universe, including our human physiology, exhibits the same orderly patterns that are found at every level of nature’s functioning.”
“Sthapatya Ved prescribes specific mathematical principles for construction of buildings that reflect the orderliness of nature,” says Purcell. “The architecture of many of the world’s oldest civilizations reflect proportions similar to those found in Sthapatya Ved.”
